Kikondo, UG – 4E Design and CQI help Wamukisa continue on their path to financial self-reliance – 21 Jul 2017

Wamukisa is applying principles of 4E Design and Continuous Quality Improvement to make their commercial vegetable and banana gardens more effective. As the gardens become more effective, Wamukisa moves closer to their goal of financial self-reliance. The gardens are also opening up markets for local families growing vegetables.

On 21 July 2017 Wamukisa finished the first phase of the irrigation system for their commercial vegetable and banana gardens. The phase distributes water from a 10,000 liter tank at Wamukisa’s farm to 4 standpipes in between the gardens.

4E Design

4E Design means implementing infrastructure that is easy, enjoyable, efficient, and effective for the user. Before they had the irrigation system Wamukisa employees would carry water in buckets from the 10,000 liter tank to their vegetable gardens. The new system improves the 4E Design in the following ways:

• Easy – It is easier to turn the tap on the standpipe than to carry a 20 liter bucket full of water.
• Enjoyable – The tap and hose infrastructure is less tiring to use than buckets.
• Efficient – The piping system results in less energy expended, less spillage, and less time spent watering.
• Effective – Wamukisa employees are now able to focus more on ensuring each bed receives the proper amount of water for optimal growth.

Continuous Quality Improvement

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) is the process of identifying root causes of success and challenges in order to make small improvements over time to achieve lowest total cost of ownership. As soon as Wamukisa finished Phase 1 of their irrigation system they began to identify opportunities for CQI. Two CQI ideas stand out as priorities for Wamukisa:

• Find a hose head that can easily adjust water pressure
• Construct a hose stand so that a user could set the hose on the stand to water a bed while they did other work like weeding or replanting.