Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983091 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Executive Summary
Introduction The overall objective of the consultancy was to establish baseline data on the
Livelihood Intervention areas of Water Supply and Sanitation Renewable Energy Supply
and Aquaculture in Nyando River Basin The baseline study focused on the 3 livelihood
intervention components (water and sanitation renewable energy supply and aquaculture)
within Nyando River Basin Basin ie Lower Nyando (Awach and Kabodho East sub-
locations) and Middle Nyando (Koru and Nyando sub-locations) The study team utilized a
comprehensive participatory evaluation approach This was a cross-sectional survey
conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely Koru sub location and
Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach sub location
Results and Discussions In all the study areas the major significant livelihood activities or
a group of activities in the study area is mainly farming lower Nyando (main source of
income is farming at 64 ) is predominated by subsistence farming with maize and
sorghum dominating crop production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which
include cattle goats and chicken While in Middle Nyando (farming as main source of
income is at 317) with the average monthly income being less than Ksh 7000 per month
(528) The average household size in both lower and middle Nyando is 6 people with the
highest recorded household size being 20 people in lower Nyando
Water Resources Supply Availability Access and Usage the main water sources is dry
season is riversstreams (middle Nyando 426 lower Nyando 53) this is also the case in
the wet season (middle Nyando 492 Lower Nyando 541) The average distance to
water source in both the study areas is less than a kilometre and it takes on average less than
an hour for residents in both areas to access water for household use Majority of the
households in middle Nyando (421) use between 80-100 litres of water per day while inLower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water per
day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic use
In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe to drink
729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower Nyando
84 of household perceive their water to be god to taste 48 to be safe to drink and 77 to
be clearnot turbid
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983093 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
farming is inadequate access water supply for fish ponds flooding limited extension
services and low levels of technological awareness
Conclusions and Recommendations Future intervention measures in this area of Water
and Sanitation should focus on promotion of well constructed VIP latrines and Hygiene
practices to reduce the incidences of water borne diseases and also improve access to
protected water sources Interventions on renewable energy should focus on technology
transfer especially of low cost technologies such as solar lanterns Biogas production can
also be promoted through training of artisans in that field Farmers should also be
encouraged to plant woodlots in their farms to supplement their source of wood fuel and
also ensure soil conservation On aquaculture there is need to focus on changing the
perception of people on fish farming to encourage more farmers to adopt fish farming inlight of the dwindling stocks in lake Victoria Interventions should focus on availing
technical support to farmers engaged in fish farming as well as investment in value addition
processes
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
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983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
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Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
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353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983091 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Executive Summary
Introduction The overall objective of the consultancy was to establish baseline data on the
Livelihood Intervention areas of Water Supply and Sanitation Renewable Energy Supply
and Aquaculture in Nyando River Basin The baseline study focused on the 3 livelihood
intervention components (water and sanitation renewable energy supply and aquaculture)
within Nyando River Basin Basin ie Lower Nyando (Awach and Kabodho East sub-
locations) and Middle Nyando (Koru and Nyando sub-locations) The study team utilized a
comprehensive participatory evaluation approach This was a cross-sectional survey
conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely Koru sub location and
Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach sub location
Results and Discussions In all the study areas the major significant livelihood activities or
a group of activities in the study area is mainly farming lower Nyando (main source of
income is farming at 64 ) is predominated by subsistence farming with maize and
sorghum dominating crop production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which
include cattle goats and chicken While in Middle Nyando (farming as main source of
income is at 317) with the average monthly income being less than Ksh 7000 per month
(528) The average household size in both lower and middle Nyando is 6 people with the
highest recorded household size being 20 people in lower Nyando
Water Resources Supply Availability Access and Usage the main water sources is dry
