Appraisal of the requirements for establishing domestic roof rainwater harvesting schemes in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries, and additionally suffers frequent natural and humanitarian disasters, such as loss of shelter following cyclones, flooding and arsenic poisoning of well water supplies. One possible solution is the regionally sustainable production of durable building materials, which would resist the actions of flooding and provide a roof surface suitable for the harvesting of rainfall, to provide a source of clean drinking water. Current vernacular shelters have however evolved to suit the social needs of the indigenous people and the materials used in their construction are mostly harvested locally. This paper evaluates the requirements for successful harvesting of rainwater and how such requirements might be sustainably achieved in the context of rural and peri-urban Bangladesh. © 2008 PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD.