RainCatcher documentary

Observations from my rain catching trip to Kenya

I know all too well there is no way to be here without being permanently changed. Such is my bond with Africa.

I give myself completely — blending with this place, these people, inventing a tomorrow where everyone has clean water to drink, everyday, just like we have at home.

I don’t think it’s too much to ask for — and so I ask and will ask, over and over and over again, until it is done.

If NASA can ask for billions of dollars to search for water on Mars, then we can ask the same for water here on Earth.

If the DEPARTMENT OF WAR can ask for 20 million dollars for one tank, then we can ask the same for 40 thousand water tanks. (1 army tank = 40 thousand water tanks, the equation of common sense)

Resources allocated for water exploration in space, redirected back to Earth, would provide clean, safe drinking water for everyone, almost overnight.

This isn’t philosophy or politics, it’s hardware: tanks, gutters, filters — distributed through the many non-profits already in the field, doing good work, bringing as much water as they can.

It’s just a matter of hardware. We have the resources, why aren’t we sharing all this? There’s far more than we could ever use.

Soon, the RainCatcher documentary will tell the story of ‘Water for Everyone’, featuring the historical, geopolitical, natural resource and humanitarian expressions of the relentless quest for water – Bringing to the big screen for the first time images of people all over the world catching and using rainwater.

Simple solutions for everyday problems will be be discovered and revealed and woven through the story.

Dramatic threads will include water wars and water woes, and amazing displays of nature’s abundance.

Example: One day’s rainfall on one mountain in Hawaii is equal to the amount of bottled water Americans consume in one year.

There are many such spigots all around the Earth. The RainCatcher documentary will put a bucket under each one and tally the catch, showing how supply far exceeds demand.

The film will clearly show there is no shortage of water given, just a shortage of water received. The gift has been offered, but we are required to meet it half way, we must put a bucket under the rain storm.

A billion buckets, actually. The film will spotlight all the clever ways people are already doing this around the world, including interviews with the inventors who dream up unusual ways to catch rain, store it, clean it and bottle it.

And the film will also show designs of the future, where every golf course is a RainCatcher, every shopping center parking lot, the rooftops of giant commercial and industrial buildings, and every new house is built with a ten thousand gallon water storage tank buried under the back lawn. (I’m creating the model for this in Malibu, near the High School)

There are villages in India with laws requiring homeowners to catch and collect all the rainwater that falls on their roofs. California will have the same law 20 years from now.

We’re not talking rocket science here. Just tanks, gutters & filters. That’s all it takes. That’s all I’m asking for.

There will be a day when clean, safe water is available for everyone. I have seen it. This movie points to that day with passion, grace and hope.

The problem is clear: 5 million die each year from exposure to contaminated water. Billions lack consistent access to clean water. Fortunately this is a solvable problem, a matter of hardware. My wish list has only three items on it: tanks, gutters and filters.

‘Water for Everyone’, the RainCatcher documentary tells the story of many people in many places already catching as much rain as they can, but needing more hardware.

Who among you can help me make this movie, tell this story and get this hardware to everyone who needs it?

Bosiango

RainCatcher — Kenya: Harvesting natural rainwater to quench the world’s thirst.

Subject: Help us Have Clean and Safe Water

Moses Nyagaka Okioga, Fred Mango, and David Nyabuto Ogachi in Kenya

On Nov 11, 2006, at 12:15 AM, David Nyabuto Ogachi wrote:

Dear sir/madam,
My community in Bosiango is suffering. Many people in this community suffer from water borne diseases, particularly women and children. After carrying the needs assessment I came up with the idea of starting a project of piped , clean, and safe water. Please could you assist?
Yours Sincerely,
David N Ogachi.

Hi David,
Where is Bosiango? Are you near Nairobi? I helped install rainwater water storage tanks at some of the primary schools in the Mua hills. The tanks were from Kentainers in Nairobi. Do you have buildings that would be suitable for catching rain?
My site is raincatcher.org
yours in friendship,
Jack Rose

On Nov 17, 2006, at 2:33 AM, David Nyabuto Ogachi wrote:

Dear sir,
I do not live near Nairobi, I live in Western Kenya, right on the floor of the Great Rift Valley where water is like gold — the driest area. I became interested in this issue of water because of the situation in which my community finds itself. Rivers in this area are seasonal, full during the rainy season, only to go dry as the rains recede (like the present condition in East Africa today). Every one is affected yes, but women and children are worst hit. Children who go to school do so without doing proper washing — you know the consequence of this. The less water which is available is brown with mud and dirt, therefore quite unsafe for both drink and general use. PLEASE HELP. Yes we have houses that have roofs capable of harvesting a large volume of water yet the people lack the financial capacity to purchase the tanks. We need tanks in schools that number almost 10 and other social gathering points.