season is riversstreams (middle Nyando 426 lower Nyando 53) this is also the case in
the wet season (middle Nyando 492 Lower Nyando 541) The average distance to
water source in both the study areas is less than a kilometre and it takes on average less than
an hour for residents in both areas to access water for household use Majority of the
households in middle Nyando (421) use between 80-100 litres of water per day while inLower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water per
day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic use
In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe to drink
729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower Nyando
84 of household perceive their water to be god to taste 48 to be safe to drink and 77 to
be clearnot turbid
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983093 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
farming is inadequate access water supply for fish ponds flooding limited extension
services and low levels of technological awareness
Conclusions and Recommendations Future intervention measures in this area of Water
and Sanitation should focus on promotion of well constructed VIP latrines and Hygiene
practices to reduce the incidences of water borne diseases and also improve access to
protected water sources Interventions on renewable energy should focus on technology
transfer especially of low cost technologies such as solar lanterns Biogas production can
also be promoted through training of artisans in that field Farmers should also be
encouraged to plant woodlots in their farms to supplement their source of wood fuel and
also ensure soil conservation On aquaculture there is need to focus on changing the
perception of people on fish farming to encourage more farmers to adopt fish farming inlight of the dwindling stocks in lake Victoria Interventions should focus on availing
technical support to farmers engaged in fish farming as well as investment in value addition
processes
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983091 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Executive Summary
Introduction The overall objective of the consultancy was to establish baseline data on the
Livelihood Intervention areas of Water Supply and Sanitation Renewable Energy Supply
and Aquaculture in Nyando River Basin The baseline study focused on the 3 livelihood
intervention components (water and sanitation renewable energy supply and aquaculture)
within Nyando River Basin Basin ie Lower Nyando (Awach and Kabodho East sub-
locations) and Middle Nyando (Koru and Nyando sub-locations) The study team utilized a
comprehensive participatory evaluation approach This was a cross-sectional survey
conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely Koru sub location and
Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach sub location
Results and Discussions In all the study areas the major significant livelihood activities or
a group of activities in the study area is mainly farming lower Nyando (main source of
income is farming at 64 ) is predominated by subsistence farming with maize and
sorghum dominating crop production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which
include cattle goats and chicken While in Middle Nyando (farming as main source of
income is at 317) with the average monthly income being less than Ksh 7000 per month
(528) The average household size in both lower and middle Nyando is 6 people with the
highest recorded household size being 20 people in lower Nyando
Water Resources Supply Availability Access and Usage the main water sources is dry
season is riversstreams (middle Nyando 426 lower Nyando 53) this is also the case in
the wet season (middle Nyando 492 Lower Nyando 541) The average distance to
water source in both the study areas is less than a kilometre and it takes on average less than
an hour for residents in both areas to access water for household use Majority of the
households in middle Nyando (421) use between 80-100 litres of water per day while inLower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water per
day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic use
In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe to drink
729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower Nyando
84 of household perceive their water to be god to taste 48 to be safe to drink and 77 to
be clearnot turbid
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983093 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
farming is inadequate access water supply for fish ponds flooding limited extension
services and low levels of technological awareness
Conclusions and Recommendations Future intervention measures in this area of Water
and Sanitation should focus on promotion of well constructed VIP latrines and Hygiene
practices to reduce the incidences of water borne diseases and also improve access to
protected water sources Interventions on renewable energy should focus on technology
transfer especially of low cost technologies such as solar lanterns Biogas production can
also be promoted through training of artisans in that field Farmers should also be
encouraged to plant woodlots in their farms to supplement their source of wood fuel and
also ensure soil conservation On aquaculture there is need to focus on changing the
perception of people on fish farming to encourage more farmers to adopt fish farming inlight of the dwindling stocks in lake Victoria Interventions should focus on availing
