Latest news

Providing water for all, to a growing population in developing countries; EMAS and SMART Centres are joining forces

 The only way to provide water for all, to a growing population in developing countries, is to capacitate the same people to solve that problem. EMAS and SMART Centres have been training and guiding small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries for many years. Trained entrepreneurs now supply affordable water technologies to communities and households in over 20 countries serving more than 2 million people.

EMAS and SMARTechnologies are complimentary and the organisations share the same philosophy towards sustainable development. Our mutual goal is to establish supply chains of Market-based, Affordable and Replicable technologies that are also fit for households (Self-supply). By joining forces SMART Centres and EMAS will increase the number of small water enterprises, make them more robust and offer a larger variety of technologies and services to their customers.

We believe that investing in capacity building creates the conditions for sustainable rural water supply.

 Interested ? Then contact us at:

info@smartcentregroup.com or info@emas-international.de

More info:

www.smartcentregroup.com or www.emas-international.de
www.youtube.com/jacanahelp or www.youtube.com/user/EMASbolivia

Reinier VeldmanProviding water for all, to a growing population in developing countries; EMAS and SMART Centres are joining forces
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SMART Centres at Wilde Ganzen / Partin day

Wilde Ganzen and Partin recently organised a day for their members. Walter Mgina and Henk Gijsselhart represented the SMART Centre Foundation and Reinier represented the SMART Centre Group. It was a fruitful day with new contacts and valuable insights.
Wilde Ganzen currently supports two projects with the SMART Centres in Zambia and Malawi, for which it tops up funds raised through Rotary clubs.

The SMART Centre booth at the Wilde Ganzen / Partin day
Reinier VeldmanSMART Centres at Wilde Ganzen / Partin day
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SMART Centres presenting at OU WaTER and UNC Water and Health Conference

The SMART Centres will be represented by Henk Holtslag on two upcoming conferences in the US in September and October. Both conferences have sessions on Self-supply and how Self-supply helps to reach the SDGs.

The Oklahoma University WaTER conference takes place on September 16th.
The UNC Water and Health conference take place on October 11.

Reinier VeldmanSMART Centres presenting at OU WaTER and UNC Water and Health Conference
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New SMART Centre in South Sudan welcomed by Ministry

Director General Peter Mahal Dhieu Akat (left) at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in South Sudan announced the establishment of a Smart Centre in his country. He expects that the centre will bring his country more practical skills for drilling bore holes for ground water and placing hand pumps. According to Mr Akat, South Sudan lacks a facility for such vocational training of water technicians. Henk Holtslag (right) of the Smart Centre Group expects the new training facility to become operational later this year. It will be the fifth Eastern African country to have a facility to train water technicians in drilling wells, and in manufacturing and selling hand and rope pumps. The Smart Centres also train entrepreneurs to sell these affordable and repairable water supply products in rural areas. By building a local supply chain that includes skills and maintenance, Holtslag experienced that this approach is the best guarantee to avoid wells to dry up and pumps to be left unused when broken down.


Henk Holtslag demonstrating the Rope pump to Director General Peter Mahal Dhieu Akat of the Ministry of Water Resources of South Sudan

The full news item can be accessed through the website www.dutchwatersector.com.

Reinier VeldmanNew SMART Centre in South Sudan welcomed by Ministry
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SMART Centres and Marshall Plan

At the 2019 Stockholm World Water Week, where SMART Centres had a booth and several presentations, an initiative started called “Marshall plan for water for Africa”, including the need for vocational training as done by the Centres. For more info, see the press release.

This proposal may fit into the German proposal a Marshall plan with Africa which was published last year (Denkschrift Afrika).

We hope the initiative will give a boost to the much needed capacity building of WASH practitioners such as the companies the SMART Centres are working with.

H.E Dr Negash Wagesho, State Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy from Ethiopia, together with Jeroom Remmers from ngo Simavi, Dutch CSO focal point within Sanitation and Water for All,, to celebrate the launch of the proposal for a Marshall Plan Water for Africa at the World Water Week, Stockholm, 29th August 2019.
Henk Holtslag showcasing the Rope pump and the Faith and Water program of the SMART Centre in Malawi. Photo: Johannes Frandsen/WCC
Reinier VeldmanSMART Centres and Marshall Plan
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SMART Centres at Stockholm Water Week

August 2019

At this conference the SMART Centres will have a booth D 11 and will present at several sessions including a session in Water entrepreneurs Sunday afternoon (25 Aug) and a session in Sanitation entrepreneurs on Wednesday (28 Aug) and activities of SMART Centre Malawi for Faith & Water on Thursday (29 Aug). For more information, see also the program.

Henk HoltslagSMART Centres at Stockholm Water Week
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Training in smart irrigation. Kenya

July 2019

The Dutch development organisation SNV leads the “Smart Water for Agriculture” project in Kenya with the aim to increase water productivity for 20.000 farmers. Actions include training of extention workers in innovative technologies via Agriculture Training Centres. In this context advisor Henk Holtslag gave a short training in July at the Kaguru ATC. Topics included, Mzuzu well drilling. Rope pumps, Artificial groundwater tube recharge, Solar pumps and Household water filters. In the picture trainees test the Mzuzu drill technology.

Trainees testing the Mzuzu Drill technology at Kaguru ATC
Henk HoltslagTraining in smart irrigation. Kenya
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Innovations at SMART Symposium

February 2019
Some 24 people from 6 countries participated in the SMART symposium of November 2018 in Mzuzu, Malawi.

A large number of innovative, low-cost WASH technologies and approaches were demonstrated and several participants said: “this is a real eye opener !”.

Presentations included:

  • The Jacana method from Zambia by SMART Centre Zambia
  • Smart water solutions for agriculture, by SNV in Kenya.
  • Faith & Water and Well clubs, by SMART Centre Malawi
  • “Uility approach” with water filters, Ethiopia
  • Self-supply experiences by Sally Sutton.

A report and pictures of the Symposium can be accessed here.

All presentations can be downloaded from the website www.smartcentremalawi.com  or send a mail to   info@smartcentregroup.com

Henk HoltslagInnovations at SMART Symposium
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