Hi David,
We can get tanks from Kampala or Arusha. Which city are you closest too? I’ve included some maps. Can you show your location? You can also email photos if you have a digital camera. I have a filter that you can put the dirtiest river water through and get clean drinking water. It’s called a slow-sand filter and you can read about it by going to raincatcher.org and reading the RainCatcher Peru article. There you can click on the link for Blue Future Filters – bluefuturefilters.com – and find out about this amazing system. It is the highest rated by the UN and W.H.O. Also a good filter can be found at Katadyn.com

Two sources of water — the rain and the river. With tanks set up on school buildings, we collect and store fresh water when it rains. When the supply runs out over long periods of no rain, you can put river water through the filter and get clean water to drink. I can work on fund raising here if you can organize people on your end to help set these up. Is there an NGO established in or around your area that we can work with? Let me know. The goal will be to have systems in place before the arrival of the next rainy season. Can you tell me when the next rainy season begins?
Yours in friendship,
Jack Rose

Dear sir,
Thank you so much for your e-mail.
I live in the southern part of province 6 at the border with province 4 I think the closest city might be Kampala. Electricity is so bad today – it is on and off – my cyber cafes are almost off. Please reply soon.
Yours in friendship,
David N.Ogachi

Dear Sir,
Because of power problems I was forgetting another important thing. As a matter of fact I already have people on the ground who are working to install water system in the schools and social gathering centers I mentioned, however the cost of doing this is skyrocketing. We have an NGO in our area called Dano agency which I think would help. The next rain season is just beginning. I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours in friendship,
David N.Ogachi.

Hi David,
Can you please give me an email contact with someone from Dano?
Or have them contact me. Any photos will be helpful,
Yours in friendship,
Jack Rose

Email to Kentainers in Nairobi

Water Storage Tanks – fredmango@kentainers.com

KENYA
Kentainers Limited
Embakasi Road, Off Airport North Road
P.O Box 42168,GPO Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel: (254)-(20) 823513-5,823442-4
(Hotline) (254)-(20)-6750993,6750984
Fax: 823927,331502

Hi All,
A couple years ago I helped install water storage tanks at schools in the Mua Hills above Nairobi. I worked with a group from California called ‘Water For Children – Africa’. The tanks were supplied by Kentainers. See photos. I am contacting your company now in regards to an upcoming project in Bosiango. Below is the email correspondence that describes what David and I are attempting to do. Can you give me prices for water storage tanks delivered to Bosiango? How long a drive is it from Nairobi to Bosiango? Would it be better to ship from Crestanks in Kampala? I plan to work with an NGO in your region. Do you have a recommendation? Any information and images will be helpful,
Thanks,
Jack Rose

On Nov 20, 2006, at 9:32 AM, fredmango@kentainers.com wrote:
You will be responded to within 12hours . Thank you once again for your Interest and Concern about our products and services. Regards, System Administrator

Hi Fred,
Here’s a copy of the latest email exchange with Moses & David in Bosiango.
Thanks,
Jack

On Nov 21, 2006, at 4:43 AM, Moses Nyagaka wrote:

Dear sir, I am MOSES NYAGAKA OKIOGA , I am a writer. Some of my works are on sale through Amazon.com – just log to site and ask for RELEGATED TO THE WILD. I am 46 years old Kenyan, a father of three. What i am proud of is that I am a friend to people. I am always eager to help — I am told JACK ROSE has got the same trait in his personality…We have an NGO here, D.A.N.O Agencies, which helps people who have WATER problem. David N.Ogachi told me to contact you. At the moment we are making an effort to assist people, few of them to put up containers to catch the on going rain — but we lack funds. Regrettably we have never thought wise to photograph whatever we are doing, sorry, therefore we will dispatch someone to Nairobi to buy a digital camera. No one is selling the thing here. Thank you for offering the containers they will make a big difference. To assist install some of these tanks we have here I humbly request you to send some funds (if they are available) so that these friends of ours would benefit. Should you find yourself in a position of doing it Please use either MONEYGRAM or WESTERN MONEY Transfer cashed in KISII KENYA
Yours sincerely, Moses Nyagaka Okioga.

