Rohana Ulluwishewa
Water has long been a major constraint on human survival in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. As
water providers and water managers, women have traditionally developed a wide range of strategies to
obtain, purify and preserve water, and to use it frugally. This article highlights the water management
strategies practised by women, and highlights their contribution to ecological sustainability.
The Dry Zone of Sri Lanka, which covers two-thirds of the island, is characterized by harsh environmental conditions, including a long dry season and an uncertain rainfall pattern. Due to the insufficient and uncertain rainfall, permanent crop cultivation is virtually impossible without irrigation. The early settlers modified the natural ecosystems in minor catchment areas by constructing small irrigation tanks, around which farming systems were centred. These 'tank villages' acted as self-sustaining agro-ecocomplexes (Ulluwishewa, 1991). The area below the tank was developed for paddy cultivation, while village settlements were located alongside the tank bund, the dam of the irrigation tank. The forest in the catchment area of the tank was preserved. The irrigation tanks were the major source of water, not only for farming, but also for drinking and other domestic purposes. Wells, rivers and seasonal streams provided supplementary sources of water.
In the traditional society of the Dry Zone women were responsible for providing water for drinking, cleaning, washing and all other domestic purposes. They derived water without interrupting the natural processes by which it is regenerated, improved the quality of the water by means of various non-toxic botanicals, and used it frugally, thus managing their water resources in a sustainable manner. The knowledge system for water management developed by women has great potential value for sustainable development. However, this knowledge system is now being replaced by modern science-based water technologies, and in many places remains only in the memory of the older women. In view of its potential value for sustainable development, steps should be taken to document indigenous knowledge related to water management. This article is the result of such an attempt.
Women in the hydrological cycle
Water is a renewable resource, thanks to its endless cyclic flow between sea, air and land. This hydrological
cycle, a natural process by which nature regenerates water, must be preserved and enhanced. Traditionally,
the women of the Dry Zone have actively participated in the hydrological cycle, and thus helped to increase
the availability of water. They have always had an intimate relationship with the village forest, which was
maintained in the catchment area of the village tank. It was the local women who went to the forest to fetch
firewood, and to gather a wide range of edibles and medicinal plants. They saw the forest as a life-giving
source, and the conservation of forest areas was crucial to the survival of their families. They used the
forest without damaging it, and took great pains to preserve it. The conservation of the forest cover in the
catchment area enhanced the water retentivity of its soil; rainwater was retained and subsequently released
into the tank when the water level in the tank declined in the dry season. Forest water also contributed to
the creation of a large number of springs and channels.
The home gardens and other non-irrigable common lands were also the domain of women. On these lands, they developed a land-use pattern which helped to enhance the water retentivity of soils. In the home gardens, women grew certain trees which helped to conserve water. These trees also added a substantial amount of organic matter to the soil, thus enhancing its water retentivity. On the non-irrigable common lands where the water retentivity was poor, women cultivated water-prudent crops such as millet and pulses. They depended heavily on traditional farming practices. Instead of chemicals, they used organic manure such as cow dung, kitchen garbage, and compost, which enhance the water retentivity of soils. In this way soil moisture was retained, which is critical in this area of the country, due to the prolonged dry season followed by a brief rainy season. During the rainy season, water must be effectively stored in the soil if it is to support plant growth in the dry season. On their upland plots, women cultivated several crops together, creating a forest-like crop cover which increased water retentivity.
Management of water sources by women
Local women used three major sources of water: (1) village irrigation tanks, (2) rivers and streams, and (3)
human-made wells. A woman's source of water depended on where she lived, and the season. For example,
during the wet season those who resided near the irrigation tank went to the tank for water, and those who
were near the river went to the river. During the dry season, the women dug wells, usually in the paddy
fields, but also in the tank bed or the river bed.
While a village irrigation tank was intended primarily to provide water for paddy cultivation, it was also used as a major source of water for drinking, bathing, washing clothes, and other sanitary and hygienic purposes. At the same time, village cattle and buffalo also used the tank for drinking water. Clearly, all these activities could not be carried out in the same part of the tank; bathing, for example, stirs up the water and makes it unsuitable for drinking, even for animals. But there was no alternative: tank water had to be used to meet all the water needs of the village. To coordinate all the conflicting water uses, the women established three specific points (mangkada) around the tank, one for each type of water use: (1) fetching water for drinking, (2) bathing and washing clothes, and (3) watering cattle and buffalo. The location of each point was determined with great care.
A site near the tank bund was selected for drinking water, thus minimizing the distance to the village settlement area. Selection was based on the following considerations: (1) the depth of the water, since in the deeper parts of the tank the water is often calm and thus clear, (2) the access to sunshine, which kills germs and makes the water relatively safe, (3) the distance from the other points of water use, (ideally as far away as possible), (4) the existence of aquatic plants around the point, since a thick cover of aquatic plants on the open surface makes the water calm and also prevents the influx of organic matter from other points, and (5) the presence of Terminalia arjuna (kumbuk) trees near the water, as this tree is believed to have a de-salinizing and cooling effect. To identify drinking-water points, the women planted a filtering cloth on a stick near the site; this was a sign that no other water-related activity should take place there. It also symbolized women's cooperation in utilizing common water resources.
At the beginning of each dry season, when the water level in the tank declined, temporary wells were dug in the paddy tract below the tank. These were filled in at the beginning of the rainy season when it came time for the paddy fields--where most of the wells were dug--to be prepared for cultivation. At the end of the cultivation season a certain amount of water was left in the well for cattle and buffalo. This also served to recharge the ground water which had been exploited during the dry season through the use of temporary wells. The village forest that was preserved in the catchment area also helped to recharge the ground water during the dry season.
