Development Phase

The Permaculture and Greywater Treatment and Reuse Project in Tafila, Jordan is conducted by a grant made available to the Inter-Islamic Network On Water Resources Development And management (INWRDAM) from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). This project started on May 1st 2001 and it will last for 24 months. This report is the draft final of the project. Ein Al-Baida is a rural area in Tafila Governorate, which is located 200 km south of Amman. Most people there are pensioners or employed by the government, which implies limited income. The average family size is about 6 per household and about 60% of Ein-al-Baida inhabitants have an average household income in the range of 150-200 JD per month (1 JD=CAD$2.2). Illiteracy rate is about 2% while 192 families get public aid in the range of 20 – 82 JD per month.

The project was inspired by the fact that fresh water is very limited in Jordan and that rural and urban poor are willing to exert time and energy to utilize greywater water to increase production of home gardens to supplement their income.

The purpose of this applied research is to explore possible improvements to existing sanitation systems and improvements of food security in Jordanian semi-urban areas through the use of greywater for the irrigation of home gardens. Water supply in Jordan is limited and lack of new water resources and the competition between the different uses like domestic, industrial and agricultural is expected to increase in the near future.