MVUA
Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the African Development Bank or any other KRA partner
Volume 27 December 2015
A Bi-annual newsletter published by the GHARP/KRA Secretariat through a project funded by the
African Water Facility of the African Development Bank (AfDB/AWF)
Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Development
Editorial
Editorial Team
Stephen Ngigi
Edith Mutui
Florence Ngeno
Joseph Mwaura
Contributors
GHARP/KRA Secretariat
Joel Mutiso, NDMA, Narok County
Kisoboka Trust
Design and Layout
John Ngari, Lee Pages Enterprises
Ongata Rongai
Cover Photo
KRA smallholder farmers‟ package
(from tomato production to market)
Publishers / Printers
Inspire Printers and Stationers
All photos are KRA unless
otherwise stated
Tuvune Mvua Tupate Ustawi “Rainwater Harvesting for Development”
elcome to the 27th edition of the bi-annual
MVUA newsletter, the past six months have been
exciting for KRA. This newsletter has covered all
the activities we have been undertaking to promote rain water
harvesting. Every drop of water counts in Kenya, with the
ongoing el-nino rains, it is prudent to harvest and share
adequate water for productive use especially in the arid and the
semi-arid areas. Rainwater harvesting leads to transformed
livelihoods instead of it going into waste. KRA urges all the
partners and stakeholders to invest more on Rainwater
Harvesting and Management (RHM) and complementary
technologies in order to improve water supply, food &
nutrition security, sanitation & hygiene, environmental
conservation, agro-entrepreneurship, climate change adaptation
and sustainable livelihoods of vulnerable communities in the
drylands.
This Mvua edition brings you the updates on our projects,
success stories, best practices, lessons learnt and the challenges
learnt during the implementation. We are happily reporting on
our just concluded AfDB/AWF project which was targeting
three Counties located in the arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya;
Baringo, Laikipia and Kiambu. After three years of
implementation, the project has been able to achieve its main
aim which was “scaling up sustainable rainwater harvesting
and management solutions in order to mitigate challenges
posed by climate change and recurring drought.” We believe
that the targeted communities have experienced the maximum
benefits associated with this project and they have been
economically empowered. This project also upgraded the
WASH facilities of nine primary schools and trained pupils as
“Change Agents” for improving sanitation and hygiene at
household level. the target schools have reported increased
enrollment, improved performance and high pupils esteem due
to more time available for learning, reduced water-borne
disease, and improved nutrition. KRA is delighted to be part of
this transformation.
For more information on our work, products and partnership
kindly contact us on: [email protected] or visit
our website: www.kenyarainwater.org; Tweet us on
@GHARP_rainwater; or interact with us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/GHAR.water
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
IN THIS ISSUE:
KRA project updates AfDB/AWF Project
Water for life
County Partnerships
Kisoboka Trust
KCDF
Day for Girls
Farmers Corner The Makueni Story
Secretariat News Regional Workshop
KRA strategic plan 2016-2020
KRA internship Experience
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
1
OUR CURRENT PROJECTS UPDATES
African Development Bank/African Water Facility (AfDB/AWF) Project
By KRA - AfDB/AWF Project Team, KRA Secretariat
Background: For last 3 years,
Kenya Rainwater Association
(KRA) has been implementing a
community-based project titled
“Scaling up of integrated
ra inwater harves t ing &
management and complimentary
livelihood systems in semi-arid
Counties of Kenya.” funded by
the African Water Facility
(AWF) of the African
Development Bank (AfDB). The
project goal was to contribute to
the mainstreaming of rainwater
harvesting and management
(RHM) in the Integrated Water
Resources Management (IWRM)
implementation in response to
rural development challenges
posed by climate change in
drought prone regions of Kenya.
The purpose of the project was
to promote scaling up of
integrated RHM systems and
complementary technologies in
three semi-arid Counties of
Kenya, share experiences among
stakeholders, and review current
policies and strategies, with the
aim of influencing government
and development partners‟
policy towards adoption of
innovative and sustainable
drylands development. The
project has been able to
influence policy through
evaluation of past projects in a
number of semi-arid Counties,
and demonstration of the impacts
of integrating RHM with
complementary l ivelihood
systems. The project outputs
included: RHM infrastructure
development, complementary
technologies for improving
l i v e l i h o o d a n d i n c o m e
generation, knowledge sharing
and policy advocacy – enhanced
a w a r e n e s s o f t a r g e t
communities, government and
development agencies/partners,
and project management,
monitoring, evaluation and
reporting.
Target Groups: The project
targeted two pastoral communi-
ties in semi-arid Baringo
County, and two agro-pastoral
(smallholder farmers) in the
semi-arid Kiambu West sub-
County and Laikipia East
sub-County. The main project
components are: 2 water pans/
earth-dams including auxiliary
structures (water regulation
systems and sanitary facilities)
i n B a r i n g o C o u n t y ; 9
roof catchment system masonry
tanks (75m3) for rainwater
storage in 9 schools in 3
Counties (Baringo, Kiambu and
Laikipia); 9 improved sanitary
facilities (different VIP latrine
blocks for boys and girls) in 9
schools in 3 Counties (Baringo,
Kiambu and Laikipia); 160
household farm ponds (50m3)
lined with ultra-violet resistant
plastic, roofed with simple
metallic structure and shade-net,
and fitted with simple hand-
pumps constructed in 2
agro-pastoral Counties (Kiambu
and Laikipia) targeting small-
holder farmers for horticultural
production under drip irrigation;
and 9 school farm ponds (72m3)
to demonstrate RHM system and
complementary technologies for
vegetable production under drip
irrigation in schools (1 per
school).
Project outcomes: The
main project outcomes are:
10,000 - 15,000 pastoral and
agro-pastoral community
members in 3 ASAL Counties
have increased and sustainable
water supply available for
domestic, livestock and
agricultural uses;
Improved food security and
enhanced income for pastoral
& agro-pastoral communities
in the 3 Counties;
Strengthened capacity of
50,000 community members to
cope with droughts, water
s ca rc i ty and degraded
environments;
Project sites
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 2
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
n Baringo County, the
project targeted two
pastoral communities;
Kaptai and Cheptolil in Marigat
and Mogotio sub-Counties
respectively. In addition, the
project incorporated the school-
based improved WASH and Nu-
trition interventions at Barsemoi
and Kaplelwa Primary Schools,
i.e. rainwater storage tanks, VIP
latrines and vegetable gardens.
Kaptai Community: Kaptai
Self-Help Group (KSHG) a
community Based Organization
(CBO) is located in Kabusa sub
location of Ewalel Soi location
in Marigat Division Marigat
sub-County. The community has
a population of 619 distributions
of which 308 are male and 311
are females. The area is usually
very dry for most part of the year
and receives erratic and below
average rainfall, which often
result into heavy run-off which
is not harvested and stored for
productive use.
The community depend on
seasonal Endao River and
scattered water pans for both
domestic and livestock
extending over 10-20 km..
Though the river water is clean,
it is not reliable, for it lasts for
only three months after the long
rain. During the Participatory
Rural Appraisal (PRA)
facilitated by Department of
Water, the community identified
and prioritized water as the
major constraints to sustainable
livelihood systems.
To address the water challenges,
the project constructed the
Kaptai water pan, whose
implemented started in mid-2013
with topographical survey con-
ducted by the County‟s Depart-
ment of Water.
The project was successfully
implemented in collaboration
with Baringo County Water
Department and the target
community. The community
contributed in cash and in kind.
The implementation of the
project was aimed at improving
the livelihoods of the members
through promotion and adoption
of appropriate interventions for
addressing the community needs
on improving food security and
overall livelihoods –
socio-economic development.
Besides water and food security,
the project will also mitigate
environmental degradation and
enhance the capacity of the
community to sustainably and
productively manage their
natural resources and to cope
with the effects of climate change
and variability.
The project also incorporated sup-
plementary livelihood systems
such as improved bee keeping,
drip irrigation for vegetable pro-
duction, fodder production and
preservation, and establishment of
tree seedling nursery to enhance
environmental conservation and
reduce land degradation.
Improved water resources
management, environmental
conservation in the 3 Counties.
Improved sanitation and
hygiene for 4000 pupils and
150 teachers in the 3 Counties.
Enhanced collaboration, net-
working and partnership on
promotion of RHM various
among stakeholders.
Enhanced institutional capaci-
ty of GHARP/KRA and 4
target CBOs.
Enhanced awareness creation
among ASAL communities,
school children, teachers,
parents, development partners
and policy makers on the
potential of RHM systems and
complementary technologies
in improving water supply,
food security, climate adapta-
tion and rural livelihoods.
Project Interventions and Impacts in Baringo County
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
3
Supplementary livelihood systems: establishment of tree nursery, small-scale vegetable production and improved bee keeping
Mrs. Alice Kagogo, chairlady Kaptai self-help group had this to say “KRA has brought a lot of changes to us, we
are pastoralists by nature, farming to us and settling to cultivate has never been a way of life, we were used to
moving from one place to another in search of pasture and water for our animals, but now we are settled at our
homes, farming and doing other house hold chores, our children are fully in school because right now there’s no
excuse for going to look for water. It is a good thing to be sure that our children will be professionals because they
now have education, I mean they have started well they can only finish well. To us the use of drip kits is a new
technology, but we have embraced it and have seen the benefits, not just as a group, because the group members are
taking up drip irrigation at home and farming in their own gardens. We have owned this project, we have a kitty to
help us do minor repairs within the project. This project was also of great help to the other community members
because we have the school component, very beneficial to our children, the education the seminars and educational
things being taught to our children benefits the whole community in general. Around this project you will find VIP
latrines for our use, so this is now a place to call home, we can now settle and do much more with our time.”