technical support to farmers engaged in fish farming as well as investment in value addition
processes
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983093 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
farming is inadequate access water supply for fish ponds flooding limited extension
services and low levels of technological awareness
Conclusions and Recommendations Future intervention measures in this area of Water
and Sanitation should focus on promotion of well constructed VIP latrines and Hygiene
practices to reduce the incidences of water borne diseases and also improve access to
protected water sources Interventions on renewable energy should focus on technology
transfer especially of low cost technologies such as solar lanterns Biogas production can
also be promoted through training of artisans in that field Farmers should also be
encouraged to plant woodlots in their farms to supplement their source of wood fuel and
also ensure soil conservation On aquaculture there is need to focus on changing the
perception of people on fish farming to encourage more farmers to adopt fish farming inlight of the dwindling stocks in lake Victoria Interventions should focus on availing
technical support to farmers engaged in fish farming as well as investment in value addition
processes
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983093 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
farming is inadequate access water supply for fish ponds flooding limited extension
services and low levels of technological awareness
Conclusions and Recommendations Future intervention measures in this area of Water
and Sanitation should focus on promotion of well constructed VIP latrines and Hygiene
practices to reduce the incidences of water borne diseases and also improve access to
protected water sources Interventions on renewable energy should focus on technology
transfer especially of low cost technologies such as solar lanterns Biogas production can
also be promoted through training of artisans in that field Farmers should also be
encouraged to plant woodlots in their farms to supplement their source of wood fuel and
also ensure soil conservation On aquaculture there is need to focus on changing the
perception of people on fish farming to encourage more farmers to adopt fish farming inlight of the dwindling stocks in lake Victoria Interventions should focus on availing
technical support to farmers engaged in fish farming as well as investment in value addition
processes
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983096 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter 1
1 Background
11 About SusWatch II
The East Africa Sustainability Watch (EA SusWatch) Network is a network of NGOs from
Kenya Uganda and Tanzania spearheaded by Uganda Coalition for Sustainable
Development (UCSD) Sustainable Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch
Kenya) and Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) EA SusWatch
Regional Secretariat is hosted by UCSD in Kampala Uganda
The EA Suswatch Network is currently implementing LVEMP II Civil Society (CS) Watch
project which is a three-year initiative to be implemented from November 2011 to October
2014 with support from the Government of Sweden LVEMP II CS watch project is being
implemented in partnership between Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development
(UCSD) Tanzania Coalition for Sustainable Development (TCSD) and Sustainable
Environmental Development Watch Network (SusWatch Kenya)
12 Brief Introduction of LVEMP II
Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project Phase Two (LVEMP II) is an 8 years (2009- 2017) regional project implemented in the 5 East Africa Community partner states of the
Republics of Kenya Burundi Rwanda Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania
Kenya is currently implementing the 1st phase of LVEMP II Adjustable Program Lending
(APL 1) APL 1 will be implemented in Nyando River Basin and along the lake shore in the
former Nyanza Western and Rift Valley provinces
The project contributes to broad-based poverty alleviation and improvement of livelihoods
of people by supporting sustainable management of shared natural resources of the Lake
Victoria Basin which many communities depend on To achieve this the project supports
among other interventions (a) Institutional capacity building and harmonization of policy
legislations and regulatory frameworks (b) Community-Driven Development (CDD)
subprojects investments in participatory watershed management and (c) point sources
pollution control and prevention
APL 1 through the CDD sub-projects component intends to support community-driven
investments in rehabilitating the Nyando River catchment area and lake shore districts The
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
component has a Natural resource Conservation component and a Livelihood improvement
component
The natural resource conservation component focuses on soil and water conservation
rainwater harvesting and growing of greenery treescrops The livelihood Improvementcomponent will focus on reducing harvesting pressure on fisheries and wetlands resources
and intensifying natural resource use to increase adoption of sustainable land management
practices The interventions will largely be household-based and are aimed at intensifying
natural resources use and reducing harvesting pressure on the fisheries and wetlands
resources
13
LVEMP II Interventions in the Project Area
LVEMP II has been engaged in various livelihood intervention programmes in the larger
