Hararghie Stone Faced Soil Bund (Ethiopia)

Daaga Dhakaa (Oromifa)

Description

Stone faced embankment constructed along the contour to reduce soil loss

It is a structural measure constructed from stone and soil and aligned along the contour. The structure is placed on a foundation having channel on the upper side of the embankment with ridges having an interval of 10 m. A space (berm) of about 15 cm is left between the embankment and the channel.

Purpose of the Technology: To reduce soil erosion, increase soil moisture, reduce slope length and steepnss.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Construction of stone wall riser starting from the foundation and compaction of the embankment to attain the given standard. Ditches are excavated and forming a tied ridges at an interval of 10 cm.

Natural / human environment: It is more applicable in areas where land degradation is serious and stone is avialable.

Location

Location: Wabe/Gelan Sedi, Deder/Oromia, Ethiopia

No. of Technology sites analysed:

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 39.82, 6.96

Spread of the Technology:

In a permanently protected area?:

Date of implementation:

Type of introduction

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use

  • Cropland
    • Annual cropping: cereals - barley, cereals - maize
    Number of growing seasons per year: 2
  • Grazing land
    • Semi-nomadic pastoralism
    • Cut-and-carry/ zero grazing
    • Mixed
    Animal type: cattle - dairy, oxen

Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation
Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • soil erosion by water - Wt: loss of topsoil/ surface erosion
  • chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
  • water degradation - Ha: aridification
SLM group
  • cross-slope measure
SLM measures

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
Oromia

Main technical functions: control of dispersed runoff: retain / trap

Secondary technical functions: control of dispersed runoff: impede / retard, control of concentrated runoff: retain / trap, reduction of slope angle, reduction of slope length, improvement of ground cover, increase of infiltration

Aligned: -contour
Vegetative material: G : grass
Number of plants per (ha): 20000
Vertical interval within rows / strips / blocks (m): 0.1m
Width within rows / strips / blocks (m): 0.15

Terrace: bench level
Vertical interval between structures (m): 1.5
Spacing between structures (m): 10
Depth of ditches/pits/dams (m): 0.5
Width of ditches/pits/dams (m): 0.5
Length of ditches/pits/dams (m): 80
Height of bunds/banks/others (m): 0.75
Width of bunds/banks/others (m): 0.75
Length of bunds/banks/others (m): 80

Slope (which determines the spacing indicated above): 20%

Lateral gradient along the structure: 0%

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated:
  • Currency used for cost calculation: Birr
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 8.6 Birr
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 0.80
Most important factors affecting the costs
slope of the land, foundation and dimension of the structure, soil depth and excavation of the ditches.
Establishment activities
  1. layout of raws (Timing/ frequency: rainy season)
  2. Preparation of grass split (Timing/ frequency: rainy season)
  3. Plantation (Timing/ frequency: rainy season)
  4. Site selection (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  5. Surveying (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  6. Layout of yhe structure (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  7. Excavation of the foundation (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  8. Digging the ditches (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  9. Construction of the stone wall (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
Establishment inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Birr) Total costs per input (Birr) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Labour ha 1.0 244.0 244.0
Equipment
Tools ha 1.0 1.5 1.5 100.0
Animal traction ha 1.0 25.0 25.0 100.0
Plant material
Seeds ha 1.0 12.0 12.0 100.0
Fertilizers and biocides
Fertilizer ha 1.0 40.0 40.0 100.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 322.5
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 37.5
Maintenance activities
  1. Weeding & cultivation (Timing/ frequency: None)
  2. Repair the broken parts (Timing/ frequency: annual)
Maintenance inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Birr) Total costs per input (Birr) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Labour ha 1.0 25.0 25.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 25.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 2.91

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
n.a.
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Is salinity a problem?
  • Yes
  • No

Occurrence of flooding
  • Yes
  • No
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
increased

fodder production
decreased
increased

fodder quality
decreased
increased

production area (new land under cultivation/ use)
decreased
increased


The land which is occupied by the structure

land management
hindered
simplified


in few cases the spacing is not suitable for oxen cultivation

workload
increased
decreased


in farming operation

Socio-cultural impacts
community institutions
weakened
strengthened

national institutions
weakened
strengthened

SLM/ land degradation knowledge
reduced
improved

Ecological impacts
surface runoff
increased
decreased

Quantity before SLM: 70
Quantity after SLM: 30

excess water drainage
reduced
improved

soil moisture
decreased
increased

soil cover
reduced
improved

soil loss
increased
decreased

Quantity before SLM: 4
Quantity after SLM: 3

Soil fertility
decreased
increased

Off-site impacts
reliable and stable stream flows in dry season (incl. low flows)
reduced
increased

downstream flooding (undesired)
increased
reduced

downstream siltation
increased
decreased

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Climate change

-

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Yes
  • No
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • Conserve the soil

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Continous maintenance and improving the heigh of the structure.
  • Forage production

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Introduce multipurpose plant/grass species
  • Improve soil moisture

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? maintain the channels
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • It conserves the soil

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Increasing the height and maintenance
  • Improves soil moisture

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Stablizing the bund
  • Suitable for grass planting

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Avoid free grazing
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • Suitable for rodent harbouring provision of rodent controlling mechanisms
  • Interference of running grasses in the cultivated land continous weeding
  • Obstacle for crossing yoked oxen
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome

References

Compiler
  • Unknown User
Editors
Reviewer
  • Fabian Ottiger
  • Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: June 2, 2011
Last update: Sept. 10, 2019
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International