C h e p t o l i l C o m m u n i t y :
Cheptolil Self-Help Group,
which has about 100 households,
is a located in semi-arid Emining
Division and Kaplelwo Location
in Mogotio sub-County about 10
km from Marigat town.
The main sources of water for
the community during the rainy
season are seasonal streams and
water pans whose water quality
varies with seasons. The most
reported water borne diseases are
Typhoid (16%), Diarrhea (40%)
and Amoeba (8%).
To address water scarcity and
related water borne diseases, the
Cheptolil water pan project was
started at the 2014. It has been
successfully completed, and
taken over by the community.
Besides the water pan, other
related auxiliary structures such
as livestock trough, community
water point and improved
sanitary facilities - gender
segregated bathrooms and VIP
latrines. The construction of
sanitary facilities around the
water pan has greatly improved
the hygiene and water quality.
The water is now serving the
community members and their
livestock. The community is also
settling around the water pan and
tracking long distances in search
of water has reduced. Thus the
community can now concentrate
on other activities apart from
looking for water and pasture for
their animals. The health
especially for children has also
improved due to good quality
water and improved nutrition.
Cheptolil water pan showing the cattle trough and community water point
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 4
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
The project chairman Mr. Francis Kangugo Says, “the number of animals lost during the dry seasons
has significantly reduced because now our animals don’t have to travel for long distances in search of
pasture, we would go for long distances and loose the animals to harsh conditions, and wild animals,
imagine walking for 10-15 kilometers just in search of water? And at times 20 kilometers when the
season is totally dry.
The area chief Mr. Julius Baskwony said, “we have had a total lifestyle transformation in our area,
water is life and I have proved this ever since KRA started this water project, this area is characterized
by lack of food, water, job opportunities, lack of pasture, infrastructure and diseases, the most
disturbing was the loss of children at child birth and also during early stages, now the rates have
started reducing due to the fact that our mothers don’t have to walk long distances in search of water
and carry water jericans for long distances while some of them are heavy with child. We have also
elected a committee to be in charge of the project and to take care of maintenance and operation of the
project. We are in the process of planting seedlings for sale and also for us to plant around, we believe
in conserving our environment right now for the benefit of all of us. We have surplus of animals because
the death rate has reduced in the area. KRA was of great help to us and we can’t wait to do more
projects together in future.”
During one of the visits at Cheptolil water pan on a routine monitoring visit, Jane Kimeto a mother of
seven, is already awaiting for her turn to fetch the once rare commodity in her area; water. “It is still
unbelievable that several years ago my whole day would be spent on the road in search of water but
today I can access clean water in less than 30 minutes. In the past when we used to go to Molok river to
collect water. I would leave home at 4 a.m. when everybody was asleep and queue for over 6 hours.
That has changed after this water pan was dug. We no longer go for long because water is readily
available. Our livestock drink from the pan and we have plenty of water for brick making, construc-
tion of houses, domestic use and vegetable farming at our households. We can fetch as much water as
one wants at this water point. In the past during the dry season when water would be scarce, we could
only fetch one jerrican for cooking and drinking without considering our personal hygiene which was
mostly affected. I thank God since he has answered our prayers. Our children will have better lives
and their future will be brighter thanks to this water. I hope even other generations will take good care
of it to since it is a gift from God”
Today, Jane and others walk less than 30 minutes to the water point, community members no longer rise
early to fetch water since the water is available throughout the day. Concentration has shifted to other
development activities since potable water is now accessible.
This project component entailed
(i) the WASH interventions
(construction of 75m3 rainwater
storage masonry tanks and
installation of gutters, and
improved gender-segregated VIP
latrines for girls, boys and teach-
ers); and (ii) construction of
farm ponds, and establishment of
school vegetables gardens at
both Barsemoi and Kaplelwo
primary schools.
The establishment of vegetable
gardens included installation of
230-litres mini-tank low-head
drip irrigation systems.
Kaplelwo Primary School: The
school is about 15 km from
Marigat town. The school had
total population of 132 (61 boys
and 56 girls) and 4 male
teachers and 8 female teachers
before the project. The school
had a 5m3 plastic tank that was
used to store water harvested
Improved Schools’ WASH and Nutrition Component
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 5
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
from roof catchment and piped
water system from nearby
borehole which is not always
reliable. The girls had a two door
toilets which were almost filled
up, in poor state and looked
unstable. The boys‟ toilet has
been condemned due to the risk
of collapsing and they were
forced to share the same toilet
with the teachers.
According to the head teacher,
the pupils used to trek 6 km in
search of water, from the rivers
where the animals also used to
drink, the water was not fit for
consumption but they still used
to take it for lack of an
alternative.
However, with the project
intervention, the school
benefited with construction of a
75m3 masonry water tank. Due
to the school feeding
programme, water from the tank
is used for cooking, washing of
their hands after visiting the
latrines among the other uses.
On sanitation, the school
benefited with the construction
of gender-segregated VIP latrine
blocks for girls, boys and
teachers - 6 unit block, 4 units
block with a urinal and 2 units
respectively. The additional VIP
latrine blocks made the school
meet the Ministry of Education
regulation on pupils : latrine
ratio.
The project also built a farm
pond and established a school
vegetable garden to be used as a
demonstration center for the
community and also to provide
vegetables for the school
learning feeding programme.
A complete water tank with pupils using hand washing, and farm pond for irrigating the vegetable garden
Comparison between sanitation facilities before and after project intervention
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 6
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Barsemoi Primary School:
Barsemoi Primary school was
started in the year 1970 with the
enrolment of 25 pupils. It‟s
located in Ewalel – Soi Location,
Marigat District in Baringo
County. The school is about 30
km, North West from Marigat
town. Currently the school has a
population of 183 pupils of
which 98 are girls and 95 are
boys.
Water has been the major
problem in the school. Pupils
have been forced to walk long
distance in search of water for
drinking, school feeding
program and other school use.
This has affected the school
performance since so much
school time is wasted while
looking for water. Before KRA
the school had a 5m3 plastic tank
that was used to store water
harvested from roof catchment
and piped water system which
was not reliable.
According to the class
attendance , it was observed that
50% of absenteeism of pupils
was attributed to illness due to
poor hygiene conditions in
school, it was also noted that
40% of the girl child pupils in
upper classes recorded the
highest absenteeism due to
sanitary hygiene challenges. The
school before KRA faced water
and sanitation challenges
according to its head teacher Mr.
Daniel Kedagor, Head teacher
Barsemoi primary school,
Mr. Joseph Baskwony Kaplelwo primary school “the water tank has transformed the situation in the
school, we are now reporting less cases of water borne diseases, before the water tank some students
would avoid coming to school so that they are not sent for long distances to go and get water, right now
they enjoy coming to school and participating in various activities, when it comes to the latrine
situations, we are excited to report of a healthier school, the latrines are more than enough for our
school. Earlier, the pre-unit pupils were much challenged, they didn’t even know how to use the
latrines, and it was hard for us to train them, the pit latrines were limited, now we have trained them on
how to use the latrines. Cases of school absenteeism due to water related illnesses, have gone down, the
pupils have also been taught on washing their hands after using the latrines. Due to the community dam
around the school, the parents are also allowing the students to be in school a lot more than earlier. We
have just done our K.C.P.E exams and we can only hope that our mean grade will be more than it was
last year. The farm pond technology to us was a new thing all together, we have embraced it, the
community around us has also shown interest in learning what this is all about and they are embracing
it and learning how to do small scale farming. To us this was a life changing experience and we are
only looking forward to doing so much more. Thank you KRA and AfDB for changing our way of life.”
The school vegetable garden having green grams watered by the farm pond
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 7
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
“We had 2 door toilets for the girls and 2 door toilets for the boys, in
2012, the boys pit latrine collapsed, the boys had to share toilets with
the teachers, the discomfort that caused in the school is hard to imag-
ine. Therefore, this forced some of the pupils to use the nearby bushes
to help themselves, the stench from the bushes was un-imaginable. We
used to use water from the rivers, the time wasted by pupils going to
fetch water in the morning is unimaginable. We had never heard of the
farm pond technology in the school. The community around here does
not do much farming, we concentrate more on our animals. With the
coming of KRA, the situation has changed, the water tank helps us a
lot, and we are able to have water around for kitchen uses, washing of
classrooms and for use after the pupils visit the latrines. The latrines
are more than enough for they are gender segregated and we are able to have a conducive environment
in the school, we have also trained the pupils on how to clean the pit latrines and to maintain them so as
to ensure proper maintenance. The kitchen and vegetable garden is used by agriculture teachers to train
and teach about farming. It is a new technology to us and we are embracing vegetable farming for the
use in the supplementation of our diets. We have also established tree gardens around the farm pond,
we hope to plant trees around the school compound so as to change our environment. A journey starts
with a single step and we hope this will be a journey to completely transform the school and the commu-
nity around us. Our school has a good image in the community around us, we have parents bringing
children to school so that they can also use the new facilities. We thank KRA and the donor AfDB for
giving us new VIP latrines, leading to improved performance, improved nutrition improved hygiene and
boosting the pupils confidence.”
