Developments in the promotion of rainwater harvesting through the private sector in Uganda

This paper summarizes the lessons learned during almost two years of a commercial pilot project that is promoting an innovative flexible rainwater storage tank with a 1400-litre capacity in Uganda. It provides an update of project activities that were originally presented at the 35th WEDC Conference. The lessons learned cover product development, product promotion and marketing, as well as product performance. The product, a rainwater bag called bob®, was developed to provide a low cost easily transportable water storage container for household use; solving a problem facing many households around the world, the lack of an affordable large volume water storage vessel. Over 2500 bob®s have been sold in Uganda since March 2011 and more than 96% of the users in a recent survey said that they would recommend a rainwater bag to a friend. Low cost rainwater storage enables households to have the convenience of water right at their doorstep.