Hi Moses,
Thanks for writing. I have an email into Kentainers. When I hear back I will get a contact person for you to meet with when you go to Nairobi. You can pick out the water tanks that are right for your use. Have pictures taken of you with the tanks and have Kentainers email them to me. Also I need images of you and David and others with the houses, schools and other buildings that will be getting tanks. You need to take some measurements and let me know how many rain gutters you will need. I will have Kentainers deliver the gutters with the tanks and put the name RainCatcher on all the tanks. After they are set up I will need you to email photos of you and friends standing with the new water tanks. Then I will come to take more pictures and to visit other sites that need RainCatchers. The idea is to use each project to help create the next project, causing a chain-reaction until everyone has clean water to drink. This, of course could never happen without responsible people doing all the ground work on your end.

Thank you for helping. If you get to Kentainers soon, ask for Fred Mango. He is the one who emailed me. You will need to tell him exactly how many tanks and gutters you need so he can set up a business structure with me to get this all going. We will all work together to bring clean water to your families. The rain is freely given in such abundance. All we have to do is receive it. I look forward to doing that with you and David and your whole community.

I am a writer, too. When I come to Kenya we can trade stories.
Until then we will catch rain.
Yours in friendship.
Jack Rose

Hi Fred,
Below is a copy of an email from Moses and my reply

On Nov 22, 2006, at 2:36 AM, Moses Nyagaka wrote:
Hi, jack,
Thank you for writing. We would like to travel to Nairobi on Friday, please get the contact whom we are going to meet. I have made the measurements of the rain gutters and I have come up with the following: 10 schools – 2,400ft; 2 churches – 360ft; 8 families – 480 feet. You may be aware (because you have been to Kenya) that the type of soil we have here is hostile to plastics. Therefore the concrete base could be needed. My organization has run out of funds. It is good to have our pictures but due the fact that we do not have a digital camera we will send them once we buy it from Nairobi. Yes I am responsible, in fact I must be, because of the past experiences.
Yours in friendship,
Moses Nyagaka Okioga.

Hi Moses & David,

Below is the Kentainers contact:

I will pass on the gutter info to Fred and ask him to take pictures of all three of you in front of the tanks you pick out. He can email them to me. I need these for storytelling here. I plan to raise funds in January and come to Kenya in February.

I am a rain catcher. I will tell your story and have people purchase water storage tanks directly from Kentainers for your community. After we have successfully completed your project we will use it as a model for how people can work to catch clean water for drinking, one village at a time. We will want to start a chain reaction. If, starting in January, we could help to create one water project per month — that would be my goal. I think we can do it.

Another way to build a foundation for the water tanks is leveling the ground, placing an iron ring on the level spot and filling the ring with sand. I will ask Fred Mango if his company can supply one ring per tank. The idea is for everything needed (foundation ring, gutters & tank to be delivered at the same time. Set-up in one day. Then we dance when the rains come.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Jack Rose

African Valentine

Notice of travels in Africa: I’ll be in Kenya for two weeks, from 2/14/07 to 2/28/07.

In Africa my work is to catch rain, elsewhere it is to light fires, to inspire people to help secure reliable sources of clean drinking water for everyone in need, especially children, who are most at risk to waterborne diseases. If you are moved to give a valentine to Kenya, there are three components needed for the successful completion of this project: Water Storage tanks $500-each; Katadyn water filters-$250 each and rain gutters-$250 per structure. We will set up as many RainCatchers as we receive funding for. To participate email jack@raincatcher.org and I’ll give directions for electronic funds transfer to Kentainers in Nairobi.

Remembering my last trip to Africa
I have never met a happier or more alive people. The ones who appear to have little have something we often lack — a sparkle, a smile, an openness, an ease, a faith, a way, all connected to some deeper well. To be there, to live there, in friendship, is like coming home. I went to Africa thinking I had something they needed. I returned with the knowledge that it is us who need Africa. My new pastime, therefore, is simply to encourage everyone I know and love, and the new friends I meet, to somehow get to Africa. It’s impossible to visit Africa and not be changed for the better. I will do what I can to help people have a safe and fulfilling journey to Africa, Africa will do the rest. Consider this the first installment of your invitation to Africa.

Average annual rainfall

March/April/May: Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda – long rain = 19 inches

Nov/Dec/Jan : Kenya/Tanzania/Uganda – short rain = 8 inches

Nov through March: Johannesburg/South Africa – rainy season = 17 inches

The East African equatorial highlands include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the three countries that surround Lake Victoria, headwaters of the Nile. This region enjoys two rainy seasons: the long rain is March/April/May; the short rain occurs in Nov/Dec/Jan.

Johannesburg’s rainy season is summer, from Nov to March.