Nyando district (currently Muhoroni Nyando and Nyakach districts) LVEMP II is currently
undertaking four existing projects in Kabodho location and Upper North Kabodho sub-
location in Nyakach district The four projects deal with intervention in areas of
1 Natural resource conservation
2 Roof catchment activities
3
Livestock improvement and
4 Nursery establishment
However LVEMP II programme is still underway to enhance the 4 project areas but
including components of water and sanitation as well as aquaculture development with
greater emphasis in Nyando District Currently the project is at the proposal receiving stage
from various community groups The proposals are submitted to the district project
coordinating team in charge of such projects Their offices are located at the respective
district headquarters The district project coordinating team are mandated to vet the
proposals provide technical backstopping and forward refined proposals to the national
offices and thereafter monitor the implementation of projects So far no projects on
renewable energy and aquaculture have been funded by LVEMP II in the study areas
14 About the study area
The Nyando River basin covers an area of 3517 km2 of Western Kenya The river basin
drains into the Winam Gulf in Lake Victoria The main river Nyando rises from the western
Mau hills and traverses a distance of approximately 170Km Its drainage basin consists of
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983088 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
five main sub-catchment areas namely Nyando-Nandi Nyando-Kericho Awach-Kano
Nyaidho-Kano and Nyando-Kano The Nyando and its tributaries supply water both for
domestic and livestock use and for irrigation in the sugar belt (Nyando Atlas) The
population in the Nyando basin is approximately 1100000 people (KNBS 2009)
141 Lower Nyando
The Lower Nyando block is located in the lake plain (Kano Plains) of Lake Victoria The
block is characterized by low productivity erratic rainfall and severe erosion Within the
block are two divisions Upper and Lower Nyando and 16 sub-locations The specific areas
of studies are Kabodho East sub location of Pap Onditi Location Nyando District Kabodho
East sub location has a total population of 6009 comprising of 2916 males and 3093females (KNBS 2009) Awach sub location lies in NE Nyakach location of Nyando district
Awach sub location has a total population of 2495 comprising of 1277 males and 2763
females (KNBS 2009)
142 Middle Nyando
The Middle Nyando block lies in Kericho and Nyando Districts both in Muhoroni division
Within the block are ten sub- locations The block is characterized by sugar cane production
on larger farms located on the plains and gentle slopes and subsisting farming or the steeper
slopes and hill tops
Figure 1map of lower Nyando
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
CHAPTER TWO
2 Methodology
21 Timeframe
The evaluation took place on the month of July 2012 August 2012 The field work was done
in the month of July and covered both Lower Nyando and Middle Nyando
22 The Baseline survey process
The data collection was a participatory process that involved the external consultant
(Emerald Environmental Consultancy Firm) Suswach II officials and the community
members from the study locations Also involved in the process was the district fisheries
officer from Nyando the District development office Lake Basin development AuthorityLake Victoria South Water Services Board and community groups involved in
environmental and livelihoods project It also involved review and analysis of literature
project implementation documents and baseline survey reports The supervisors and
enumerators went through a rigorous training which involved an understanding of the
project reviewing and refining all data collection instruments
23 Study design
The evaluation team used a comprehensive mixed-methods evaluation design This was a
cross-sectional survey conducted in 4 Sub locations distributed over middle Nyando namely
Koru sub location and Nyando sub location and Lower Nyando Kabodho East and Awach
sub locations
An interviewer administered questionnaire was designed and used to conduct a total of 230
interviews In addition semi-structured Interviews including Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were done with beneficiaries
and other stakeholders respectively Field visits were done at key projects sites to make
observations on the projects visible outputs
24 Data collection tools
Overall the following data collection tools were developed
bull Household Survey Questionnaire ndash to facilitate Quantitative data collection
bull
Key Informant Interviews guidelines ndash A semi-structured interview guide was
developed to facilitate interviews with key stakeholders such as government officials
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983089983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Chapter Three
3 Study Findings
31 General conditions in the study areas
In all the study areas the most identifiable significant livelihood activities or groups of
activities found within the study area is mainly farming in lower Nyando the predominant
livelihood source is subsistence farming with maize and sorghum dominating crop
production Majority of the homesteads also keep livestock which include cattle goats and
chicken
In middle Nyando the predominant livelihood source is also farming The agricultural
activities in this block are mainly small scale sugar cane and maize production The area is inthe western Kenya sugar belt and has a sugar company and the factories nuclear large scale
