by Adriano Biza
Through an invitation of Professor Leila Harris, on behalf of the International Waters Research and Training Network I had the opportunity of participating in a “Workshop on Water Equity and Resilience in Southern Africa”, which was held between 24th and 26th August 2016, at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies, Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Continue reading
by Jesper
After spending most of our last weekend inside or in close proximity of our residence we are receiving more and more comments from people urging us to explore more of Maputo and its surroundings. Of course we all agree, we are not visiting Mozambique to merely sit in a study room for two or three months. That is why this week we planned a visit to the agricultural zone of Maputo and the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Infulene. For the weekend we planned a travel to the nearby island of Inhaca, which is famous for its beautiful beaches and restaurants serving well-priced fresh lobster. Monday and Tuesday are regular days when we wake up around 7am after a rooster has been urging us to get up for some 2 hours. We visit the canteen for a bread to the side of either a cup of sweet tea or even sweeter milk. Followed by a cup of coffee sometimes accompanied with some shared pastry. Continue reading
by Iana
Good morning! Or “Lichile!” in Shangana, one of the local languages spoken in Mozambique. It has been three weeks in Maputo and, as time goes by, the taste of the unknown has become somehow familiar and enjoyable in our neighborhood. Simone, the Italian, early mornings, stops by the coffee place and updates us about the cultural activities in Maputo; José, the owner of the Café, Mozambican and son of Portuguese, talks about the most varied subjects, from pastry recipes to the Portuguese colonization. Fernando, who studies medicine and lives in the same building, is always around the residence, almost ubiquitously, unless at the end of the afternoon, when he goes to the mosque, because it is Ramadan. All the street vendors, who sell anything that you can imagine (expect for a laptop charger I really needed) are already part of our daily landscape. Greeting and recognizing people in public places are starting to be regular. Yes, we realize Maputo city is small and welcoming. Continue reading
by Nessia Fausta
1. The Candidates
I was a bit surprising when I realized that I have been in Maputo for a month. What have I obtained in a month? Have I met some ideas and willingness from other parties worth fighting for? For the whole first month I took my time investigating the construction companies; their locations, their monthly water consumption, their source of water and their future plans. At the end of my interviews, I always proposed to them for being our partners to build the pilot project of wastewater treatment plant for concrete production. Does it seem like I am searching for a spouse? It is analogically similar. I looked for their locations, asked them for a speed date, talked about their current conditions and finally showed them my intention by saying, “Will you ‘marry’ me?” Haha. Thus, perhaps it is the time for me to prepare the “lobolo”. Based on the information from my new friends here, lobolo is the term of traditional marriage proposal for the people in Southern Mozambique. In this event, the family of the groom should give some valuable gifts for the family of the bride. It usually includes a set of clothes, kapulanas (traditional cloth, usually used as a skirt or a headscarf), crops, cattle, some amount of money as a symbol of the gratitude for the bride’s parents for giving birth, educate and taking care of her, and some additional requirements which have been listed by the family of the bride. The event continues to a very big party, where people dance and celebrate the union of the couple. Continue reading
by Frank Huijgens
Boa tarde!
After the first guided tour around the campus in week 3 with Mr. Congolo, I started preparing drawings of the existing sewer network. But I quickly realized that this was a quite difficult job. Actually the only source available was the Master Plan for UEM campus made in 2004. During the first guided tour I saw a part of the network displayed in the Master Plan and after I went back on my own in week 4 with a pencil and paper I compared the sketches with the map – fortunately both were the same. But this network only covered around 50% of the buildings. I asked Mr. Congolo some questions during the guided tour around the campus and with his answers and assumptions I made a map of the sewer network of the other buildings. Continue reading
by André
After a long period we finally got some laboratory equipment in Maputo. Celma, Noor and all the BSc and MSc students involved in the project have now access to high-quality laboratory equipment for their work, including a spectrophotometer, several field probes and several other items. All the equipment was donated to Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and can be used for education and research purposes. If you wish more details about the equipment or wish to use it please don’t hesitate to contact us.
All the equipment in boxes last year in Delft.
The equipment in Maputo a coupled of weeks ago.
by Frank
Three weeks ago, on the 31th of January, I arrived at Maputo International Airport. From then on I would be here alone for the next 11 weeks, working on solutions for water reclamation at the campus of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM). Exciting! Continue reading
by André and Noor
On the last week of January 2016 André, Noor and Celma attended an NWO workshop in Ho Hi Minh City, Vietnam. The meeting brought together, for the first time, researchers and PhD candidates involved in the Urbanizing Deltas of the World-I (UDW-I) call, and created an open forum for discussion on the content and on research uptake and stakeholder engagement. Unfortunately not everybody could join, due to visa issues, and that was also the case of our colleague Joaquim. Continue reading
by André
I’ve just updated the publication list and the MSc thesis of Magdalena Bäuerl and the BSc theses of Jesse Salet and Hidde Schijfsma are now available.
By Jesse Salet and Hidde Schijfsma
In our last weeks in Maputo the focus of our work was on the developing and environmentally sustainable solution for the sewer produced within UEM Campus. Continue reading