Communities better prepared for the wet and dry in Oecusse, Timor-Leste

Above: Adriano Taec (left) leads a mapping activity in his community. Photo: Rosa Boquifai Perpetua/BANO

Through the AHP Disaster READY program, Caritas/CAN DO local NGO partner BANO has supported three parishes in Oecusse, Timor-Leste, to install water tanks and access training on community-based disaster risk management.

The Oecusse region, an enclave geographically separated from most of Timor-Leste by the ocean and Indonesia, experiences significant variations in rainfall between the wet and dry seasons. Climate change is increasing the challenges for community water supplies for agriculture and daily life.

Community-based disaster risk management processes, and the establishment of Suku (Village) Disaster Management Committees, empowers communities to identify the risks they face from disasters, and to take steps towards improving resilience.

Adriano Taec, village chief in in Usitaco, one of the participating communities, talks about the impact that the work has had on his village:

Above: A woman in Usitaco village using the new water access point. Photo: Rosa Boquifai Perpetua/BANO

“My name is Adriano Taec and I am 63 years old. My wife Lenci and I have four children. Three of my children have families of their own and only one is still at school. I am a farmer and together with my wife, we tend to our vegetable garden as well as raising livestock such as cattle and pigs. 

Part of my role as the elected village chief is to work with our community to be prepared and respond any disasters. During the dry season, our village faces shortages of water and in the wet season due to the heavy rains, we experience landslides, road damage and damage to our water sources.

In 2018 and then again 2019, our village faced big disasters. The heavy rains damaged the road and our children could not go to school. It also damaged our springs, forcing us to consume water that was not very clean.

In the dry season, the water levels in our villages get very low. We only have one spring to supply water for 56 households. We have to work together to create a schedule so that every household can get access to enough water for their daily needs.

About a year ago, local NGO BANO provided training to us on Community Based Disaster Risk Management and helped us do a risk assessment of our area and identify risks we would like to address. They also helped establish our own Suku Disaster Management Committee.

We then developed a community action plan and prioritised three actions we would undertake to reduce disaster risks in our area.

We decided on protection and conservation of our spring water sources, construction of gabion retaining walls to protect our roads from damage during the rainy season, and reforestation of areas that were prone to landslides.

The funds for these three projects was provided by BANO, while as a community we provided the labour to complete the projects.

After completing the three projects, we as a community felt proud and confident. We were able to not only protect our water source, but to pipe it 200 meters into our village, making access much easier for everyone in particular for the women and children who have the daily tasks of collecting water. Our roads are less prone to flooding and access to our village is better, and our children are able to go to school during the rainy season. The reforestation efforts will strengthen the areas that are prone to landslides.   

As a community member, I am very happy that BANO brought this project to our village. Our participation has enabled us to become better organised and stronger as a community and we feel safer, and better prepared for any future disaster.”

In Timor-Leste, the Disaster READY program, implemented through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, focuses on inclusive community-based disaster risk management to ensure that people with disabilities, women and children are involved in disaster planning and that their different needs are being met. Activities are designed to increase local resilience to hazard priorities in Timor-Leste, such as drought and floods, with particular focus on health and livelihoods.