sugar plantations which might account for the high number of salaried employment
Majority over 50 of the households have farm sizes of 4 acres or less Only 25 of the
farms have farm sizes larger than 10 acres
32 Socio Demographic Characteristics of the Study Respondents
Average household size in both middle and lower Nyando is 6 people with the maximum
recorded household size being 14 people in middle Nyando and 20 people in lower Nyando
In lower Nyando the majority of the households interviewed were headed by females
(52) About 53 of the household heads had primary level of education while 28 had
attained secondary level of education with 7 having university level of education
In Middle Nyando majority of the households are male headed (61) About 39 of the
household heads had primary level of education while 34 had attained secondary level of
education with only 49 having university level of education
Table 2 Summary of Household Socio-demographic Characteristics
Middle Nyando N=123 Lower Nyando N=100
No No
Household head Male 75 61 48 480
Female 48 39 52 520
Marital Status Married 86 699 74 740
Widowed 28 228 15 150
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
In lower Nyando area 19 of households surveyed had water within their compounds
while 69 walked less than a kilometre to access water for domestic use It takes less than anhour for households to collect water for domestic use (91) while the rest spend between
an hour and two
333 Quantity of Water Used Per household per day
Majority of the households in
middle Nyando (421) use
between 80-100 litres of water
per day while 355 use
between 20-60 litres per day and
14 of the surveyed households
reported to be using over 100
litres of water per day
In Lower Nyando 40 of the households surveyed used between 20 and 60 litres of water
per day with an equivalent number using between 80 and 100 litres of water for domestic
use 18 of the residents used over 100 litres of water per day for domestic use
Considering the average household sizes in the study areas (6 people in middle Nyando
and 7 in lower Nyando) this translates to a per capita water consumption of 17 litres per
person per day which is still below the recommended 20 litres per capita by WHO
754 of respondents in middle Nyando and 495 in lower Nyando use water for other
purposes other than household use Water is also used for irrigating crops (935 middle
Nyando 596 lower Nyando) and for animal use
334 Water Safety ndash quality and use of safe water drinking products
The general perception on water safety was assessed in terms of safety to drink clarity taste
and odour In middle Nyando 54 of household interviewed perceive their water to be safe
to drink 729 good to taste and 608 perceive the water to be clearnot turbid In lower
Figure 3 Quantity of Water Used per Household per Day
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983092 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
Not provided by land lord 08 30
Others 0 10
Where people relieve themselves
(those without latrines)
Frequency
Middle Nyando Lower Nyando
Bush Outside 4 364 7 538
Neighborrsquos Latrine 7 636 5 385
Ensuring adequate sanitation facilities is a Millennium Development Goal that Kenya shares
with other countries A household is classified as having an improved toilet if the toilet is
used only by members of one household (ie it is not shared) and if the facility used by the
household separates the waste from human contact (WHOUNICEF Joint MonitoringProgramme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2004) According to KDH report 20082009 the
national figures show that less 60 of households uses an improved toilet facility that is not
shared with other households Urban households are only slightly more likely than rural
households to have an improved toilet facility (30 and 20 respectively) Overall 12 of
households have no toilet facility at all they are almost exclusively rural accounting for 16
of rural households
35 ENERGY SOURCE AND USE
351 House hold Energy Needs
Energy demand patterns of the study areas largely revolve around household energy end
uses such as cooking and lighting Respondents ranked cooking lighting and heating as the
three most important energy needs
352
Main House Hold Sources of Energy
The main sources of energy at household levels are wood paraffin and charcoal The table
below lists the age of farmers using the various fuel sources listed in the questionnaire
The study established that the most preferred source of household cooking energy among
the respondents is mainly firewood (at 100 in lower Nyando and 99 in middle Nyando)
This indicates overreliance on biomass and an indicator of a real challenge of forest and
vegetation degradation
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Recent National studies also Estimates of household energy use indicate that over 95 of
Kenyan population rely on wood or charcoal for energy needs Traditionally these energy
resources have been ldquofreerdquo goods however the Kenyan wood fuel supply has been rapidlydepleted by deforestation an activity also closely associated with land clearing for
agriculture and global warming via reduction of biomass to sequestrate CO 2
Consequently an energy policy that is designed to meet the needs of the majority of the
population must devote considerable attention to mainstreaming a sustainable yield of
biomass as well efficient energy technology to maximise on the biomass energy sources
The main source of energy for lighting in the area is kerosene (884 in middle Nyando and
