Evaluation of Traditional Water Lifting and Modern Water Lifting Technology: A Case of Tula Sallan of Borana, Southern Ethiopia

In a developing country, the technology of lifting water from deep wells installed as groundwater sources to a useful water point of access for domestic and non-domestic consumption is still on a low scale and on a threatening scale for the pastoralist community. In Ethiopia, the pastoralist communities shield above half of the land area, constituting and making the country first in the livestock population in Africa. Regardless of this fact, the study stated that pastoralists, mainly Borana, where the study took place, are very far from the central government capital of the country and were listed among the most marginalized groups in terms of availability and access to public services plus water supply service. Thus, the study took place in an area where water-lifting technology is very rare. The Borana communities traditionally evaluate water lifting to manage their permanent water source in Tula. Traditionally, in the Borana community, the selection of traditional water lifting devices for lifting potable water from Tula comprises inquiry of the Tula end sources, 'Qawa ela' depth, nature and types of 'Okole Towa' appearances, daily labor forces on the watering day called 'Obatu', and sustainability of traditionally water-well ladder called 'Irri' with regularly operation and maintenance due to its nature. In this study based on Tula-wells, discharge capacity, and accessibility to livestock demand consumption, the available technologies led to the multi-use system of Tula-wells in the Tula-Sallan Borana Cluster of Borana zone. The small irrigation of vegetables behind Tula-wells on the backside of the wells fence using water pumps deals with the distribution of water from 'Qawa ela' in the Dubluk district of the Borana zone at Tula Elwak. The multi-use purposes of the Tula-wells and Tula-Sallan Borana cluster with the help of some available technologies have their advantages and disadvantages. The traditional labor force service in Tula to lift potable water on the watering day of livestock and the energy or power needed during the use of solar or motorized pumps were compared to evaluate the traditional water lifting and modern water lifting technology in the study area. The energy required to deliver water from the end source of Tula-wells to the drinking trough at three Tula was considered.