Blog Posts

The comments of Armwell Shumba(Zimbabwe) are realistic. In following, my comments after 30 years of Participatory Technology Development (PTD).

I was during about 30 tears teacher researcher working on Water harvesting and water resources management. When I started the job of researcher, I came from a famous University (Sorbonne in Paris) I have a lot of sciences in my "Head" but this not enough. I started to learn again from farmers: understand the local conditions (soil, climate, and rain droughts), the crop systems, and the problems of the farmers, do they have any solutions for these problems, how works these solutions etc. The researcher has to learn from the farmers for whom he tries to find solutions. After this real important learning from the farmers, the researcher has to setup a priority and select the problems he will study and for which he will try to find solutions. After that he has to do an important bibliographical work to analyse the problems, to seek solutions at local, regional or worldwide level, After that he will setup a list of solutions (existing or new one) and go back to the farmers to start a discussions on these solutions and the possibility of doing trials with their participation in their fields. This is a very important phase and the beginning of the real work of the researcher. In this process if there is the possibility to collaborate with extortionist it a good thing, but often the extortionist do not follow the researcher because it is a long term work and they are seeking a short term solutions.

This the way I followed during my professional life as researcher during 30 years. And it was really successful according to the results I got and according to the famous international Prizes and Awards these results have got (UNESCO International Water Prize; ALECSO Water Prize; Hydrotop Mediterranean Water Prize; Top50 SME and Top20SME from The World Bank). But my real challenge now is how the techniques I have conceived and invented (in the domain of Water saving irrigation technology, rain Water conservation and drought mitigation , adaptation to climate change etc) could be worldwide shared specially with small farmers and poor people suffering from hunger, droughts, food security. I have several times written to UN International Organisations (FIDA, UNDP, UNEP, and FAO) but no sound. This shows how there is no connection between administrations even at the international level (at the national level this is also a problem). Normally according to the Prizes and the Awards these technologies should be adopted by the huge of projects financed by the international organisations including the biggest one who has the money: the World Bank?!.

Any way the “door” is not closed, there is another way, I followed when I was Researcher. It is the collaboration with the National and International NGOs. I will continue in this way, and I am ready to share these technologies specially the Draining floater and the buried diffuser with any NGO worldwide. The 2 technologies could be used in the arid, semi arid and in humid regions. To get a full report on the Draining floater and the buried diffuser, please write to me using my email address: chahbani.bellachheb@gmail.com. I can help the NGO with consultancy and to write project proposals based on the 2 technologies to be submitted to international donors.