Improved water and sanitation facilities in Barsemoi primary school
Project interventions in Laikipia County
The semi-arid north of Mt.
Kenya have been experiencing
persistent droughts, which have
culminated in food insecurity,
d i m i n i s h i n g s o u r ce s o f
household income (economic
hardship), and desperation
among the communities. The
situation has been made worse
by land use changes resulting to
clearing of forest land, both for
commercial horticulture and
small-scale farming systems. To
address the threats to their
livelihoods, some of the affected
farmers came together and
formed Umande Rainwater
Harvesting Project (URWHP), a
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 8
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
community based organization
to collectively develop and
implement climate change
mitigation measures.
Addressing water scarcity, being
one of the constraints to climate
change mitigation measures and
socio-economic development in
the semi-arid areas around Mt.
Kenya, will be the entry point.
The target community had taken
an initiative to address this
problem by digging farm ponds
to provide water for tree
seedlings establishment and
vegetable production, which
unfortunately could not perform
as expected since they lost most
of their water through seepage
and evaporation. This has led to
low adoption of Agroforestry
and horticultural development.
The community approached
KRA, who have researched and
developed an improved farm
pond to come to their aid. KRA
is currently demonstrating some
of the improved technological
package in the area in
partnership AWF/AfDB.
There are two project sites in
Laikipia County namely
Umande and Lamuria. All the
farmers from the project sites
have been able to move to
commercial agriculture because
of the surplus they get from their
farms.
Umande project site: The
project constructed 85 farm
ponds for (50m3) for smallhold-
er farmers including installation
of drip irrigation systems for
horticultural production. The
schools‟ WASH and Nutrition
sub-components was also
implemented in 3 primary
schools; Nyariginu, Gakeu and
Tetu. In addition, a community
apiary and tree nursery have
been established .
Lamuria project site: 15 farm
ponds (50m3) for smallholder
farmers have been constructed
including establishment of
horticulture gardens and installa-
tion of drip irrigation systems.
Farm pond ,established vegetable garden and onions ready for the market
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 9
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Mr. Nelson Muchemi and his wife inside their farm and part of their onion farm
Inside Mr. Mubiri’s Kale’s farm
From Lamuria Project site, we
talked to Mr. Nelson Muchemi
the chairman and he said, “The
benefits coming from the farm
pond can‟t be documented, it has
transformed our lives. Imagine
harvesting throughout the
calendar year and not being
worried about lack of food. Then
after you realize you have
enough water to change to
commercial farming that is my
story. I am a commercial farmer.
I make 10,000 weekly from my
small farm here. Hard work and
water will result to the required
maximum benefits.
Mr. John Mubiri, a farmer from Umande self-help group, “my wife and I are now both farmers, we decided to
concentrate on our farm because we saw if we work hard our lives are bound to change forever, it is a
journey of hard work, nothing comes easy. Having the farm pond and not working will not translate to any
outcome. But when you focus, do your research and understand the seasons, then definitely you shall get
results. We are commercial farmers of tomatoes, cabbages, spinach and Sukuma wiki. We are able to
supplement with dairy farming, and we aren’t worried about water because even the dry season we have
enough water for our animals.”
The chairman Umande project Mr. Charles Kuira had this to say, “We have
worked with KRA for some time now, since the entrance of KRA our lives have
been transformed we are commercial farmers and we farm throughout the year.
We are grateful for the total life transformation and we can only hope that or lives
continue changing. To all members out there, whatever KRA teaches has been tried
and tested and it works, take it and transform your life. It is joy to be self-employed
and to have food in plenty throughout the calendar year.
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 10
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Completed masonry tank in Tetu primary school and pupils demonstrating hand washing
Before and after conditions of latrines in Tetu primary school
he project was
implemented in Karai
Division, Kiambu
West sub-County, Kiambu
County in partnership with Ndei-
ya Karai CBO, which is consist
of a number of self-help groups
and farmers assocaition. Karai
Division borders Kajiado County
to the south – along the northern
slopes of Ngong Hills. It is semi-
arid and experiences poor erratic
rainfall that affects food produc-
tion hence leading to water and
food insecurity.
To address these challenges the
project constructed 60 farm
ponds (50m3) for smallholder
farmers including installation of
drip irrigation systems for horti-
cultural production.
Similarly, on the improved
Schools‟ WASH and Nutrition
sub-component, the project con-
structed rainwater storage ma-
sonry tanks (75m3) including
installation of guttering system,
gender-segregated VIP latrines
for girls, boys and teachers, and
constructed farm ponds (72m3)
for irrigating vegetable gardens
at four primary schools (Njumbi,
Kanyiha, Nachu and Lusigetti).
Below are some of the feedback
from the farmers who spoke
about how their life have been
changed - their success stories
provide a testimony on the
project impacts.
This was implemented in three
primary schools, Nyariginu, Tetu
and Gakeu primary schools. The
project has successfully come to
an end. The story for the three
primary schools has changed.
They school farm ponds are used
for educational purposes. The
harvest from the farm ponds are
used for agriculture education.
The schools look forward to
improved performance after just
the concluded national (K.C.P.E)
exams.
Project Interventions and Impacts in Kiambu County
Improved Schools’ WASH and Nutrition Component
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 11
One of the farm pond beneficiaries, Ms. Racheal Gathoni a member Ndeka Farmers‟ Association from Karai had
this to say “my group had 17 members, we decided to listen to what KRA had to say, and we would go to a local
church and get trained on the different available methods for us to try on farming. The capacity building
sessions were very helpful, my group members and I were able to start group project, after the county
government saw the success of the farm pond, and they gave us a greenhouse and some bean seedlings. In the
greenhouse we started tomato farming, we used the group project to learn and to also make earnings from it.
After the group project, I am now able to start my own project using my personal green house. Now I am a
fully-fledged farmer, I started tomato farming, and I am happy to report that from my greenhouse I make over
Ksh. 25,000 weekly. I have created job opportunities for the youth in this area and my life in general has
changed. I am glad we were able to embrace the technology despite it being new to us. I’d advice everyone to get
one, with hard work, it is a self-employment opportunity with many benefits.”
Mrs. Ann Mburu another beneficiary from Kiambu county, shares her experiences, “I am very proud to be
associated with KRA, in the dry season, I was able to harvest tomatoes, sukuma wiki and spinach, that is a very
rare occurrence in this region. The vegetables I harvested were both for my consumption and also for sell.
Around the village, I was referred to as “mama mboga” because I had constant supply of everything. I was able
to water my animals from the comfort of my home because I practice mixed farming. I have even gained
knowledge on soil control and I can every now and then advice my neighbors on what to do in their homesteads
all thanks to different trainings organized by KRA. To me increased household income is a benefit, for my day to
day needs I don’t have to always ask my husband and my children for cash because I get that from my shamba. I
am even able to direct the income from the shamba to other household needs. The farm pond has created
awareness in the community, I keep getting neighbours asking about the technology and I happily share what
this entails. I have made a profit of over Ksh. 30,000 in one season, and I know that my life can only get better
from here.”
Mrs. Mburu showing KRA team around her farm Mrs. Mburus farm laid with drip kits
I have been walking around with a paper bag
looking for vegetables in my neighborhood but that is
long gone now, this farm pond has changed my life,
during this long dry season ,I was the only one in my
village who had green veges on my farm, I used
to sell three to five leaves of kales for Kes 5 ,small as
it is ,this vegetable farm bought me sugar, salt and the
small basic things that I required at home. I just want
my village to know that this technology is
working and I look forward to when I will be
irrigating my 2 acres farm, because this is possible.
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
12
This project sub-component was
implemented in four primary
schools (Njumbi, Kanyiha,
Nachu and Lusigetti). The
schools had inadequate
rainwater harvesting structures.
The schools used to rely on
mostly the pupils bringing water
from their homes and the two
10m3 plastic tanks that had been
installed with guttering systems
utilizing 10% of the catchment.
According to the class
attendance , it was observed that
50% of absenteeism of pupils
was attributed to illness due to
poor hygiene conditions in
school , 4% parents withholding
the pupils at home to attend to
other errands. it was also noted
that girl child pupils in upper
classes recorded the highest
absenteeism. The reasons given
for the absenteeism include
illness (26%), menstrual cycle
for the girl child (40%), parents
asking pupils not come school so
that they assist carrying out oth-
er duties (8%).
To address these challenges the
project constructed 75m3
rainwater storage masonry tanks
including installation of the
guttering system, gender-
segregated VIP latrines, and
72m3 farm pond for irrigating
school vegetable garden.
Some of the significant impacts
are improved academic perfor-
mance, which is directly related
to reduction in school absentee-
ism, reduced water borne diseas-
es, and improved nutrition and
health. The graph below shows
improved performance in
selected schools.
