Slamdam is designed to protect the Mpanda commune and its 25,000 people from flooding while acting as a warehouse for water during times of drought. Photo: Reuters/Evrard Ngendakumana
Can this portable dam help Africa counter rising waters?
In the Mpanda Commune in north-western Burundi, a long ribbon of rubber – about a metre high and two metres wide – snakes through a farmer’s field before disappearing into foliage.
A woman is sowing her crops alongside the structure, which is bulging with water and circles much of the commune.
The ribbon of rubber, called Slamdam, is designed to protect Mpanda and its 25,000 people from flooding while also acting as a warehouse for water during times of drought — weather extremes expected to become more common as Burundi’s climate changes.