Berkad
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Berkads were introduced to Somalia in the late 1950s.[1] Most are large rectangular, elongated basins with vertical walls and a capacity of several hundred cubic metres (similar to the size of a swimming pool), sometimes three to four metres deep. The walls and bottom are often covered in brick and/or coated with cement to reduce water loss due to infiltration to groundwater. At the top, they are open but often covered with canvas to reduce evaporation, or (in poorer villages) with nets on which is laid anything that provides shade (branches, straw, etc.).
Berkads fill naturally in the rainy season. They are placed in locations where small streams form during rain, which are then routed to the berkad with dug trenches. A berkad can sometimes be filled in a few hours. In villages with poor water availability, feed channels can be a few kilometres long, and take the form proper canals coated with cement and/or covered. Berkads are often clustered together.