Improved Schools’ WASH and Nutrition Component
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 13
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Completed rainwater storage tank and boys VIP latrines at Lusigetti primary school
Mr Peter Ndirangu, Kanyiha primary school head teacher, had this to
say about the project, “money from the vegetable garden was used by
the school to pay for electricity, all this because of the hard work put
mostly by the students. This is was encouraging even for the teachers
and we have started putting more efforts to have much more this time
round, on the latrine situation, before. KRA our secondary school used
to share the latrines with us, there was no privacy and our pupils did not
enjoy coming to school. After KRA, the primary and secondary school
now have separated facilities, this has generally boosted the pupils morale. It is amazing to report that
Kanyiha primary school shares tank water with the secondary school, simply because we now have enough
water to last us the dry season. School absenteeism has also reduced from 20% to 4% per day. Without a
doubt this is because of a well implemented WASH project in our school.”
Environmental Conservation
Tree/fruit and vegetable seedling
nurseries are established at the
school and the school is
encouraged to take charge of the
nurseries and generate income
through sales of seedlings and
vegetables. Trees also serve as
environmental conservation
measures. Vegetable species
such as kale, spinach, cabbages,
car rots and onions are
introduced and demonstrated to
allow the school supplement
their local/traditional vegetables.
The nurseries are established
near the farm ponds and young
farmers clubs/schools are
encouraged to adopt them for
income generation.
Completed farm pond and established vegetable garden at Njumbi primary school
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 14
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
o enhance project
implementation pro-
cess and sustainability,
continued capacity building,
t e c h n i c a l s u p p o r t a n d
backstopping is a prerequisite.
The impacts of capacity
development include enhanced
community participation, con-
fidence and contribution. Thus
project ownership and sustaina-
bility is guaranteed due to
leading role of the community in
project formulation, develop-
ment and implementation. KRA
in collaboration with the
Ministry of Health offers health
and hygiene training to the
benefiting communities and
schools.
The training component focuses
on: Health and hygiene educa-
tion; Micro irrigation for vegeta-
ble production; Use of hand
pump; Record keeping; Water
management; and Operation &
maintenance of project facilities.
KRA also provides the
communities and schools with
technical support through the
Technical Assistant who is
based at the project site and
technical backstopping through
regular monitoring visits by the
technical team from the
Secretariat. The Technical
Assistant supports the school
community on all the aspects of
the project implementation
process and also supervises all
the construction works.
Community Capacity Building
Farmers from Baringo County in Laikipia and Farmers from Ndeiya Karai (Kiambu County) in Makueni during their exposure tour visits
Beneficiaries from Laikipia
v i s i t e d t h e i r M a k u e n i
counterparts for an exposure tour
to learn more on rainwater
management practices that the
community is embracing.
Baringo project beneficiaries
were taken to Laikipia and
Narok while Ndeiya Karai
farmers visi ted Makueni
County. Makueni is semi-arid
region that receives little amount
of rainfall thus rainwater
harvesting is crucial. The
technology introduced was
environmentally friendly as it
captured destructive on-farm
runoff for productive use –
micro-irrigation – in water
scarce areas. Surface runoff was
harvested either from part of the
uncultivated land or road/
footpaths and diverted into the
50m3 farm pond.
Some of the project targets and achievements
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 15
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
H20 for life is a non-profit
organization creating partner-
ships between schools in the
developing countries and schools
in the United states, Patty Hall
the company‟s co-founder
received a cry from a community
in Kenya and the rest is history,
since 2007 H20 for life has been
partnering with local NGO to
implement the projects in needy
schools from the developing
countries.
KRA is one of the implementing
partners working with H20 for
life to bring change in needy
schools based in Kenya.
Together we have been able to
bring the much required change
in over twenty schools in
different parts of the country.
The just concluded primary
schools include, Njumbi,
Kanyiha, Nachu, Lusigetti,
Gakeu, Tetu and Nyariginu
primary schools. The schools all
benefitted with improved WASH
facilities. H20 for life provided
50% of the money needed to
implement the projects, with the
other money coming from the
school community and other
donor communities.
STAKEHOLDER NEWS & PARTNERSHIPS
Water for Life project: Improving Schools Water Sanitation and Hygiene
By Joseph Mwaura, Technical Officer, KRA
Complete WASH projects in Kanyiha primary school
Some students from the already benefitting schools had this to say, Ms. Grace Mbuiya Kanyiha primary
school, class eight pupil “we are excited, it’s our final year in this school, we are about to sit for our
final K.C.P.E exams, but this year has been the year of transition for me, I have loved all the changes
that came with having new facilities to use around school, we were in class for longer, had clean water
to drink for long, enough latrines for everyone to use without wasting too much time queuing after
assemblies mostly, and therefore we were able to concentrate more on class work. I feel confident that
we will have performed better come January when the results will be released. Not only have we been
able to improve on our mean score but even our environment now looks clean and I can brag about my
primary school even after I have left. Thank you for what did for us ”
Joshua Kiboro Lusigetti primary school, Class seven pupil, “we now have tapped water in our school,
this is not just something we get to watch in television but a reality in our school, after visiting our
improved pit latrines, we have water throughout the year to clean our hands, so basically our hygiene
has improved, we are very happy and excited. Our school is now in a better place and we are even sure
our performance will increase. God bless everyone involved in this transformation.”
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
16
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
Ongoing constructions of masonry water tanks and VIP latrines in Kalalu primary school
Another ongoing project
between KRA and Water for life
is the construction of WASH
projects in Kalalu and Murichu
Primary schools. The schools are
expected to benefit from 75m3
masonry water tanks and gender
segregated VIP latrines. The
project construction has already
started and they are expected to
come to an end in a month‟s
time.
KRA has been advancing in the
partnership sector by partnering
with county governments, KRA
partnered with the County
Government of Kiambu and the
polytechnic community to
implement the Water Supply,
Sanitation and Hygiene project
at Karai youth polytechnic.
The project comprised of four
main components:
Construction of a 75m3
rainwater storage tank;
Installation of guttering
system and foul-flash system;
Construction of gender
segregated VIP latrines – 2
separate blocks for boys and
girls.
Construction of a 72m3 shade
net roofed farm pond to
harvest and store rainwater for
micro irrigation
Establishment of a vegetable
garden installed with a 230
litre drip irrigation system to
demonstrate macro irrigation.
The project also aimed at
making the polytechnic a
technology demonstration center
for integrated WASH and
Partnership between KRA and Kiambu County Government By Joseph Mwaura, Technical Officer, KRA
Mr James Kimani the school chairman, Gikambura Primary School, had this to say “Before the
project, pupils used to carry water to school. They used that water to wash the class rooms and
to drink. This used to take a lot of their time in the morning and thereby most of them were
usually late to school. Younger pupils in lower primary used to get very tired due to carrying a
five litter- jerrican full of water to school and this would lead to them dozing off during lessons.
The situation has now changed and the pupils have enough time to concentrate in their
education and this has led to improved performance. The cases of water borne diseases have
also been eradicated and therefore the levels of absenteeism due to these diseases have reduced
significantly. We are therefore very grateful to KRA and their partners for the good work”.
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 17
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Complete WASH components in Karai polytechnic
Nutrition interventions. The
project also aimed at providing
hands on technical skills to the
building and construction class
of the polytechnic. Karai youth
polytechnic is located in, Nachu
sub-location, Nachu location,
Kikuyu division, Kiambu West
sub-County of Kiambu County.
The polytechnic has total
population of 430 pupils and
teachers (203 girls, 277 boys and
17 teachers).
Kisoboka Trust supports local
initiatives in various countries
in East Africa impacting on
water, sanitation, health and
related issues in communities,
schools hospitals and health
centers which are then
implemented in partnership
with local NGOs.
In 2015, Kisoboka in
conjunction with KRA sought
to implement a WASH
programme at Gil Harder
academy, a school in Kajiado
County which its WASH
situation was in dire need and
needed to be looked at. The
project has been completed, the
school benefited with gender
segregated two door VIP
latrines for teachers, six door
VIP latrines for girls, two door
VIP latrines for boys, a
Completed gender segregated VIP latrines in Gil harder Primary school- Kitengela
Kisoboka Trust: Improving Water and Sanitation at Gil Harder academy in Kitengela, Kajiado
County, By Edith Mutui, Information and Communications Officer, KRA
75m3 masonry water tank, a
72m3 farm pond and an
established kitchen garden.
During i ts inaugurat ion
ceremony, Mr. Norman of
Kisoboka trust had the
following speech delivered by
his colleague Ms. Debbie …
said they had nicknamed the
school “HAPPY” because they
felt something special and had
given the school its own special
name. Mr. Norman in his speech
urged the pupils to be
ambassadors of change in the
community by being agents of
change of training rainwater
harvesting in the community.
The school director Mr. Thomas
Momanyi commented on the
improved sanitation and hygiene
in general which he says will
lead to improved school
performance.