Average rainfall:

Kenya: long rain – March-140mm…April-191mm…May-155mm
short rain – November-86mm…December-102mm

Johannesburg: summer – Nov-117mm…Dec-105mm…Jan-125mm…Feb-125mm…Mar-91mm

First Truckload of RainCatcher tanks delivered

Hi David & Moses,
Below are my latest exchanges with Fred Mango at Kentainers. My goal is to have the first truckload delivered to Bosiango in January.

Happy Holidays to you and your families.

Yours in friendship,
Jack

Hi Fred,
Can you give me a quote for the best possible price for a truckload of 5000 litre water storage tanks delivered to Bosiango. I think this size will be more affordable and portable — I’m hoping to be able to place an order faster than if I were to wait for funds for the larger tanks. At least we can start catching rain sooner than later.

Your partner in the Bosiango RainCatcher Project,
Jack Rose

On Dec 20, 2006, at 4:21 AM, fredmango wrote:

Hi Jack,

5000LITERS x 6 PER TRUCK @KSHS.31,190 PER TANK = 187,140
5,000 litres = 1,300 gallons @ $450. USD x 6 tanks = $2,700.
+ 600. (trucking & branding) = $3,300.

Transport is 40,000kshs. per truck per trip. ($600USD)

For printing ‘RainCatcher’ on the tanks it’s chargeable at kshs 2500.kshs per tank. ($35.USD)

I hope the above information is helpful to you.

Regards, Fred mango
Systems manager – Kentainers
Emabakasi Rd, Off Airport North Rd.
P.O BOX 42168-GPO, Nairobi.
Tel: (254) (20) 823513/4/5 6750993/6750984
Fax: (254) (20) 823927 URL: www.kentainers.com

Thanks Fred, This is perfect. Can you now connect me with your accounting dept. So I can set up a way for funds to start coming to Kentainers. I plan to order:

Six – 5,000 litre (1,300 gallon) tanks @ $450. USD x 6 tanks = $2,700.
+ 600. (trucking & branding) = $3,300.

Plus an assortment of rain gutters, tarps, ropes and small plastic storage containers needed for the portable RainCatchers.

If this first one goes well and we are able to continue to raise funds, the goal will be to deliver one truckload per month for the entire year of 2007.
Thanks, Jack

How to build a RainCatcher

I am a rain farmer. Mine is the easiest job in the world. Every human needs to drink about 180 gallons of water each year. Uncountable gallons of pure rainwater fall from the sky every day. My job, and that of all rain farmers, is simply to extend a grateful hand and receive the bountiful harvest. Rainwater is a resource freely given to all. A RainCatcher harvesting structure can be set up in a day, at minimal cost, using whatever materials are at hand.

There are many ways to catch the rain. Any existing structure (house, school, medical clinic, factory, office building, train station, market, etc.) when retrofitted with rain gutters, plastic tarps on rooftops, and rain barrels, becomes a RainCatcher. In this way, each structure can be converted into a rainwater factory, ready to provide thousands of gallons of clean drinking water. Ordinary citizens become rain farmers.

Along with turning existing buildings into RainCatchers, free standing tent-like structures can be erected wherever a new source of drinking water is needed. The following description illustrates how to build a RainCatcher. Though there are countless ways to catch rain, one central theme applies to all models: Set up a roof structure for rain to fall on, then channel the water into containers for storage.

Materials Needed :

• tent poles
• plenty of rope
• tent stakes (steel or wood spikes)
• tent covering (tarps made from local materials)
• rolls of clear plastic sheeting
• water storage tanks (plastic containers suitable for storing drinking water- from 50 to 1,500 gallons)
• chlorine and/or iodine tablets (if necessary)

Many RainCatcher tents can be set up at key locations around a village or town. For however long the rainy season lasts, these simple rain water collection plants catch and store thousands of gallons of the purest drinking water available on the planet. With a consistent, reusable supply of storage containers, enough water can be caught and stored to last a community from one rainy season to the next. In full, opaque containers, water can be stored for an entire dry season. Chlorine and iodine tablets are readily available to add to any barrels that my have become contaminated by airborne/dust-borne bacteria.

This description is for a square shaped RainCatcher tent. Through experimentation, any shape or size can be adapted to the requirements of site and use. For example, if a single 1,000 gal water tank is available, tarps can be attached to the top of the tank and rise outward and upward to perimeter poles, creating a big funnel to channel rainfall into the single storage tank. Another example : set up safari-type canopies and place rain barrels around the edges.With any RainCatcher, the bigger the tent surface area, the faster the storage containers will be filled.

The only limit to how much rain water can be collected and stored is how many tent structures can be erected and how many storage containers can be rounded up.