From the field in East Sumba. Medical care, clean water, prevention and community health where access remains difficult.
Donate
Support Care
Articles & News
Field stories
Glossary
Field guides
Water, Energy & Infrastructure
Water Connections
Safe water systems planned, built and maintained with rural communities where no public network exists.
- 5,300-litre ferrocement tanks
- 115 m³ reservoir built at Laindatang
- Rainwater, gravity and solar-pumped systems
Water must reach the home before disease does
In rural East Sumba, water may be several kilometres away, seasonal or visibly unsafe. A reservoir, protected source and working pipe change more than convenience. They change hydration, hygiene, food preparation and the daily exposure of children to preventable infection.
The programme
Water infrastructure built around health
Without a public network, every litre depends on distance, rainfall, storage and the condition of the source. Those constraints become health risks long before a patient reaches a clinic.
Water Connections designs practical systems for the terrain and the people who will use them. Depending on the site, this may mean rooftop rainwater harvesting, a ferrocement tank, a reinforced reservoir, a deep well, a solar pump, gravity-fed piping or a protected distribution point.
The work is carried out with village leaders, families and local builders. Construction is only the beginning. Gutters, lids, filters, pipes, overflow areas and water quality must remain inspectable, repairable and understood by the community.
A compact rainwater system adapted to homes, small groups of families and rural schools.
Large reinforced storage designed for more than 200 people and a local school.
A recent Hudumburung connection carries stored water directly to two homes and around fifteen people.
A solar-powered pump lifts groundwater to a 10,000-litre elevated storage system.
From source to household
How a water system becomes reliable
The visible tank is only one part of the system. Reliability begins with understanding the source and continues through design, construction, protection, distribution and maintenance.
Assess
The team studies the source, rainfall, terrain, household demand, access and the risks around the proposed site.
Design
Storage volume, foundations, catchment area, pumping or gravity and distribution are adapted to local conditions.
Build together
Local builders and families take part so the structure, materials and repair needs are understood close to home.
Protect and connect
Roofs, gutters, filters, sealed storage, overflow and pipes are installed as one continuous water pathway.
Inspect and maintain
Leaks, cracks, contamination risks and damaged components are identified, corrected and followed over time.
Water safety is continuous
A full tank is not automatically a safe tank
Safe access depends on the complete pathway from catchment or source to storage, pipe and household container. A weakness at any point can reintroduce contamination or interrupt supply.
What the system must protect
- A source or roof catchment kept away from avoidable contamination
- Gutters and first-flow components aligned and clear of debris
- A sealed tank with a protected lid and controlled access
- Filtration appropriate to the source and intended use
- Clean pipes, taps and household collection containers
- Drainage and overflow that do not create stagnant water
When corrective action is needed
- Cracks, leaks, unstable foundations or damaged tank walls
- Rust, open inspection holes or a lid that no longer seals
- Broken gutters, blocked filters or unburied damaged pipes
- Visible contamination, unusual colour, odour or persistent turbidity
- Standing overflow water that increases mosquito or hygiene risks
- Concerning test results or a cluster of diarrhoeal illness after use
A reservoir is useful only when its catchment, filtration, structure, overflow and distribution remain safe and repairable.
See how a new reservoir brings water to schoolchildren in East Sumba, and why the daily journey to collect water remains a health concern for families.
The system behind every tap
Engineering that can be maintained locally
A tank alone is not water access. Each project combines source assessment, structural choices, protected storage, distribution and a maintenance plan. The aim is not technical complexity. It is a system that fits the terrain, can be inspected and can keep working after the construction team leaves.
Site assessment
Rainfall, groundwater, access, soil, terrain and household demand guide the design before materials arrive.
Reinforced storage
Ferrocement tanks and larger reinforced reservoirs are sized and built for the community and site conditions.
Protected distribution
Filters, pumps, gravity-fed HDPE pipe, taps, overflow and drainage move water without losing control of safety.
Water monitoring
Field checks and the Rumah Kambera laboratory support testing for microbial, physical and chemical indicators.
What changes in practice
Safe water changes the conditions in which illness begins
Less time collecting water
A household connection can return hours of walking, waiting and transport to families, especially women and children.
Safer daily hygiene
Water close to home makes handwashing, wound cleaning, food preparation and household cleaning more consistent.
