In the small suburb of Johannesburg North lives a man who is passionate about water. Alosha Lynov is currently recycling 200 litres daily at his three bedroom home. Diverting bathroom pipes to a mini-wetland he makes smelly grey water hygienic enough for watering his one hundred square metre vegetable garden.  

South Africa has been in hot water lately as the worst drought since 1992 struck the country. Reservoirs have been close on empty, certain retail stores ran out of bottled water last week and students writing exams have been crying for hydration. Joburg's mayor, Parks Tau, has asked residents to cut back on water consumption by recycling.  

“Recycling water is not difficult,” says Lynov. “I started six years ago by bucketing out our bath water onto flower and trees. When my back had enough of this, I created my first mini-wetland using specific water plants, such as bullrushes and lilies, to clean the grey water before spraying our vegetables.”  

One of the tricks to maximising water retention in your garden is mulch. All of Lynov's garden beds are covered with a thin layer of glass clippings, leaves or bark. Without this, you will triple your water usage, says Lynov.  

Known as the water wizard, Lynov has learnt wetland construction at the Okavanga Delta, Africa's largest wetland, under the guidance of John Todd, ecological design expert. He studied indoor wetland creation from Mike Reynolds at Earthships in New Mexico. Last year he received certification for permaculture design from globally acclaimed permaculture teacher Geoff Lawton. Over the past six years, this water wizard has constructed seven wetlands of various sizes across South Africa.  

By day, Lynov designs stretch décor products for his business 3D Deco.  

Lynov has a free eco and water-wise email newsletter. If you would like to receive step-by-step instructions and video tutorials on how to recycle water, you can join this online community at www.alosha.co