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
18
Kisoboka and KRA team during the project commissioning at Gilhada Academy
Ms. Ivy Kerubo Asanya, a class eight pupil from the school had this to say, “once G.B Stern said, silent
gratitude isn’t much use to anyone and I agree, I want to shout my thanks out loud, you have helped us
as a school to keep sanity and our perspectives when our going is tough, I have no other words to say but
thank you, and may god bless you. At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from
another person. Each of us has a cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lit the flame within
us. I’ve no words to express how grateful we are to have all you here. I want to assure your support I’ll
definitely fly higher and higher like eagles as far as our dreams are concerned. Our school Gil Harder
will become the center of excellence and mind transformation; it will be a place to be admired by
everyone at large. Our guests, our achievements lie on your hands. To remind you what we do for
ourselves dies with us but what we do for others in the world remain. We were looking forward to
someone coming to our aid. Thank you for making us happy and healthy, May God bless all of you.”
he overall goal of the
KCDF-KRA project
is to increase rural
household incomes through
growth in the horticulture sector.
M a k u e n i C o u n t y i s
drought-prone and therefore
food security is a serious
concern, especially in areas
located far from permanent
water sources. Poverty levels are
high, and the community
continues to receive significant
quantities of food aid through
the World Food Program (WFP)
and other NGOs.
To address the chronic food
insecurity the current Kenya
National Development Plan
emphasizes the promotion and
utilization of rainwater for
sustainable development; aiming
at all people having access to
safe and reliable water supplies
for domest ic, l ivestock,
agricultural and commercial use,
through improvement and
p romot ion o f r a inwate r
ha rv es t in g t e ch no lo gie s ,
utilization and management. The
performance of smallholder
irrigation schemes – in terms of
improved water management,
food security and income – is
e n c o u r a g i n g . R a i n w a t e r
harvesting and management
(RHM) complements rain-fed
agriculture through small-scale
irrigation and enhances farmers‟
profitability.
The one-year KCDF-KRWA
project component aimed at
initiating rainwater harvesting
Increasing Food Security and Income for Smallholder Farmers
through Integrated RHM Systems in Makueni County
By Florence Ngeno, Administrative Officer, KRA
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 19
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
technologies, utilization and
management, building capacity
in rainwater harvesting among
smallholder farmers, local
extension staff and local
artisans in the Makueni Coun-
ty, through upgrading rain fed
agriculture for vegetable pro-
duction, through integrated
rainwater harvesting systems
and complementary technolo-
gies such as water application
methods, like low-head drip
irrigation system.
The project targeted an
organized group “Ngomano”
Self Help Group and affiliated
farmers, which comprised
mainly of women, men and
youth; and hence the project
integrated gender and youth
development – since majority of
rural farmers are women and
you th . The t echno logy
introduced is environmentally
friendly as it captured
destructive on-farm runoff for
productive use – micro-
irrigation – in water scarce
areas. Surface runoff was
harvested either from part of the
uncultivated land or road/
footpaths and diverted into the
50m3 farm pond through a silt
trap and filter (to reduce silt/
mud entering the farm pond.
Direct precipitation through the
80% shade-net roof was also
captured and stored in the farm
pond.
The stored runoff is pumped
into a raised 230-litre water
supply tank of the drip
irrigation system using a simple
hand-pump (Hip pump from KRA and KCDF team during a field monitoring visit
Kickstart International). Water
from the raised tank flows by
gravity through a gate valve into
the vegetables planted along the
drip lines at row spacing
pre-determined by the emitter
spacing. The drip irrigation
system supply water twice a day
– in the morning and in the
evening – when evaporation
losses are minimal. Therefore,
the 50m3 farm pond is adequate
for a 230-litre micro-irrigation
system (i.e. 46m3 seasonal water
requirement considering 100
days growing period for most
v e g e t ab l e s ) . T h e m a i n
technological package focuses
on rainwater harvesting and
management for vegetable
production under low-head drip
irrigation, which consist of a
farm pond, hand pump and
micro-irrigation system. The
technology was being promoted
through organized farmer
groups – each benefiting from
one farm pond and a vegetable
garden. In addition to relatively
low investment, operation and
maintenance costs, and high
economic impact, smallholder
irrigation systems ensures strong
local community governance
(social integration), and they are
relatively free of political
interference – good ingredients
for sustainability.
Mr. Kimeu Ndambuki at his farm pond and an established garden
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
20
The community members and
especially women are enthusias-
tic of the project and they are
willing to upscale and adopt the
project at a sustainable level.
This has been demonstrated at
the overwhelming numbers of
the groups that are willing to
contribute despite their financial
This project is very helpful to me
and my family, at least we can
have vegetables to eat and have
something to save. If the amount
of water is increased, we could
diversify our production to real-
ize more profits.
Mrs. Stella Mutinda is a member of Ngomano Self Help Group. She benefited through construction of the
farm pond for rainwater harvesting, she has planted hybrid kales. She started harvesting in July and
harvested 100kg out of which 30kg were consumed by the her family members. One kg of kales was being
sold at Ksh. 200. The demand for kales is usually high in this region such that buyers have to book in
advance to get the produce.
Mr. Kimeu Ndambuki is from Vololo Location in Nguu Ward of Kibwezi Constituency. He is one of our
beneficiaries. He was introduced to KRA by one of our artisan on the ground and promptly developed
interest in what we were doing in our project. He subscribed to the Ngomano CBO and was supplied
with the necessary materials. He is used to be a charcoal dealer along Mombasa road for a long time.
He is will be quitting the charcoal business as now he is kept busy in his garden irrigating crops like
kales, spinach, tomatoes and passion fruits from the rainwater harvested and stored. He consumes some
of the produce at home while he sells surplus to the neighbours. He can see his life being transformed by
this technology. He is ready to upscale the technology and do serious farming business in future.
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 21
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
The project outcomes were;
Imparted knowledge and
skills: Farmers have been
trained on operation and
maintenance of RHM
systems and drip irrigation,
and various agronomic
p ract i ces to enhance
horticulture production.
Regular follow up visits were
organized to enhance
capaci t y bui ld ing on
irrigation water management
a n d c r o p h u s b a n d r y
(management, application of
fertilizers and pesticides).
Hands-on training on simple
maintenance e.g. repairs of
dam liners and leakages on
drip irrigation system
ensured optimal performance
of the RHM systems and
continued usage.
Peer learning through
exposure visits: Some
farmers from Kiambu and
Laikipia Counties, where
KRA has been successful in
implementing a similar
project visited some of the
benefiting farmers to learn
from their peers and share
experiences.
Ndeiya Karai Group from Kiambu West and Umande Group from Laikipia East during exposure visit to Makueni project sites
hat if not having
sanitary supplies
meant DAYS
without leaving the house?
DAYS without school, Girls use
leaves, mattress stuffing, news-
paper, corn husks, rocks, soil,
old rags anything they can find
but still miss up to 2 months of
school every year. It turns out
this issue is a surprising but in-
strumental key to social change
for women all over the world.
The poverty cycle can be broken
when girls stay in school.
Days for Girls International is a
non-profit organization, which
believes that every girl in the
world deserves education, safety,
and dignity. They help increase
access to sustainable feminine
hygiene through; (a) awareness,
by direct distribution of hygiene
kits, (b) partnering with nonprof-
its, groups and organizations and
(c) raising awareness helping
communities around the world
start their own programs. Thanks
to a global grassroots network of
thousands of volunteers and
supporters in 6 continents, they
have reached women and girls in
more than 85 countries in 6
continents. It's working, hence
help them reach the rest.
Women, and girls should
discover their potential and
self-value and that are equal
participants and agents of social
ch an g e an d a r e g i v en
opportunities to thrive, grow and
contribute to their community's
betterment while ensuring
quality sustainable feminine
Day for Girls Kits: Lasting Feminine Hygiene Solutions at Nyariginu Schools in Laikipia County
By Florence Ngeno, Administrative Officer, KRA
Girls appreciating supply of menstrual hygiene kits
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
22
hygiene. We are all about
partnerships and joining hands.
Nyariginu Secondary and
Primary schools in Laikipia
County, one of the many schools
t h a t K e n y a R a i n w a t e r
Association is working with,
were among the lucky lot when
one of the ambassadors of the
Day for girls International, Ms.
Evie, visited carrying lots of
goodies for them. Ms. Evie had
travelled all the way from the
USA on a mission to educate and
distribute the kits to Kenyan
girls and women the washable
and reusable menstrual hygiene
kits that were sewn with lots of
love by other white women for
one of their own here in Kenya.
Ms. Evie was received with joy
by the girls including the school
heads who could not hide their
excitement. Ms. Evie was
accompanied by other girls from
Chumvi sewing center that had
come to train the girls on how to
use the kits, they are also
involved in the making of some
of the sanitary towels, the
students and pupils were trained
on how to use the kits through
demonstrations. Some girls were
given the opportunity to show
their mates how to kits work just
to ensure they fully understood
how to use them.
Nyariginu Secondary school head teacher Ms. Wangari Mwangi said, “Sanitary towels give back
girls and women time they would otherwise lose. This time translates into education, greater income, and
better health. Parents especially those from humble backgrounds are strained financially and most of the
times un able to buy their girls enough sanitary towels to take them throughout a school term, We had
even resolved as the school administration to spare some money from our budget to buy some sanitary
towels for the girls we knew would not afford just to keep them in school. Days for Girls hygiene kits are
good news to us and the girl’s population at large, the fact that they are washable and reusable, this is
the only viable and sustainable option, that the girls can now stay in school month after month and this
would translate to a huge impact for girls, women, communities, and this nation as a whole.
