About our team

Annemieke Beekmans has a background in social cultural science. From 1996 to 2008 she worked in Latin America and Africa, advising NGOs and the public and private sector on poverty reduction through sustainable investment and sourcing. In 2009, Annemieke joined Aidenvironment to work on sustainable value chain development, agro-commodities and corporate social responsibility related assignments. In April 2015, Annemieke Beekmans is appointed as Director and Executive Board member of Aidenvironment and RAIN.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

‘Few things motivate me more than to be able to help people solve the puzzle of rainwater in their direct environment. To me, the essence of this puzzle is the compensation of overabundance of water in one season and the shortage in the next. And while this is a fact of life for many people in the world, it mostly affects those who live at subsistence level. Rain is more than water, more than a resource, more than a basic need: it is the stuff that makes and breaks landscapes and people. I feel privileged to work with RAIN on rain.’

• Currently finishing a PhD on the history of water development technology and community development in the Kitui district of Kenya;
• Studied cultural anthropology and development sociology;
• Lectured on development anthropology, nature management, political ecology, and gender at several Dutch universities;
• Holds a college diploma in civil engineering and forestry with a specialization in nature management.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Niels Lenderink is a hydro geologist who started as a teacher of geography and science in the Dutch secondary educational system. He worked in Asia and Africa for the French NGO Action Contre la Faim and the Dutch NGO WASTE, as project manager, adviser and trainer in WASH. For Aidenvironment, he now manages the WASH Alliance International Programme internally at RAIN, and is programme officer for Mali and Ethiopia.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

‘Spending months in a dry land area during one of my consultancy assignments was a first-hand encounter with the challenges communities face with regard to water availability, access and quality. Having to share a watering point with cattle because other water sources had dried due to drought -as is always the case- yet rains had flooded most of the valleys in the area during the wet season led me to better understand how inadequately rain has been utilized in the region. That provoked me to seek to participate in initiatives aimed at harnessing rain for livelihood improvement. An opportunity to join RAIN as a Project Officer through the YEP Water Programme was more than I could ask for!’

• A MSc Forestry graduate;
• More than 5 years experience working as a freelance consultant in natural resource management and renewable energy of biomass origin;
• Worked on a number of research projects on biodiversity, natural resource management, community-natural resource interactions, and REDD+ and PES.

Uganda

I am a RAIN associate Program Officer in a project called Igunga Eco-village in Tabora, Tanzania and at the same time I am a Young Expert in Water sector, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Netherlands Water Partnership and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. I am a representative of 3R consortium formed by MetaMeta, RAIN, Aqua for all and Acacia water. As a ground person I am acting at the centre of communication and implementation of 3R interventions (i.e. well drilling, Rainwater Harvesting Technologies, ground water recharge and WASH activities) in the project areas, ensuring that all are well implemented as planned. Among others my activities are mapping and documenting all existing water resources, irrigation and piped water systems in Igunga ecovillage. Other activities: conducting water, sanitation, hygiene and baseline surveys. Logistical support to SHIPO in implementation of 3R intervention and WASH.

• Bachelor of Science in Irrigation and water resources engineering from Sokoine University of Agriculture;
• Trainings: GIS change detection trainings, Flood based farming system training, Young Expert training in the Netherlands;
• worked in various projects on remote sensing technologies and ILSSI (Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation), LIFELAND Project (Laying the Foundations for Effective Landscape-Level Planning for Sustainable Development in the Southern corridor of Tanzania, SAGCOT corridor), Geo-wiki land cover classification project using a simple GIS classification tool.

Tanzania

Yvon Meltzer has a background in Social Cultural Anthropology and International Business Management. Her studies focused on social issues relating to sustainable development, such as human security. For her Master’s thesis, Yvon conducted field research in Colombia and explored the influence of collective action and formalization in the national recycling sector. Her diverse postgraduate activities enabled her to consolidate her practical experience and broaden her knowledge of social, environmental and economic sustainability issues.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Orlando Mejía has a background in agronomy, agricultural economics and GIS. Since 1996, he worked in Honduras and Nicaragua on the monitoring and evaluation of economic development programs, integrated watershed management projects, agricultural research and impact assessments.  In 2015, Orlando joined Aidenvironment as RAIN representative in Honduras to implement M&E and KM systems for the SDC Community Watershed Management in Goascoran River.

Honduras

“Everywhere where it rains, we can create water points.”

Abdourahmane Ousmane, Secrétaire Exécutif at Association VDS Burkina Faso.

Alex Oduor is an Engineer by profession with an MSc. Degree in Water and Environmental Resources Management and 25 years experience in Agricultural Engineering. Mr Oduor has considerable experience in Water, Environment and Agricultural Engineering Research and Extension, with special bias to Soil and Water Engineering. His skills are more pronounced on: Research & design of Soil & Water Environmental Engineering infrastructure; Technological development for Rainwater Harvesting; Soil Erosion & Environmental Conservation and Documentation on Land Management.

Alex Oduor Programme Officer – Water Management at World Agroforestry Centre Kenya.

LinkedIn
Email
Video

“Mali’s development depends on the access to water of the urban and rural population on a permanent basis. The Rain for Food programme provides specific knowledge and specific solutions on how to achieve this”.