When a well was dug, the inside walls were protected with logs from the Terminalia arjuna (kumbuk), a species which has water-purifying and de-salinizing effects. Furthermore, in order to filter and purify the water entering the well from the springs, wood from the same tree was burned and deposited between the walls and the logs, so that the springs feeding the well had to pass through the charcoal burnt wood. Often burnt wood and burnt coconut shells were added to the bottom of the well; the former reduced the salinity, while the latter cleared the water. The waste water generated by the washing and bathing which took place around the well was diverted to the vegetable gardens which the women maintained.
Fetching, storing and purifying water
While water for bathing and washing clothes was used at the appropriate water point, water for drinking and
other domestic purposes was carried home in clay pots. Women usually fetched water two or three times a
day, depending on the size of the family. The distance they had to walk to fetch water was 250-500 metres,
in the wet as well as the dry season. This relatively short distance reflects the top priority that was given to
access to water. The water was stored in the same clay pots, and kept in the kitchen, where the women
spent most of their time. This enabled them to control domestic use--since they were the ones who
distributed drinking water--and to minimize wastage.
Women were aware that water taken from tanks and wells was often contaminated with bacteria, silt and floating solid particles. For this reason, they practised a number of traditional methods to purify water. For example, they filtered it at the water point with the filtering cloth mentioned earlier, which made it possible to remove the solid particles and aquatic insects, and to partially separate out the silt. But even after filtering, silt remained a problem. Often the inside of the pots was rubbed with the seeds of Stryclinos potatorum (ingini), which helped to clear the water, and had no poisonous or toxic effect. To give a pleasant taste and smell to drinking water, the clay pots were treated with the smoke of burning paddy husk. Any micro-organisms or germs in the water were destroyed by boiling, and this boiled water was given to children and the sick. All these forms of traditional technology were non-chemical, non-toxic, and thus healthy and environmentally sound.
In general, the quality of well water was inferior, due to its salinity (kivla). Therefore, during the dry season, when the well was the only major source of water, women often boiled water to make it suitable for drinking. When water is boiled, salt is separated out and deposited at the bottom of the pot and drinking this saline well-water often causes kidney disorders. Women therefore identified a wide range of herbs which were effective in controlling such kidney disorders and which grew naturally on common lands, such as Aerva lanata (pol-pala), Gassia absus (ranawara), Hydrophila spinosa (ikiriya) and Salacia reticulata (kotala-himbutu). Local women used to prepare herbal tea with the flowers, leaves, bark or stems of these plants, in particular during the dry season, when people had to rely on the saline well water.
The water brought in for non-drinking purposes was also stored in clay pots and kept in the kitchen, under the supervision of women. Since the women themselves carried out all the domestic activities which required water, such as cooking, washing utensils, domestic cleaning, and growing food crops in the home garden, they could ensure that care was taken to conserve water. They recycled water, in order to gain the maximum amount of use from the water that was brought in. For instance, the water used to wash dishes for the first time was used again when they were washed for the second time after meals. In addition, the water used for domestic washing was added to the soil in the vegetable gardens, and the water used to wash rice was given to cows, since it was thought to contain nutrients which enhanced their productivity. In this way, women made frugal use of water at the household level. Their access to water sources and their undisputed control over the domestic use of water helped to achieve a highly efficient water management system on the domestic level.
Conclusion
The manner in which local women have traditionally made use of nature in order to obtain water can teach
us a great deal about meeting our own water needs in situations of scarcity, and doing so without any
adverse effects on nature. Local women preserved water not only in the tank but also in the whole agro-
ecosystem which existed in the village. They derived water without damaging the natural processes which
lead to the regeneration of water. They did not dominate nature, but rather cooperated with it. They used
water frugally, and made use of environmentally sound local technologies to store and purify water. By
doing so, local women in the Dry Zone were able to satisfy their needs in a water-scarce situation.
Modern water development projects in the Dry Zone often overlook the knowledge which local women have of water management. Development projects are generally aimed at using natural resources to produce marketable commodities. Thus for the development technocrats, water development consists in using water resources to produce agricultural commodities and hydropower. In their eyes, the use of water resources by local people, in harmony with nature and with a view to sustaining their families, is not development. To them, it is primitive and inefficient. However, in adopting this attitude, they are overlooking local knowledge systems. Local women are not consulted, and are given no opportunity to participate at the decision-making level.
The scarcity of water is now becoming increasingly evident in almost all large-scale irrigation development projects in the Dry Zone. Most of the activities carried out within the framework of these projects work against nature. Constructing dams, diverting rivers away from their natural paths, drilling deep tube wells, the mechanical lifting of ground water, the destruction of forests in natural catchment areas, the dissolution of ancient small-scale irrigation systems in the command areas, and the replacement of water-frugal crops by water-intensive crops on soils with low water retentivity; all these have an adverse impact on the natural processes which regenerate water. Consequently, rivers, streams, wells, and springs have gone dry. Women in most of the large irrigation and settlement projects now have to depend for their drinking water on irrigation canals, pipe-borne water and bowsers. But these technological solutions are not sustainable, and are incapable of solving our ecological problems. Therefore, immediate steps should be taken to find ecologically sound solutions to the growing water crisis. In this respect, the knowledge which local women have of water management has enormous potential.
Professor R.K. Ulluwishewa
Sri Lanka Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
University of Sri Jayewardenapura
Department of Geography
Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94-1-852028
Fax: +94-1-852604
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Mr S.P. Yapa Bandara, Mr U. Anura Kumara and Ms Rupa Kalansuriya for
their help in collecting data.
Reference
Ulluwishewa, R.K. (1991) 'Modernization versus sustainability: Disintegrating village agro-ecocomplexes in
the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka', Environmental Conservation 18(2)103-109.