Ms. Veronicah Mwaniki a form three student said “I am among thousands of girls in my primary
school who suffered during school days. I used to hate my period.... It meant l had to choose between
humiliation of managing a period with no resources at school or stay at home. Most of the time l would
end up using newspaper which used to give me rashes. I was very scared of messing my uniform because
it had happened to me and to others and the boys in our class laughed at us. I would stop going for a
while. It seriously interrupted my learning. This is a life changer, thank you very much”.
A sample of menstrual kit
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 23
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
ver eighty percent of
Kenya is classified as
Arid and Semi-Arid
Lands (ASALs) experiencing
f r eq u en t d r o u gh t s w i t h
occasional flash floods often
resulting in loss of assets and
livelihood sources. In order to
provide a lasting solution, by
improving household food
security, many actors have come
up with innovative ways of
harvesting and storing rainwater
for crop production, domestic as
well as livestock use.
However, a major setback to the
adoption, and replication, of
these technologies at the
household (HH) levels has been
the highly technical approach
employed by most of these
actors consisting of complicated
designs or technological jargon.
The ordinary drought hit peasant
farmer, whose main objective is
getting the food to the table or
survivability, is thus forced to
balance this precariously
together which trying to
understand the designs used.
Most occasionally, the former
usually wins the day which has
led to increased scenarios where
RHM structures end up being
abandoned by the beneficiary
farmers soon after completion or
the farmers putting up different
interventions within the same
land that the piloting of the
structures is carried e.g. a farmer
in Kathonzweni, Makueni,
Kenya decided to backfill a zai
pit demo plot in his farm and
went ahead to carry out
convectional tillage using ox
drawn implements over the same
area. This came at a very high
cost on both stakeholders e.g. the
donors whose objectives weren‟t
met, the farmer whose time got
wasted as well as the energy not
t o f o r g e t t h e o b v i o u s
environmental disturbance and
the implementing agency who
were forced to cut down on their
operations drastically after
unfavorable findings in a
participatory evaluation activity
carried out.
This article will focus on the
complicated Trapezoidal Bund
(TB) technology as tested in
Makueni (a semi-arid County in
Kenya), as well as the slow
adoption of the technology by
communities which led to
modifications being done on the
standard designs to improve the
performance as well as reduce
l abor requ i red fo r t he
construction.
A TB is a structure where 3 sides
of a plot are enclosed while the
upslope is left open to allow
runoff. Crops are planted within
the enclosed area with excess
being discharged at the tips of 2
wings which are placed upslope
of the base bund at an angle of
1350. The manual construction
of a standard size TB is labor
intensive and requires a large
w o r k f o r c e . H o w e v e r ,
modification by reducing the
length of base bund; increasing
length of wing walls and
reducing crest width greatly
reduced the labor requirements
as was tested and proofed in
Kibwezi, Makueni, Kenya.
FARMERS’ CORNER Modification of RHM Structures for Improving Food Security in Makueni County By Joel Mutiso, Narok County Drought Response Officer, NDMA
Left: community members during TB layout and, Right: A completed layout before construction
Left: Completed TB after construction; and, Right: The TB with green grams crop
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
24
Requirements Standard Design Modified Design Observed Impact
Base bund 40 m 25 m Labour reduced was reduced
Ponding was reduced
Wing wall 28m 35m Labour was increased. However, labour
reduces gradually as length of wing
increases hence this was negligible
Distance between tips 80 m 75m Reduced labour
Horizontal interval between tips &
base bund
20 m 25 m Increased cropped area and reduced ponding
at base
Crest width 1 m 0.75 m Reduced labour
Slopes 4:1 2:1 Reduced labour
Ease of adoption by farmers
Stability needs to be checked in high slopes
Height of base bund 0.7 m 0.8 m Labour slightly increased
Time taken by 366 workers to
construct one structure in Kibwezi
7 hrs 4hrs 30 minutes Reduced time & labour
Cropped area 1,011m2 (0.25acre) 1,156m2
(0.3 acre)
Increased cropped area hence increased
yields per unit area
Recorded yield of green grams
(KS20 variety)
1 bag (90kg) per
structure
2 bags (90kg) per
structure
Improved yield per unit area
The limitations to implementing
trapezoidal bund technology in
Makueni County are:
Rainfall variability – the
impact of persistence/
prolonged drought related to
climate change is one of the
main challenge to realizing
the benefits and impacts of
trapezoidal bund technology
– rainfall is the „killer
b u l l e t ‟ , s i n c e t h e
performance of most of the
RWH activities are rainfall
dependent. Without adequate
rainfall adequate water will
not be available for plant
growth (crops, pasture, trees
and fruits);
Individual land ownership
tenure system makes it
difficult for the communities
to fully realize the benefit of
the trapezoidal bunds as
sharing is difficult. The high
labor requirements cannot be
achieved by a single
household and hence the
communities have to work in
large groups together;
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
25
The small land sizes in the
county imply that most
households cannot layout
trapezoidal bunds in their
farms as large sizes of over
0.25acre are required.
During the project there are
many lessons which have been
learned, some of the lessons so
far include;
That the shape of the
trapezoidal bund is a
challenge to community
members as its difficult to
get 135 degrees to form the
trapezium, the volume of
earthworks cannot be
determined by a farmer and
the shape cannot allow
mechanizat ion of the
construction e.g. use of
draught animal technology.
A simpler shape should
therefore be adopted for
sustainability;
That most of the local
community members cannot
p r o n o u n ce t h e nam e
„trapezoidal bund‟ with
correctly and easily. A
simplified name should
therefore be adopted. The
initial commonly adopted for
the structure (i.e. trapezoidal
bund) is not popular with the
communities due to their
association with the chronic
chest disease;
That the training of local
community resource persons
in layout of the structure
ensures replication hence
sustainability;
That mechanization can be
carried out using draught
animal technology or tractor
power;
That the modification of the
shape into a more regular
shape can simplify volume of
earthworks calculations as
well as ensure aesthetic
aspect as the community
members are unable to
accurately establish the 1350
requirement between the
base bund and wing walls;
That „simpler is better!‟
therefore simplifying the
construction process of the
trapezoidal bunds has made
the t echnology more
a c c e p t a b l e b y t h e
communities.
For more details and information
contact; [email protected]
Kenya Rainwater Association
(KRA) organized a 3-day
regional workshop whose theme
was “Regional Stakeholders'
Knowledge Sharing and
Networking Workshop: Impacts
of Rainwater Management on
L ive l ihoods in Diverse
Environments of Eastern
Africa” under the project funded
by the African Water Facility of
the African Development Bank
(AfDB/AWF). The workshop
was held at the KCB Training
and Leadership Center in Karen,
Nairobi from August 24-26,
2015. The workshop provided a
platform for the stakeholders and
partners to share knowledge and
enh an ce ne t wo rk i n g on
Rainwater Harvesting Manage-
ment (RHM) systems and
complementary technologies for
improving water supply, food &
nutrition security, sanitation &
hygiene, environmental conser-
vation, agro-entrepreneurship,
climate change adaptation and
sustainable livelihoods of
vulnerable communities in the
drylands.
The workshop brought together
over 60 key stakeholders in the
water and agriculture sectors
from the region (Ethiopia,
Somalia and Uganda), national
and county governments,
research institutions, and
development partners to share
experiences and review the
potential and impacts of
rainwater management on
livelihoods in the drylands of
Eastern Africa.
The workshop is part of the 3
-year project, which focuses on
scaling up of innovative
technological packages on
integrated RHM systems for
enhancing climate change
adaptation and improving
livelihoods of vulnerable pastoral
SECRETARIAT NEWS Regional Stakeholders’ Knowledge Sharing and Networking Workshop
By Edith Mutui, Information and Communications Officer, KRA
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 26
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
and agro pastoral communities in
three semi-arid Counties
(Baringo, Laikipia and Kiambu)
of Kenya. It is envisaged that
scaling up of integrated RHM
systems and complementary
technologies would lead to
sustainable dryads development
strategies; and hence the need to
share experiences among
stakeholders, and review current
policies and strategies, with the
aim of influencing governments
and development partners to
increase investments towards
promotion and adoption of
proven and innovative techno-
logical packages for enhancing
food security, water supply, and
environmental conservation.
The overall objective was to
advocate for partnerships to
increase investments for scaling
up tested and proven RHM
systems and complementary
technologies. The following
were the specific workshop
objectives:
To establish and strengthen
national and regional collabo-
rations and partnerships
among stakeholders to build
synergies on scaling up
cost -effective rainwater
management technologies
with high impacts on the
livelihood of vulnerable
communities.
To disseminate the impacts of
the KRA-AfDB/AWF funded
project and share beneficiar-
ies‟ feedback and success
stories from Baringo, Laikipia
and Kiambu Counties.
To share experiences and
lessons learnt from various
s t ak eh o l d e r s w h o a r e
promoting rainwater manage-
ment in the diverse ASAL
environments of Eastern
Africa.
