Akraman is located within the Akuapim South Municipality and has a population of about 1,500 people, including many Papaya farmers who feed i to the Blue Skies supply chain. The community has never had potable water except for a stream which was used by both young and old as their only source of water. The unplanned expansion of communities has rendered this stream unsuitable for use as it has become polluted and gradually dried out. This has become a major concern of farmers and their families. School children will have to travel long distances to get water before coming back to dress for school.
This challenge has posed both health and social issues in the community. Two years ago, the community was a casualty to an outbreak of cholera and over 15 people were admitted to hospital. Fortunately no lives were lost but the challenge of water persisted. This situation also affected farm activities since families had to leave work early to come and get water for cooking.
This project therefore involved drilling a borehole and installing a submersible pump and filters, and creating a platform to carry five 2,000 litre water tanks to store water for the community. Since the project was completed in June 2014, the entire community have been able to access water from the borehole 24 hours a day.
