Volume 27 December 2015 MVUA - Kenya Rainwaterkenyarainwater.org/images/MVUA NEWSLETTER.pdfVolume 27 December 2015 ... enrollment, improved performance and high pupils esteem due to

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


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


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



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



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



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



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



“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



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



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.



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





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.



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.





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




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




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.”



16


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”.




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.



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




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



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.




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


Girls appreciating supply of menstrual hygiene kits



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




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



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;




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]


(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


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



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


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


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





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




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




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.


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



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.




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


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.



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.



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


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.


Molly during one of her lab experiments at the KEWI lab


KRA Social Enterprise: Transforming Smallholder Farmers from Subsistence Farming to Commercial Agriculture

Overview: Agro-Tech aims to bring viable technological innovations closer to farmers using business approach that incorporate financial institutions to offer affordable credit while our package guarantees a return to investments, and hence cushion both the farmers and lenders. This approach brings viable business solutions that would otherwise be beyond the reach of most smallholder farmers and hence encourage them to reduce their averseness to available credit services. It is envisaged that this approach will empower the farmers against the effects of changing economic trends and strengthen sustainability of their farming systems.

Our Products: Agro-Tech will promote various tailor-made technological innovations that are cost-effective and suitable to different agro-ecological zones, farmers’ preference and economic capabilities, which include: farm ponds, low-head drip irrigation systems, locally designed and assembled metallic greenhouses and simple hand-pumps among other complementary components. Our products are pocket friendly and can be adopted in stages, besides being flexible to suit different land dimensions and layout.

Why spend more while you can get it for less!!!

For more information on our products and prices contact: Agro-Tech Innovations Development Services Ltd.

c/o Kenya Rainwater Association Tel.: 20 2710657 / 0715 935 065

Email: [email protected]

Our Partners: African Development Bank (AfDB)/African Water Facility (AWF), Christadelphian Meal a Day (CMAD) Fund (UK), Eriksjhalpen (Sweden), Government of Kenya (GoK), Water (H2O) for Life (USA), New Life

Mission (Kenya), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Kenya Community Development Fund (KCDF), African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), Kisoboka Trust, GlobalGiving and

Wherever the Need (UK).

Documents

Volume 27 December 2015 MVUA - Kenya Rainwaterkenyarainwater.org/images/MVUA NEWSLETTER.pdfVolume 27 December 2015 ... enrollment, improved performance and high pupils esteem due to