Water where children learn
School storage supports drinking, toilets, cleaning and basic infection prevention throughout the day.
Stronger dry-season continuity
Storage, protected sources and planned distribution reduce dependence on a single distant or seasonal collection point.
Final reportLaindatang 115 m³ reservoirRead the technical and field report for a large rainwater system serving more than 200 people and a school.
Project areaLaindatang & HambaritaExplore the linked reservoirs, filtration, construction and village water systems developed across these communities.
Child healthUnsafe water and childhood diarrhoeaUnderstand how contaminated water, dehydration and malnutrition reinforce one another in rural families.
Live field recordField Notes from Eastern IndonesiaFollow dated updates on construction, repairs, water access, health and the realities encountered by field teams.
Field guide & glossaryWater and sanitation, explainedExplore practical terms and field guides related to water safety, storage, hygiene and public health.
Public health referenceDrinking-water and healthRead the international evidence connecting safe water, sanitation, infection prevention and health.
Water and sanitation referenceWater, sanitation and hygieneExplore the wider framework linking safe water access, hygiene, childhood health and dignity.
Live from the field
Water Field Notes, as the work happens
Two recent updates from water construction, distribution or monitoring. These notes refresh when a new Water Connections Field Note is published.
Directly from the field
Latest Water Connections reports
These reports document construction, water quality, household access, maintenance, failures, corrective work and the health conditions each system is built to change.
The 2nd sanitary facility of the village is almost finished
Although access to clean water continues to be a problem, it isn’t easy to ensure it is safe. In this sense, Fair Future is putting in place measures to ensure that it is sustainable. By tests, of course, filtration systems that use elements present in nature.
We create water connections, look…
The first idea was to treat people at the source of their health problems because our medical teams and us allow the expression: “-We were a little tired of giving medicine with a glass of inedible water. …”. And as we have told you many times before, the vast majority of patients who come to us are primarily because of the poor quality of the…
The 1st toilets of the village are almost finished
Sanitary facilities, showers, toilets, a wastewater collection tank… This was a pilot project for the foundation. Today it is something normal. How do we build healthy, ecological, environmentally friendly sanitary facilities using mainly local materials (apart from sand, iron and cement)?
Assist with access to clean water in Praiwora
As part of the #waterconnections project, the Fair Future and Kawan Baik foundations have received several requests for help related to socio-medical projects, including a significant number related to access to clean water from local communities and rural villages. Some of these requests come to us directly from local authorities in East Sumba.
Building healthy sanitation facilities in rural areas
We are building safe and healthy sanitation facilities for these reasons: Ending defecation in the open rather than in toilets will have “transformational benefits” for the most vulnerable people in East Sumba. Open defecation is when people defecate in the open -for example, in fields, forests, bushes, lakes and rivers rather than toilets.
Building a 6,500-litre Ferro-cement tank
Building a water storage tank is something simple but complicated at the same time. Working day and sometimes night too, sleeping under challenging conditions, eating little and walking a lot… This is the life of the Fair Future and Kawan Baik teams in the field, every day for months with the support and unconditional support of the villages where we are setting up a new program. We are very involved in all the constructions, be it the reservoirs but also the healthy sanitary installations, the water connections, the filtration systems, and so many other things which, put together, create infrastructures which make them more useful, simpler life.
Clean water and sanitation for a magic trick
For a few months -thanks to the Water Connections program–, the families are feeling healthier, happier and have much more energy. The villagers, who are 100% farmers, are much less sick, and they are in better health. Vegetable gardens are created, and an economy is built.
For the past two months, we have been on the Mbinudita site
Our teams have been on the SD Mbinudita site for two months for the Water Connections project, clean, safe and clean water for all. The Mbinudita school is the centre of life for an entire region, where more than 2,500 people live, divided into nearly 250 families, the vast majority of whom are children.
We carried out our first deep drilling with our own machine
Until last week, the 264 students of this school in East Sumba had no water in their school. As you can imagine, this posed unexpected sanitary problems for all the children, the teachers and the houses in the surrounding area. Fair Future has therefore decided to drill a deep well at the back of the school, and we have, thanks to our detection…
Accountability
Water systems must remain measurable, repairable and transparent
We document volumes, construction, materials, beneficiaries, site inspections, faults, corrective work and how funds are used. A completed structure is not the end of responsibility. Its condition and usefulness must continue to be checked.
