Barrages built by local men and women protect communities living in high-risk flood areas.

USAID

Under the Feed the Future West/ Watershed Initiative for National Natural Environmental Resources (WINNER) program, USAID helps local communities construct barrages to slow down floodwaters and protect those who live in high-risk flood areas.

USAID’s Global Water Coordinator Christian Holmes was able to see these barrages up close during his recent visit to Haiti.

Men and women from local communities construct the barrages by filling wire cages, or “gabions,” with rocks. The barrages help protect the communities living downstream in high-risk flood areas by slowing erosion of stream banks. When the area behind the barrage fills up with sediment, rocks, and gravel, the community clears it out and sells the material for construction.