To formulate strategies for
addressing various challenges
in promoting rainwater
management and develop a
sustainable scaling up strategy
to increase investments for
rainwater-based climate
change adaption interventions
in the region.
One of the expected outcomes of
the project is information doc-
umentation and sharing among
stakeholders to influence policy
and increase investments for
scaling up RHM systems and
complementary technologies for
multiple uses. In this regards,
the workshop deliberations
focused on challenges and
opportunities of scaling up tested
and proven technologies for
RHM and their impacts and
sustainability under different
agro-climatic, socio-cultural and
l ivel ihood sys tems. The
following were identified as the
main factors that affect scaling
up and sustainability of RHM
systems:
Partnerships: Despite the
impor tance o f e f fec t ive
partnerships and building
synergies among different actors
to reduce duplication and
re-invention of the wheel, these
are some of the challenges and
lessons learnt (i) Development
partners presently have a
tendency of funding joint
proposals to address the issues of
partnerships, joint planning and
avoidance of duplication for
impacts, (ii) Government
init iat ives to coordinate
development actors through
relevant platforms for joint
planning and implementation i.e.
WASH forums, health and
nutrition platforms, and (iii)
I n c r e a s e d g o v e r n m e n t
monitoring of other development
actors and aligning their
operations with government
plans.
Research, technology and
innovations: The role of
research cannot be overempha-
sized. There is need for applied
and adaptive research to address
the biophysical, socio-economic,
technical, financial, legal,
institutional, policy, and
environmental chal lenges
affecting promotion, adoption
and scaling up of RHM in the
water-scarce drylands. Research
and innovations should also help
show the potential of RHM on
improving the livelihoods of the
vulnerable communities.
Scaling up of RHM systems:
The key issues identified that
can support scaling up are (i)
RMH contribute to improvement
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
27
of livelihoods, (ii) Success
stories can serve as learning
hotspots for scaling up in other
areas, (iii) Integration within
watershed approach is necessary
for better coordination and
networking amongst key
stakeholder for sustainable and
productive landscapes leading to
improved livelihoods, and (iv)
To lengthen the growing period
and mitigate drought RWH
structure should be optimized to
provide water for a longer
period.
Financing mechanisms: It is
disappointing that despite
availability of credits from banks
and micro-finance institutions,
farmers are unable to access
such funds due to stringent
conditions, hence the need to
come up with a prudent financial
mechanism that would reduce
the risks of both the farmers and
the financing agents. The
following are some of the key
issues identified that affect
financing of RHM systems; (i)
Unaffordable credit – with
limited community consultation,
(ii) Inadequate support and
technical backstopping, (iii)
Lack of transparency and
accountability among partners,
(iv) Duplication of efforts and
resources – competition instead
of complementarity, and (v)
High risks for banks leading to
high interest rates.
In form at ion / knowledge
management and advocacy: The
following are some of the key
issues identified (i) there is need
for capacity building through
training and knowledge sharing
among stakeholders, (i i)
ineffective communication strat-
egies on RWH to enhance
awareness creation, marketing,
profile raising on RWH, and
incorporating RWH as climate
change adaptation and mitigation
measures – putting RWH in the
global agenda such as
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDG), (iii) mainstreaming
RWH in drylands development
strategies, and (iv) inadequate
research and development on
RWH and its impacts on
livelihood systems, and the
environment.
Some of the workshop participants
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
28
he Kenya Rainwater
Association (KRA) is
a n a t i o n a l
membersh ip as so c i a t ion ,
r e g i s t e r e d a s a
non-governmental, non-political,
non-partisan and not-for-profit
professional organization. KRA
envisions a society in which “All
the people have access to safe,
reliable and sustainable water
supplies”. KRA recognizes the
need to strategically reposition
itself for continued relevance,
besides enhanced ability realize
its mandate of improving water
supply, food security and
environmental sustainability, and
thus embarked on a process of
developing a new strategic plan.
The development of this plan is a
milestone for KRA and will
guide i ts programs and
operations over the five year
period 2016 – 2020.
After Every 5 years, KRA is
mandated revise its strategic plan
where a comprehensive process
for determining what the
company should become and
how it can best achieve the set
goals. KRA had its strategic
planning meeting in Naivasha
Fishing Eagle Camp which was
attended by the KRA secretariat
and KRA board members, KRA
appraised its full potential and
linked its objectives to the
actions and resources required to
fully achieve them. During the
strategic plan period, KRA shall
focus on five (5) priority areas
(pillars),
Institutional development:
To improve internal structure
a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
well-being, enabling it to be
a more dynamic, efficient
and sustainable entity
through integrating and
s t r e n g t h e n i n g s o c i a l
enterprise to support our core
functions/mandates.
Water supply, food security,
health and wealth creation:
To contribute to increased
access to water and improved
sanitation, climate change
adaptation, enhanced food
security and disposable
household incomes and
hence poverty reduction;
Information and knowledge
management: To contribute
to continuous improvement
in the water sector through
research, development,
improvement and generation
of new technologies, best
practices and promotion
approaches;
Network, collaborations &
partnerships building: To
contribute to increased
strategic collaborations
between public, CSO and
private sectors for integrated
development support; and
P o l i c y A d v o c a c y /
Influencing: To contribute
and support local/county,
national and international
policy and institutional
frameworks pertaining KRA
mandates.
KRA believes that increasing the
amount of water available per
household through effective
RHM will greatly reduce the
workload - especially of women
and girls - and provide water for
other productive activities.
Further, increasing water storage
and availability at home, also has
great potentials to address
rainfall variability challenges,
thereby increasing communities
resilience to climate change
effects in general. Finally,
availability of more water is
critical to ecosystem protection,
as well as improving the food
production, hygiene and
sanitation practices, which in
return have immense positive
effects on household health, food
and nutrition conditions, that are
key prerequisites for attainment
of sustainable socio-economic
development.
KRA understands however that
in order to realize the above
noted „impacts‟, a number of
critical barriers must be
overcome. These include
amongst others weak WASH
sector capacity to develop and
e f f e c t i v e l y i m p l e m e n t
sustainable water supply
p r o g r a m s ; i n a d e q u a t e ,
uncoordinated and non
-consistent investments to the
s e c t o r ( i n c l u d i n g i n
k n o w l e d g e g e n e r a t i o n ) ;
sustained demonstrated political
KRA Strategic Planning Workshop – Strategic Plan for 2016-2020
By Florence Ngeno, Administrative Officer, KRA
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 29
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
prioritization of water; as well as
limited linkage of the WASH
sector to boarder development
nexus (linkages with other
sectors such as food security,
economic development and
education).
To address the noted barriers and
realize the desired ambitions,
KRA will pursue a multipronged
integrated approach
Investments in generation
and shar ing of new
knowledge and innovative
water supply solutions and
technologies that are
practical, affordable and
sustainable (i.e. knowledge
management).
Establish and strengthen
collaborative relationships
amongst relevant actors, as a
basis of leveraging resources,
accelerating water service
delivery and influencing (i.e.
n e t w o r k i n g a n d
collaboration).
Contribute to existence of an
enabling environment for
effective water services to
thrive (i.e. policy and
influencing best practice).
Promote development and
use of appropriate models of
water supply for productive
uses, especially for food
production and wealth
creation (i.e. food security
and wealth creation).
I n v e s t i n c a p a c i t y
development of se l f ,
members and key other
a c t o r s ( i . e . c ap ac i t y
development/ institutional
strengthening).
Undertake research in
collaboration with public
universities and national and
international institutions to
improve the technologies and
development approach.
The strategic plan is organized
into five main sections. The first
section provides introduction
and background on KRA and its
organizational identity. Section
two summarizes outcomes of the
context analysis, including
stakeholders‟ analysis and
internal (SWOT) analysis. The
third section on the other hand
presents and overview of
strategic analysis and theory of
change, whereas the fourth
section presents the objectives ,
key implementation strategies
and interventions, as well as the
organizational set up including
structure and the organogram.
For detailed activities and all the
information please visit our web-
site (www.kenyarainwater.org)
you will get the plan document.
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
KRA team during the strategic planning meeting in Naivasha
K R A i s co m m i t t ed t o
influencing policies and better
practices in regard to Rainwater
Harvesting and Management. It
is in this regard, it has partnered
and collaborated with different
stakeholders and partners on
issues of policy and improving
the Rainwater harvesting
technologies.
Developing Partnerships and Strengthening Collaborations
By Edith Mutui, Information and Communications Officer, KRA
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
30
KRA team with the community representatives at the proposed Chengoni Water Pan
KRA team meeting the County Government stakeholders at the County offices
Some of the involvements
include,
N a t i o n a l D r o u g h t
Mana g emen t Au t hor i ty
(NDMA) contracted KRA to
review technical proposals and
supervise construction of three
earth dams in Makueni, Kilifi
and Kwale.
NDMA is an agency of the
Government of Kenya mandated
to establish mechanisms which
ensure that drought does not
result in emergencies and that
the impacts of climate change
are sufficiently mitigated. The
overall objective of the project
between NDMA and KRA is to
contribute to improve drought
preparedness and food security
of communities living in the
project areas. KRA was
mandated to review the
feasibility study for the
construction of three earth dams
and to provide supervision
during construction to ensure
quality control. KRA visited the
three targeted Counties and held
discussions with relevant
officers from county and
reviewed the viability of the
projects and provided technical
advice and supervision.
