Tatum Water Project: ACOHOF’s Journey of Community-Led Water Access and Resilience

Tatum, the administrative center of the Nkum Subdivision in Cameroon’s Bui Division, Northwest Region, has historically faced a significant challenge common to many rural communities: ensuring safe, reliable, and dignified access to water. Despite Cameroon possessing considerable water resources, numerous communities continue to face substantial deficiencies in infrastructure, water quality, and the sustained maintenance of water systems.

Executive Overview 

For decades, families in Tatum have depended on a combination of community-driven systems, natural springs, provisional treatment methods, and local resilience to fulfill their water requirements. Over time, as aging infrastructure deteriorated and access to safe water became increasingly challenging, ACOHOF collaborated with community members and technical partners to develop practical, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions.

ACOHOF’s initiatives integrated public health education, water safety in schools and homes, community mobilization, and continuous cooperation with the Nkum Council and Engineers Without Borders Sweden. This approach ensured the water crisis remained a development priority, facilitated technical dialogue, boosted local engagement, and generated momentum towards developing practical infrastructure. Despite security challenges that hindered full implementation, the project established a solid foundation for future investments in spring protection, water treatment, storage, gravity-fed systems, local governance, and community resilience.

Early Community Efforts and the Foundations of Water Access 

Since the 1970s, the residents of Tatum have employed local initiatives to mitigate water shortages, particularly in the absence of a dependable piped water infrastructure. Institutions such as St. Pius X Teacher Training College, the Tatum Health Center, and the Roman Catholic Mission played a pivotal role in establishing the community’s initial organized water efforts. Although these systems primarily served institutional purposes, numerous families also relied on them for drinking water.

During this period, a diesel engine installed at the Sovdzen catchment pumped water into the storage tank of the Teacher Training College. The site—popularly called “West Indies” by the TTC students—became a symbol of the community's ingenuity and dedication to addressing local water issues with whatever resources they could find.

As the community expanded, a small hydroelectric project on the Mairin River at Kov Mven provided electricity to the TTC, the Health Center, and the Roman Catholic Mission. Subsequent upgrades included a storage tank at Hilltop and gravity-fed pipelines for directing water from Mbaw Berlem to Takui.

Despite these successes, environmental challenges, insufficient funding, and maintenance issues gradually weakened the systems. As infrastructure declined, women and children had to walk farther to fetch water from unprotected springs such as Roo Kitchoo, Liv Nah, and Roovilan. The consequences extended beyond access, impacting health, education, household chores, and overall community welfare.

2015–2018: Protecting Health Through Practical Water Safety Solutions 

Due to the urgent health risks posed by unsafe drinking water, ACOHOF prioritized quick, practical solutions that households and schools could implement, even as more permanent infrastructure options were being developed.

In collaboration with Engineers Without Borders Sweden and technical expertise from engineers such as Stefan Karnebäck and Gustav, ACOHOF facilitated the implementation of the Water Disinfection System and advocated for Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) as a cost-effective method to enhance drinking water safety.

With SODIS, households filled clear plastic bottles with contaminated water and placed them horizontally in direct sunlight for approximately six hours. The sun’s ultraviolet radiation destroyed harmful pathogens, thereby rendering the water safe for consumption without the need for costly filters, complex equipment, or firewood for boiling.

To help people in the community learn more, ACOHOF and EWB Sweden Engineers set up a Development and Information Center at the ACOHOF Family Farm School. This center facilitated solar technology testing, promoted water quality awareness, and conducted public education initiatives. Collaboration with the Nkum Council, St. Pius X Medicalized Health Center, women’s groups, and other community members helped raise awareness and mitigate risks associated with unsafe water.

2016–2018: From Emergency Response to the Water Access (Waccess) Vision 

Building on interim water treatment efforts, ACOHOF and Engineers Without Borders Sweden launched the Waccess (Water Access) Project as a sustainable response to Tatum’s water issues. Through collaboration with the Nkum Council, local community members, and Swedish engineers, ACOHOF transformed the initiative from mere concern and debate into a concrete solution to alleviate the community’s persistent water crisis.

The Waccess approach was developed by listening to community input, observing the field, and incorporating feedback. Rather than enforcing a single rigid technical model, the project tailored its solutions to local conditions, focusing on options that community members could easily understand, manage, and take ownership of.

Listening before designing is critical. Initially, the plan was to install rainwater harvesting systems in key spots around Tatum. But after assessments and talking with the community, it became clear that the plan wasn’t the best fit for the local conditions. Instead, the community showed a strong preference for rehabilitating spring catchments and creating gravity-fed pipelines, which better suit their needs and environment.