United Nations Global Innovation Challenge Recipient
Transforming Rainwater into Opportunity
We work at the intersection of natural forces and human ingenuity to enhance communities, reduce flooding, and address water scarcity in Central Africa, while promoting economic empowerment and climate resilience
At Terra Firma Rainwater Collective, we create and sustain lasting change by facilitating rainwater collection, capturing fresh water to bring social and economic benefits to millions, while significantly reducing urban flooding and ravine formation that swallow neighborhoods at alarming rates.
We employ decades of expertise in water management to develop solutions to the twin challenges of rapid urbanization and adequate water supply in Central Africa, while advancing financial opportunity for communities and building resiliency in a changing climate.
NEWS: We’ve reached 100 collection systems in Kinshasa!
Millions Living on the Edge
Each year, mass erosion and flooding in the heart of Central Africa destroy countless homes and cost billions in damage. Cities like Kinshasa and Brazzaville are experiencing explosive urban development yet lack stormwater infrastructure. Every time it rains, water floods the streets and alleys further eroding the land that over 17 million people call home.
Instead of residents making trips to community wells for water, what if there was a way to capture that rainwater and put it to good use? The convenience of domestic water changes lives, but capturing rainwater has the added benefit of reducing flooding and catastrophic erosion.
When a community gets access to clean water, the opportunities are endless for a better future
Rainwater in these densely developed areas rapidly becomes flood water on a one way trip to the Congo River. Terra Firma designs and builds simple, cost-effective systems to collect and store rainwater to provide fresh water to homes. Community-oriented solutions creating access to domestic water drives social and economic change that changes lives.
Be a Part of the Solution
Each roof is an opportunity to turn rainwater into hope for millions of families. From personal use to backyard agriculture and other entrepreneurial ideas, fresh water provides a foundation of choice for families in an age of climate uncertainty.
Big Challenges,
Bigger Opportunity
The opportunity to transform a destructive force into a beneficial one with a cost-effective solution is rare. Our designs are scalable from neighborhoods to cities with millions of residents, and from retrofits to new home construction.
With the population of Africa expected to double by 2050, primarily in larger cities, now is the time to address climate challenges while providing families with access to the lifeblood for success: fresh water.