Rodrigues, like many small islands, suffers from a limited supply of fresh water. To supplement the limited public supply, many households collect rainwater from roofs and store it local tanks. Due to the (often) limited supply, water availability for the irrigation of crops is also very limited - which during periods of low rainfall can lead to reduced harvest or even crop failure. This R&D project has two themes to increase water availability for domestic and agricultural use:
1) Micro-Seawater Passive Desalination
2) Enhanced Rainwater Collection
For both themes, the emphasis will be to use simple, low-cost materials and techniques to improve local availability of water for general domestic and irrigation purposes in order to reduce the burden on the public water supply. It should be noted that it is not intended that the water produced by this R&D project will be potable and therefore should NOT be used for drinking purposes. Increased water security using these passive methods could lead to increased food security since the water could be used to grow crops at home or be used for agriculture. For the Seawater Passive Desalination, fishermen could possibly supplement their income from fishing by operating larger versions of the equipment.
