To save costs use as many available local materials as possible as shown below. Work in groups to share labour, as this is a labour intensive system. It takes approximately fours for ten people to construct a 10,000 litre tank.
====Materials required====
1 rammer locally made from dry wood, Ant-hill soil (termitaria), water, 5 x 1,5-2m long dry poles, Pick, shovel (depending on labour available), 10 farm/earth bricks, Tape measure or ruler, string 2m, knife/hacksaw/small axe, 50 wooden pegs, old Hessian or plastic bags. 25kg cement.
====Build the tank====
# Along any dug dead level contour (which is your collection area) choose where you can construct your storage tank. All soils that allow rapid percolation the closer should be the storage tanks. This is because your soil quickly loses water and that's where your plants are likely to show signs of moisture stress during the dry spell.
# Measure along the channel the length of the tank you want and mark using pegs. Dig the marked area up to a further depth of 500cm or more. The deeper it is the more water will be harvested.
# Mark with a shovel the root zone depth within your tank.
# Place termitaria-cement mixture at the base of the tank and sprinkle water to facilitate easy ramming.
# Using homemade rammer, start ramming up to a maximum depth of 2-5cm. Sprinkle whenever required.
# All the tanks must have a non-permeable layer therefore a thicker layer may be required to avoid seepage and deep percolation.
# Mix termitaria with water to make mortar and plaster up to the marked root zone level of your deep-rooted crops.
[[File:TankLiningOptions.jpg]]
====Maintenance====