Farmers and residents of Amarika village in Otamanzi constituency, Omusati Region, still depend on hand-dug wells that have saline water.

The traditional water sources in the area,  villagers say, do not produce sufficient water for both humans and livestock.

The situation forces farmers, especially, to wake up early to secure water for their animals as latecomers suffer the consequences of not getting water for their livestock. 

Villagers are now calling on the government to extend piped water to Amarika for safe clean drinking water.

Some years back a solar-powered desalination plant, funded through a German non-governmental organisation Cuvewaters, was set up at Amarika and Akutsima but it is no longer functional.

The plant used to produce 3.3 cubic metres of water per day.