From the field in East Sumba. Medical care, clean water, prevention and community health where access remains difficult.
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Water, Health & Infrastructure
Water Connections in Laindatang & Hambarita
Since 2022, two neighbouring villages and Fair Future Foundation have built the roads, reservoirs and local systems that keep safer water closer to families.
- Working together since 2022
- 115,000-litre community reservoir
- Household ferrocement tanks
Water begins with the people who live here
Laindatang and Hambarita are not project sites on a map. After four years of work, they are part of our daily field life. Families have repaired access roads, carried materials, built ferrocement tanks and organised the care of shared water systems. The infrastructure works because responsibility remains inside the villages.
The programme
A water system built with the village
In this dry part of East Sumba, water access shapes infection risk, nutrition, hygiene, school attendance and the time families can give to work and food production.
Work began in 2022 with the understanding that a tank alone would not solve the problem. The programme had to connect catchment roofs, first-flush systems, filtration, storage, protected taps, access roads and local maintenance. In Laindatang, this led to a 115-cubic-metre community reservoir. In Laindatang and Hambarita together, around twenty household ferrocement reservoirs bring water closer to families.
The work has required patience. Roads were rebuilt so trucks and materials could reach the villages. A groundwater attempt continued for nine months without producing a reliable supply. The failure was documented, the plan changed and the work continued. A new possible borehole location has since been identified for technical validation.
A large semi-buried reservoir in Laindatang protects filtered rainwater for the wider community.
Ferrocement tanks across the two villages bring stored water closer to daily family life.
Construction, road access, maintenance and new phases have continued with the community since 2022.
A new storage reservoir for Hambarita is being considered, subject to engineering and funding.
From a field constraint to daily water
How water reaches a family
A safe water system is a chain. Access, construction, clean catchment, protected storage, maintenance and household practice must work together.
Listen and map the need
Families identify water routes, roof surfaces, dry-season pressure, available land and the people who will care for each system.
Make access possible
Roads, slopes and delivery routes are repaired before cement, steel, pipes and filters can reach the construction site.
Capture and protect rain
Gutters, first-flush devices and filtration reduce contamination before water enters a reservoir.
Store water close to home
The community reservoir and household tanks protect useful rain for cooking, hygiene and the dry months.
Maintain and adapt
Families clean, inspect and repair the systems. Field teams document failures and change the plan when evidence requires it.
Responsibility must remain shared
Infrastructure works when ownership and safety stay together
The village brings knowledge, labour and long-term care. Fair Future brings engineering, materials, water-safety measures and the obligation to recognise technical limits.
What the community makes possible
- Choose land and agree how shared water will be used
- Repair access routes and help move materials into the villages
- Build with local masons and families throughout construction
- Name caretakers for tanks, roofs, gutters, filters and taps
- Report cracks, contamination risks, damaged pipes and empty reserves
- Use available water for hygiene, household needs and small food gardens
What requires technical responsibility
- Structural design, reinforcement and safe ferrocement construction
- Catchment sizing, first flush, filtration and protected distribution
- Water-quality testing and corrective action when contamination is found
- Engineering review before a new large reservoir is built
- Hydrogeological validation before another borehole attempt begins
- Transparent reporting of cost, failure, maintenance and work still unfinished
The 115 m³ reservoir is one part of a wider village system that includes roads, roofs, filters, household tanks, protected taps and local maintenance.
The infrastructure behind each litre
Built for repair, daily use and the dry season
Useful infrastructure must fit the land and the people who maintain it. Ferrocement can be built and repaired locally. Gravity reduces dependence on pumps. Roof catchment protects short rain events that would otherwise be lost. Every part has to remain understandable and maintainable inside the village.
Ferrocement storage
Reinforced mesh and cement create durable reservoirs that local builders can inspect and repair.
Roof catchment
Gutters and first-flush devices collect rain while diverting the most contaminated initial flow.
Filtration and taps
Filters, protected outlets and clean handling reduce contamination between the roof and the household.
Roads and logistics
Excavators, trucks, repaired tracks and manual carrying make construction possible where access is fragile.
What changes in practice
Safer water changes the whole day
Water is closer to home
Families spend less time walking and carrying water over difficult ground, especially during the dry season.
Household storage is safer
Protected catchment, filtration and closed reservoirs reduce reliance on open or visibly contaminated sources.
Children regain time
When water collection is less dominant, there is more space for school, hygiene, rest and care inside the family.
Food gardens become possible
Carefully managed water gives households a small but important margin for vegetables and daily nutrition.
Water & healthWater Connections programmeSee the wider programme linking safe water, disease prevention, nutrition and community infrastructure.
CommunityEight Hambarita reservoirsSee how named household tanks were built with families and local caretakers.
