At the halfway point of the Social Promotion project “Improving the living conditions of small farmers in Salfit, Palestine, through the right of access to water”, which is developed in consortium with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (AWC), and funded by Madrid City Council, the Salfit works are progressing at a good pace, the results are beginning to materialize and many of the planned activities are completed.
Thus, in the Al Matwi spring, the first phase of the work has just been completed, consisting of the rehabilitation of the exterior structures of the springs: fences, walls and soils have been repaired and built to protect the water from the spring. In this way, it is wanted to avoid its contamination by possible floods in the adjoining lands and that this forces the Salfit City Council to cut the supply.
On the other hand, there have been several courses for a more efficient management of agricultural resources, such as the use of compost in home gardens. Likewise, with the objective of creating collective strategies for a better development of agrarian policies, as well as a collective defense and monitoring of the lands to prevent their occupation by the Israeli authorities and the attack of settlers in plots near settlements, an institutional development course for members of the City Council has been held
Finally, drip irrigation systems have been installed, which will benefit 40 women and their families. These systems have a long network of pipes with a small hole every 40 cm through which the water comes out, a cistern with a capacity of between 50-70 cm3 and an electric water pump. In this way, resources will be managed in a more efficient way with a method that allows a saving of more than 75% of the water compared to hose irrigation, which has been used up until now.
