When water brought a village back together

A project in Romania gets a boost from the EU Staff Fund for a Fair and Sustainable Future

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

Location: Daia, central Romania, a village of around 250 residents

Challenge: Severe drought, disappearing streams, and unreliable water access

Funding: EU Staff Fund for Fair and Sustainable Future grant of €10,000

Key action and impact: Community-led construction of 10 small weirs to slow and retain water in the landscape, while rebuilding local knowledge on water resilience, collective action and community trust

Supported by: The European Commission’s Communities for Climate (C4C) pilot programme and the EU Staff Fund for a Fair and Sustainable Future

Daia is a small village in central Romania, home to around 250 people. It lies in a valley, surrounded by hills that once held water, grass, and life with ease. The village is more than 700 years old, and its historic church still stands as a witness of better times. Most families depend on agriculture with many running small, semi-subsistent farms.

Some years ago, rainfall became unpredictable, and streams that once flowed became seasonal or dried up completely. The village had no access to a regional water network, and the effects of water scarcity were impossible to ignore. During long summer droughts, animals grazing on the communal pastures went without water for weeks. Farmers had to transport water in tanks from 10 to 15 kilometres away just to keep their livestock alive. At home, the situation was no better. Water stopped flowing regularly through the village pipes, and for half of the households it stopped altogether.

Local leaders tried to respond. The common land management organisation led by both Sándor Nagy, and the mayor Sándor György, had introduced quick solutions, under pressure and with limited options. However, these quick fixes did not solve the water issues and in some cases, they made them worse. What was missing was not commitment, but knowledge of working solutions and a different way of seeing water.

The mayor, Sándor György, understood early on that water scarcity was not a temporary issue. Years before any project existed, he had asked the Local Action Group Association, the Homoród-Küküllő LAG, to treat water as a development priority for the region. Yet, communities had not applied for projects, not because the problem was small, but because people did not know what solutions were possible. Nature-based approaches, once common in the past, had been forgotten. Industrial fixes using concrete had become the “official” way, and everything else felt risky or unrealistic.

A way forward

In mid-2023, a seed was planted when Szilvia Bencze, a water retention advocate, came back to the region with a new perspective. After learning about nature-based water retention projects in a neighbouring county, Szilvia invited a water expert to Daia. Together, they walked the land, followed the streams, slopes and soils. They saw that the land could hold water again, if only it were allowed to slow down.

Then, in early 2024, the European Commission’s Communities for Climate (C4C) pilot programme appeared at the right moment. The Homoród-Küküllő LAG stepped in as the project promoter to both support Daia and build capacity for the wider region. The first goal was learning about the landscape, building local knowledge and fostering community trust about the types of solutions that could be implemented. Following initial scepticism among farmers, understanding of nature-based solutions grew with field visits and farmer meetings. With this extra support, knowledge sharing with neighbouring countries allowed farmers, mayors, water officials, and advisors to shift conversations from “Does this work?” to “Where can we start?”.

Additionally, the EU Staff Fund for a Fair and Sustainable Future enabled the community to move from planning to action with a grant of €10,000. There was a clear shift in Daia as many from the community showed up to initiatives with their own tools and food to share. Everyone was prepared to work side by side. For many, it was the first time in decades they had taken part in a true collective action.

A ripple effect

Slowly, with simple materials and collective efforts, 10 small weirs were built. Over time several of these weirs have started holding water. Significant hydrological change will take time, but the social impact is already visible. Water has become a shared topic of conversation again. Locals speak differently about their land, and the story has travelled beyond Daia, where they now believe change is possible.

Today, Daia is still facing uncertainty. But the village has rediscovered its capacity to act together. Water resilience has become a path toward rebuilding trust, confidence, and community life. In Daia, restoring water itself also has healed relationships – with nature, and between people.