Field toolsLaindatang filtration systemUnderstand the catchment, filtration and storage safeguards behind the reservoir.
Field archiveLaindatang and Hambarita reportsOpen the complete archive of construction, access, maintenance and water updates.
Live field recordField Notes from Eastern IndonesiaFollow short, dated reports from water work, health, logistics and community life.
Field guide & glossaryWater and hygiene, explainedExplore practical terms behind rainwater capture, filtration, storage and safe household use.
Medical referenceWHO drinking-water guidanceRead the public-health evidence connecting safe water with infection prevention and health.
Live from the field
Water Field Notes, as the work happens
Two recent signals from water, construction and village life in Eastern Indonesia. These notes refresh automatically when a relevant Field Note is published.
Directly from the field
Latest Laindatang and Hambarita reports
These reports document the work as it happens: road access, rainwater capture, reservoir construction, filtration, maintenance, local decisions, technical limits and the next phases.
Laindatang Water Reservoir Report | 114.5 m³
Laindatang Water Reservoir Report documents the construction of a 114 m³ reinforced concrete rainwater system in East Sumba. Built to secure dry season water for more than 200 people and a local school, the reservoir is now full and operational, confirming structural reliability and community management.
Water Reservoir Graduation Scale Protecting Community Health
Inside the Laindatang reservoir, a graduation scale measures every ten-thousand litres of stored water. This precise tool allows safe monitoring, controlled use, and long-term protection of clean water. In ultra-rural villages, measuring water accurately is not technical detail. It is prevention and survival.
Laindatang Water Filtration System | Preventive Health
Before water reaches the tank in Laindatang, it is filtered by hand. Custom-built filtration modules remove debris, organic matter, and insects, reducing contamination risks. This system turns rainwater harvesting into preventive medicine for families living far from any medical infrastructure.
Clean Water Roof in Laindatang | Medical Water Safety
A light steel roof now protects the Laindatang reservoir, shielding filtered rainwater from heat, light, and contamination. Built with villagers by Fair Future and Kawan Baik Indonesia, this structure turns rainfall into safe drinking water and prevents avoidable disease.
Laindatang water reservoir work – sealed interior
Laindatang water reservoir work required transforming raw concrete into a sealed chamber through seven protective layers. Each layer prevents contamination, stabilises the structure, and protects the health of families. This technical process is essential for long term safe water in East Sumba.
Laindatang water reservoir construction improving access
In Laindatang we build a 115000 litre reservoir by hand with villagers, shaping steel, timber, and concrete on a remote plateau. This work brings clean water to families who have lived without it and strengthens community health for the years ahead.
Hill access for water in Laindatang begins
Repairing Laindatang’s hill road was essential to bring clean water. The slope was broken and unsafe, but now machinery can finally reach the site. A first step toward reducing disease and improving daily life.
Rainwater tank Wai La Padang protects village health
In Hambarita the rainwater tank Wai La Padang changes how water and health begin each day. Before this project families rode kilometres on scooters for a few jerrycans. Now 5 300 litres of rooftop rain stand beside three small homes, saving money, energy, and clinic visits while protecting every child from dirty water.
Wai Pa Luri Wangu clean water tank for Hambarita village
In Hambarita the Wai Pa Luri Wangu water tank is one of eight new reservoirs we built with the community. This 5 300 litre blue cylinder stands just a few steps from three houses and sixteen people, turning short rains into stored water for daily life, hygiene and basic medical care, instead of dangerous rides on motorbikes with heavy jerrycans.
Kawan Sehat wound care in remote villages saves lives
In this image Kawan Sehat wound care happens on a bamboo floor where clinics are days away. The agent irrigates, debrides if needed, applies a sterile dressing, checks tetanus, and teaches danger signs. Early care stops infection before it spreads to the blood. This is how primary medicine prevents funerals.
Hambarita water reservoir plaques – eight named tanks
This picture shows Hambarita water reservoir plaques resting on the grass moments before installation. Each plate carries a local name because water is treated like kin. When a tank is called by name, people maintain it, clean gutters, and guard the lid. Eight new reservoirs will store rain, cut disease, and return time to families.
Eight Ferro-Cement Reservoirs Hambarita
Eight ferro-cement reservoirs in Hambarita now provide safe, filtered water to 120 people. Built with local skills, they improve health, hygiene, and quality of life for decades in one of East Sumba’s most remote areas.
Accountability
Water systems must remain measurable, maintained and transparent
We document what is built, how much water can be stored, what fails, what requires repair and what remains unfinished. The next work may include a new 80,000 to 100,000-litre reservoir in Hambarita, solar energy for the school and another groundwater attempt after technical validation. Each phase depends on evidence, local responsibility and available resources.
