KOEEPurpose of the project
Machakos County is located in the former Eastern provinces of Kenya and has population estimate of 1, 421, 932 persons (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, KNBS 2019 Census). The county is classified among the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), receiving mean annual rainfall ranges from 250mm and 550mm. Machakos relies both on dry-land crop production and livestock rearing. The county experiences frequent droughts and unreliable rains. Other challenges to development in the county include; poor infrastructure support and weak developed market for agricultural produce and linkages within the value chain, lack of access to farm inputs as there are limited established agro-dealers of farm inputs, insecurity and clan related rivalry and high cost of essential food commodities.
To address the poor water situation status of the target communities, KOEE proposed an integrated approach in empowering faith-based institutions and adjacent communities through provision of water for domestic use to improve their livelihoods. The project further sought to build the capacity of communities to practice other diverse alternative income generation activities for improved food security and adaptation to climate change. The project targeted a church and a women’s group as an avenue to reach the wider community. The system installed included gutters and water tanks for storing the collected rain water from which the households could fetch water for domestic consumption. With the area being arid and semi-arid (ASAL); the project sought to use the church and women’s group to demonstrate climate change responsive water technologies for climate resilience for improved livelihoods.
Scope of the project
The project was implemented in Machakos County, a region well known for its semi-arid climatic nature with mean temperatures and rainfall averaging 30 degrees and 450mm respectively.
A total of about 150 households, with a population of approximately 3000 individuals directly benefited from the project.
| Phase | Implementation Date | Location | Activities involved |
| 1 | SEPT – OCT 2019 | Makaveti Catholic church | Installation of one- 10000 litre water tank within the church compound which was mainly to be used in promoting WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)Installation of a second one- 10,000 L tank at the church’s women group chairperson which was open for use by all the women group’s members.Monitoring and Evaluation |
| 2 | OCT-DEC 2019 | Makaveti Women group | Installing of two-10,000L tanks in the Makaveti community.Community sensitization on sustainable water resource use and management Monitoring and evaluation visits |
| 3A | JAN – APRIL 2020 | Makaveti community | Installation of one-3000L tank together with its gutters. Branding of the water tankMonitoring and Evaluation |
| 3B | JUNE- DEC 2020 | Snowline women group , Maamandu | Installation of two-3000l water tanks together with its gutter systems Branding of the water tanksProviding information on sustainable water use management Lessons on tree nursery development. Monitoring and Evaluation |
Objectives achieved
The main goal of the project was to enhance water access and supply for improved livelihood and enhanced resilience within the Machakos jurisdiction.
This has been achieved through the accomplishment of the following objectives:
- Enhanced provision of water to ensure accessible and reliable safe water at household level for domestic consumption to promote sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
- Promoted climate change responsive water technologies for sustainable water resource management and climate resilience
- Enhanced the capacity of communities and faith-based institutions on climate change adaptation and mitigation
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