KRA was also to visit the sites
and- review the technical designs
and BoQs and provide technical
assistance as required; review
the proposed O&M plans and
provide technical assistance;
ensure quality control of
construction works; support the
identification off training
programmes that can support the
beneficiaries‟ communities to
handle O&M of the three dams.
T h e e x p e c t e d o u t p u t s /
Deliverables were, Review of
the working drawings, bill of
q u a n t i t i e s , t e c h n i c a l
specifications and cost estimates:
the county water departments are
in charge of the survey and
design that will be the subject of
the review by the consultant.
Based on the review exercise,
KRA will advise on possible
amendments, additions and
improvements.
Supervision of construction
works: to ensure quality control
including quality of materials
and workmanship. In this regard,
the consultant shall ensure a
minimum of four field missions;
one before the beginning of
construction works to review the
proposal; one of the beginning of
the works when machinery and
materials are deployed on the
construction site; one during
excavation works: and a final
one at the end of works.
Community sensitization and
c a p a c i t y b u i l d i n g ; t h e
consultant shall interact with the
county related and the
beneficiary community to review
the proposal for community
participation and management.
Strong emphasis shall be given
to the O&M procedures in order
to clearly spell out who is
responsible for what and how the
various O&M activities will be
carried out. This shall include
the design of a realistic cost
recovery scheme in order to
generate sufficient cash flow to
finance future maintenance
works and define the role of the
county government in assisting
the beneficiaries to overcome
O&M issues that are above the
capacity of the local community.
Based on the review exercise,
the consultant shall design, in
collaboration with the county
s t a f f , s u i t ab l e t r a i n i n g
programmes in favor of the
management groups in charge
for the O&M.
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 31
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
he 15th African Wa-
ter Facility (AWF)
Governing Council
meeting was held in Abuja,
Nigeria on November 25-26,
2015, which was followed by the
10th AWF anniversary celebra-
tions on November 27, 2015.
KRA was selected to represent
the AWF beneficiaries during
the two events. The KRA was
given this rare opportunity due
to its timely implementation of
the 3-year AfDB-AWF funded
project, 50% achievement
beyond the project targets, and
impacts on influencing policy
and increasing awareness
creation on the potential of RHM
systems and complementary
technologies, not only in Kenya
but in Sub-Saharan Africa.
KRA was represented by Dr.
Stephen Ngigi, who gave a
presentation during the 10th
AWF anniversary, which
captured the attention of most of
the stakeholders – both
government representatives and
the development partners. The
KRA experience proved that
AWF projects can be
implemented within set
timeframe and achieve more
than target outputs if well
planned and managed, both by
recipient and AWF. The KRA
success story was attributed to
clear objectives, target groups,
implementation plan, adequate
technical and management
capacity, and timely technical
backstopping from AWF
project manager and AfDB
regional team.
15th African Water Facility Governing Council Meeting and 10th Anniversary Celebrations
By Stephen Ngigi, Programmes Coordinator, KRA
Besides highlighting on the
project implementation process,
outputs and impacts, the
presentation focus on the
multiplier effects especially on
(a) influencing government
policy through a signed mem-
orandum of understanding
among KRA, ministry of water
and Irrigation and two national
universities – the University of
Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta
University of Ag-
riculture and tech-
nology (JKUAT),
(b) development
of a Billion Dollar
Business Plan for
scaling up farm
pond rainwater
harvesting tech-
nology in Sub-
Saharan Africa, and (c)
reducing the construction cost of
dams by 40-80% through a
consultancy for the National
Drought Management Authority
(NDMA).
The impacts of AWF-KRA
project clearly shows that RHM
has the potential of increasing
access to water supply for
multiple uses, improving
sanitation and hygiene,
enhancing food and nutrition
security, climate change
adaptation and resilience
especially for vulnerable
communities in the vast
drylands of Africa. Moreover,
KRA has developed integrated
technolo gical packages for
different target groups –
agro-pastoral communities
(smallholder farmers), pastoral
communities and primary
schools – under distinct
livelihood systems. To promote
the tested, proved and cost-
effective technological packages,
KRA is rallying support from
different development partners
to increase investments for
scaling up.
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
32
The Billion Dollar Business Plan
By Elsabijn Koelman, Junior Programme Officer, ICRAF
The SearNet Billion Dollar Business Plan for Massive Up-Scaling of RWH Ponds
ost of Africa
(about 43%) is
drylands char-
acterized by low & erratic
rainfall thus economic water
scarcity. These have led to high
vulnerability, low incomes &
chronic food insecurity. RWH
with runoff for farm ponds is a
popular solution in guaranteeing
water availability during dry
spells & drought.
Drylands cover most of the
African continent. They have
low rainfall and frequent
droughts and very limited
sources of surface and ground
water. These tough and highly
variable conditions have led to
high vulnerability, low incomes,
and chronic food insecurity. But
research and the recent
experience of many thousands of
farm families has shown that
these conditions can be
alleviated in a dramatic way.
Rainwater harvesting with farm
p o n d s h a s b e c o m e a n
increasingly popular solution to
capture and manage rainwater so
that households can amplify
their water supplies for domestic
and agricultural use. A farm
pond helps ensure water
availability for much or all of the
year, especially during periods
of dry spells and drought. A
pond increases household
resilience and can transform the
livelihoods and income earning
potential of poor families. Farms
that previously could only
manage to grow basic rain- fed
crops became capable of
expanding their livestock
carrying capacity. A pond
enables the family to cultivate a
much greater diversity of higher
values vegetable and crops for
the market as well as for
enhanced household health and
nutrition. They can support
household tree nurseries forever
greening the land with fruit,
fodder, fertilizer, fuel wood, and
timber trees. Farm ponds are
critical components of creating
an evergreen agriculture in the
drylands.
By availing water during crucial
times, ponds increase HH
resilience pond enables a HH to
produce a high value diversity of
crops. Farm ponds have lately
p r o v e d w o r t h w h i l e i n
contributing to the success of
livestock production. If treated
with locally available resources
such as Moringa and Cactus
Opuntia, pond water can be
potable for domestic use. They
can support HH tree nurseries
for ever greening the land with
fruit, fodder, fuel wood,
medicinal & timber trees.
Promoting Rainwater Harvesting and Management for Sustainable Livelihood Systems 33
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
An Internship Experience at Kenya Rainwater Association
By Molly Byrne - a student at The University of Western England (BSC Geography and Environmental
Management)
s an individual who
has definitely caught
the travel bug, and
someone who always wanted to
work in development sector the
opportunity to spend my summer
in Africa was almost impossible
to resist. However being sat on
the plane about to start my
adventure, the sudden panic that
I may have bitten off more than I
could chew suddenly hit me.
This was my first time travelling
on my own and I have decided to
go off to Kenya? Am I crazy?
However after a truly incredible
10 weeks, which definitely has
had its ups and its downs, I can
now say that I have had one of
most amazing summers of my
life. Joining the fantastic team at
Kenya Rainwater Association
can definitely not be described
as the standard summer
internship, which main-
ly involves coffee
fetching and admin;
mine was spent visit-
ing current project sites
and being completely
engulfed within the
Kenyan way of life.
However the best
aspect of my placement
was the opportunity to
carry out research for
my dissertation in a
location where my results could
actually have an impact on
individual‟s lives.
My dissertation will look at
Ecoli and Total Coliform
bacteria counts within rainwater
harvesting tanks. In an effort to
identify the main management
issues that are causing bacteria
levels higher than those advised
by the World health organization
within these tanks. This was an
attempt to highlight that despite
having access to a water source
without proper management the
water can be of such a poor
quality that it is un-advisable for
it to be used for human
consumption. An issue that
many t ank owners a re
completely un-aware of with
many of them believing that the
water must be of perfect quality
to consume as it comes from the
sky, and had little knowledge of
the need to maintain their tank
equipment.
The team I worked with had
such vast experience it gave me
the opportunity to expand my
research and knowledge in ways
that I would have never thought
of. They also gave me the
opportunity to gain first hand
understanding of the current
water crisis facing the majority
of rural residents within Kenya,
and provided me with the kind
of knowledge and expertise
which could never have been
picked up in textbook. As well
as putting it in perspective the
issues that the changing climate
is having on individuals lives.
Part of my research gave me the
opportunity to work in Kenya
Water Institute (KEWI) testing
lab. This was a fantastic
opportunity to use new water
testing technology. The lab
assistants gave me one on one
guidance on how to use this new
technology, as well as helping
me with further development of
my research.
Overall I have been lucky
enough to undergo a
completely unique and
amazing experience,
meeting some wonderful
people and working
within a completely new
environment. Not only
have I collected my
dissertation data, but I
have also had the oppor-
tunity to gain valuable
experience of working
in the field. Kenya is such a
unique part of the world, and I
feel incredible lucky to have
been able to spend my summer
there.
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
Molly during one of her lab experiments at the KEWI lab
MVUA NEWSLETTER December 2015
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