838 in lower Nyando 66 of households surveyed in Middle Nyando and 20 in lower
Nyando use solar energy for lighting Hydro electric usage for lighting was recorded in 33
of households in middle Nyando and 141 in lower Nyando Biomass energy which
includes firewood charcoal and livestock waste burnt directly accounts for 100 of cooking
energy source in middle Nyando and 99 in lower Nyando Other renewable energy such
as biogas is not common in the area with only less than 1 of households in Nyando
utilising biogas
From the focused group discussions Initial capital cost was established as the utmost
challenge for household access to alterative and sustainable energy sources like biogas or
grid power It was further established among the biomass users 80 2 settled for firewood
as the main source of energy because of affordability lack of capacity to include other
alternatives and convenience
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983094 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
353 Availability of energy
Qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews corroborated
the finding that most households in the two study areas are energy stressed and that the
majority still used wood fuel and charcoal as the main source of energy The distancetravelled and time used to collect fuel wood has been increasing due to the declining tree
cover In parts of KORU people are cutting down trees to sell to Homaline Company as an
additional source of income A different study carried out by ICRAF in the lower and
middle Nyando areas in 2009 showed that More than 90 of the households are not self
sufficient with fuel
354 Potential for renewable energy uses
During the field studies it was observed that almost all households kept livestock A similar
study undertaken by ICRAF also showed that all households in the area keep livestock
This shows that there is a potential for use of biogas as source energy for cooking and even
lighting This would in turn reduce the existing pressure on wood products which are the
main source of energy for cooking in the area
In some farms people had also adopted tree planting especially in middle Nyando area to
supplement their energy sources This shows that agro-forestry practices at farm level can
play a key role in meeting the growing energy demand in the area with multiple benefits
such as additional income sources and soil conservation
355 Reasons of preference of energy sources for cooking and lighting
The study established that the main reason for choosing energy source either for cooking or
lighting is mainly based on availability (cooking 728 and lighting 732) This indicates that
probably the households will go for the most cost effective and readily available source of
energy
Table 12 Renewable Energy Use
Middle Nyando N=40 Lower Nyando N=19
No No
Type of Renewable
energy
Solar energy for lighting 16 400 4 211
Solar cookers 4 100 1 53
Do not know 19 475 10 526
Other 1 25 2 105
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
Baseline Report Water and Sanitation Renewable Energy and Aquaculture (lower and Middle Nyando)
983090983097 983164 983120 983137 983143 983141
The major challenge facing fish farming in the area was availability of water as most of the
river sources being perennial rivers
During the FGD and KII the reasons given for low adoption of aquaculture were listed as
Negative attitude towards fish farming as people believe that fish is found in the lake Over
reliance on lake fish Perception that fish from fish pond is not sweet perceptions on
palatability Security issues as fish are stolen from the ponds thus discouraging potential
farmers cases of pond poisoning has thus discouraging farmers High cost of start-up and
high cost of inputs Water scarcity caused by limited permanent water sources Low levels of
awareness on fish farming Poor pond management skills and High hydraulic conductivity
of soils thus low water retention capabilities Flooding was also reported to be a big
challenge in the lower Nyando area as flood waters wash away the fish ponds during rainseasons Proximity to the lake was also a major deterrence to fish farming as the people close
to the lake thought it was easier to fish in the lake
However it also emerged during this discussions that farmers who were successful in the
fish farming business were expanding and increasing the number of their ponds The
success stories of such farmers have also encouraged other people with favourable land
conditions to adopt aquaculture
This shows that with availability of water sources the potential for aquaculture is very huge
especially in lower Nyando
4 Conclusions and Recommendations
This baseline report presents the results of the data collected from the combination of field
and household surveys in two project areas as well as through review of various literatures
on interventions carried out in the area Interpretation and management recommendations
are based solely on the data
Several Livelihood intervention measures focusing on Water and sanitation aquaculture
and soil and water conservation have been put in place by different actors (both state and
non state) to try and improve the living standards of people in lower and middle Nyando
The most observable intervention measures recorded during the survey was Promotion of
Rain water harvesting at household level promotion of tree farming investment in water
storage through construction of water pans and also fish farming
8102019 Final Livelihood Baseline Study for River Nyando 8 2012
