Brava: Upland breeders adopt fog water capture techniques to minimize drought effects

A group of cattle breeders from the highlands, on Brava Island, have adopted a technique of capturing water from the fog, with which they store water to minimize the effects of drought on animal husbandry.

Inforpress talked to this group, made up of seven creators, who, using some tarps and plastic drums, strategically placed under the trees, in the vicinity of the town of Fontaínhas, manage to capture about 600 liters of water per day, in certain times of the year, but at this time when the weather is warmer, collection is around 200 to 300 liters a day.

Henrique Gamboa, spokesman for the group, said that the technique is simple and they have been using it for over a year.
According to the same source, the technique involves placing plastic tarps under some trees, those that favor the wind and that the fog reaches more and at the end they make a path that the water will run off until it falls into the drums placed on a bottom, prepared by the livestock farmers themselves.

With this technique, Henrique Gamboa stressed that all breeders in this area are able to give water to all their animals, without the drought hitting them with a water crisis, not least because, he said, the animals are left to graze freely.

The advantage, he explained, lies in the fact that the animals find food there and even though these locations are far from towns with water, they manage to water the cattle without any problem.

Asked if they face any difficulties or if they have any support from any institution, this creator stressed that they have not had any support, but as for the difficulties, he listed the theft of materials by malefactors who visit the locality, and which often cause various damages. .

In this sense, it calls for greater awareness on the part of the Brave community, remembering that the island itself has problems with the amount of water available for human consumption, let alone for animals.

From there, he showed that it is necessary for everyone to contribute to this process that also serves the whole of society, since, he underlined, animals and their derivatives are consumed by the population of Brave and for them the breeders are the only source of sustenance.