Terra Firma Rainwater Collective

Complete installation of 73 rainwater catchment systems in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Terra Firma is working to harness the tremendous amount of water that falls on the roof of each home during the monsoon season. Rainwater pours off of corrugated metal roofs and floods the streets, devastating communities with destructive flooding and massive gully erosion. Corrugated metal roofing is ubiquitous in Central Africa, and typical construction practices do not leave a roof edge that readily accepts a rain gutter. In the US, rain gutters are a standard feature of household construction and something that we take for granted. Terra Firma has developed an inexpensive, thermoplastic roof-to-gutter clip that we believe shines a light on the possibilities sur- rounding water storage at homes, schools, churches and community buildings. When a roof gutter is paired with an inexpensive and simple ferrocement water storage tank, communities take control over their water future by having a source of water for domestic use or small-scale agriculture. The goal of our work is to empower urban communities with the vision and tools to take advantage of the opportunities that easily accessible water provides, while transforming a rooftop from a liability to an asset.