Banzoumana Coulibaly is a Young Expert and working as technical advisor for Rainwater Harvesting Capacity Centre / Helvetas, Mali.

“Water is the source of life and our most precious resource. With its proper management and application through innovative models and technologies, we will create prosperity and a better quality of life for our future generations”.

Carlos is the Country Director of iDE (International Development Enterprise) in Honduras. While iDE focuses on creating income and livelihood opportunities for poor rural households, Carlos has integrated rainwater harvesting into the country office’s day-to-day work. He supports the idea that only with reliable water supply (via rain retention), water can be effectively used (with drip irrigation) to increase household level food, water supply and income (through surplus production).
As a Rain4Food ambassador, Carlos focuses on a variety of activities to scale up this cycle of water and food security – as every drop counts:

• Piloting: currently iDE is constructing a Pilot rainwater harvesting tank of 24m3 capacity in the southern, very dry and rural area of Honduras. The tank will be connected to a drip irrigation and pumping system for agricultural use. To maximize the chance of structurally scaling up, the project is supported and accompanied by the Ministry of Agriculture, large international donor programs and RAIN from the beginning.
• Lobby & advocacy: in front of donor/government agencies, to include the integrated approach.
• Fund raising: participate in calls for proposals, for increased RWH use for crop production, climate change adaptation, resilience building, etc.

LinkedIn
Email

“I am strongly convinced that rainwater harvesting is the best way to adapt to climate change and guarantee water and food security in the Andean countries”.

Edwin Rodriguez Valle is Programme Officer at the Andean Network for Rainwater Harvesting, CBC in Peru.

Edwin is setting up and strengthening regional multistakeholder rainwater harvesting networks in the Andean region, including Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. These networks range from implementing NGOs to policy defining institutions. His main goal is to set an enabling institutional and policy environment for rainwater harvesting in the Andean region. Main tasks include:

• Linking and learning; build the internal structure of a regional rainwater harvesting ‘hub’, by exploring connecting and strengthening existing networks/actors.
• Lobby and advocacy.
• Knowledge management and exchange on a global basis.

All of the above to strengthen a regional and trans-regional rainwater harvesting movement.

Linkedin
Email
Video

As a rural water engineer Han Heijnen has been active in several countries in South Asia and Africa.Rainwater harvesting and conservation has become a field in which Han has been able to support important developments in countries. Currently Han is supporting practice through a Nepal based NGO, and policy and promotion as a board member of IRHA in Geneva, and Vice-President for external relations of IRCSA.

Han Heijnen, Senior Vice-President at H&E Associates Nepal

Linkedin
Email
Video

“Complex problems require complex solutions. RWH through permacultural design and combined with Soil Restoration and Education is the road to sustainable food security.”

Alexander lives in Sri Lanka and strongly supports the concept that:

Contourline Swales combined with the Restoration of Soil Biology is the most efficient way of rural RWH.

Together, these two low-cost-low-tech measurements:

• are applicable on any scale;
• maximize RWH and -storage;
• minimize leaching, evaporation and erosion;
• recharge groundwater;
• restore soil-fertility;
• eliminate the necessity for chemicals;
• and, over time, lead to year-round sustainable food- and crop production.

Alexander currently teaches the system to small-holders and plans to extend it to workshops for villages and larger farming communities.

Linkedin

“I believed that rainwater harvesting is the technique that properly deals with existing integrated/desegregated issues or problem i.e. water security, climate change adaptation, food security and gender issues (women drudgery) in Nepal.”

Saroj Yakami is a Young Expert  and Programme Officer at MetaMeta in Nepal.

Saroj actively supports the role and update of rainwater for crop production in Nepal during his work at MetaMeta.

For the Rain4Food programme, he contributes with:

• writing blogs about relevant field experience, related to gender issues related to climate change adaptation;
• presentations at universities about the potential and efforts made so far of rainwater harvesting and water buffering. Pointing out opportunities to academia, professionals, users and government bodies;
• articles and publications in local or national newspapers about the environment, rainwater harvesting, food security and water buffer management;
• talk programmes on radio or national television on rainwater harvesting, climate change and 3R measures.

Linkedin
Email
Video

When we started the www.rainwaterclub.org in circa 1991 we were sure that rainwater would be a huge part of the solution to the water crisis. We have learnt and seen it providing solutions for supplemental water , for safe water in areas of water quality problems, for agriculture as a supplement and the traditional history of water harvesting in india is seeing a renaissance in many modern avatars. Happy to be a part of the global knowledge network to share and learn from all over on rainwater for food.

Vishwanath S. is Advisor at Biome Environmental Trust Banglore in India

Vishwanath lives in India and actively supports the promotion of rainwater harvesting in general. For the Rain for Food programme, he contributes to:

• Promotion and lobbying: to integrate RWH into national water agendas.
• Promote RWH pilots and innovation projects.
• Knowledge Management: identify, create, promote and disperse valuable information and innovations in the sphere of RWH initiatives.
• Personal positioning: create a strong personal exposure and branding, as stepping stone towards creating intended global RWH movement.

Linkedin
Email