Project Status



Project Type:  Sand Dam

Program: Sand Dams in Kenya

Impact: {@number_served} Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Dec 2013

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 08/06/2025

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is being implemented by our partner African Sand Dam Foundation, and includes the construction of a sand dam.

Below is project information direct from our partner:

Kee Self Help Group was formed as a welfare group in order to support in burial arrangements for community members. The group is found in one of the most fertile areas of Ukambani. The area is known for export business where farmers export fresh produce to international markets. However due to climate change there have been many noted differences in the surrounding landscape.

“We no longer harvest anything from our farms. The rains have reduced and the once permanent streams that we used to rely on for irrigation have all dried up. This has affected income levels and food security in the area. As a welfare group we have expanded the mandate of the group to build sand dams in order to harvest water for farming. After we have built sand dams in the village everyone will go back to farming for export business.” Paul Muthama

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS

The dam started on the September 15th 2013.The first process was to excavate the foundation and this took two days. The actual building of the dam took 5 days and the dam was completed on the September 25th 2013.The group was able to build the dam quite fast due to its large membership of 93 members. This is a record time compared to other self help group as no other group has this many members.

Every Self Help Group received seed support in readiness for the planting season, which started in October. The seeds beneficiaries for Kee SHG were 45 males and 47 females. Farmers in these groups received five seed varieties to boost food security during this planting season. The varieties include green grams, cowpeas, pigeon peas, dolichos lab, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet. All these are drought tolerant crops that mature fast and are able to withstand prolonged drought. After the harvest the groups shall return twice what each member received to a communal store where post harvest treatment shall be done. Terrace digging is still a work in progress for the Kee Self Help Group.

All the TWP supported self help groups have tree nurseries already established. The number of the tree seedlings in the tree nurseries include: All the tree seedlings in the tree nursery will be planted at the start on the rains i.e. October/November. The trees are of different species. Fruit trees, firewood trees and timber trees.

All TWP groups have been able to surpass annual targets for the tree seedlings due to good planning and preparation of the tree nurseries. All groups had their tree nurseries planted early or on time to enable them to have trees before the start of the rain season.

Project Updates


August, 2020: Through Their Eyes: COVID-19 Chronicles with Joshua Mutua

This post is part of a new series by The Water Project meant to highlight the perspectives and experiences of the people we serve and how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting them. We invite you to read more of their stories here.

Our team recently visited Kee Community to conduct a COVID-19 prevention training (read more about it below!) and monitor their water point. Shortly after, we returned to check in on the community, offer a COVID-19 refresher training, and ask how the pandemic is affecting their lives.

Joshua Mutua

It was during this most recent visit that Joshua Mutua shared his story of how the coronavirus is impacting his life.

Field Officer Dorcas met Joshua outside his home to conduct the interview. Both Dorcas and Joshua observed physical distancing and other precautions throughout the visit to ensure their health and safety. The following is Joshua's story, in his own words.

What is one thing that has changed in your community since the completion of the water project?

Not walking for long distances to fetch water and we now save time we used to get water. We currently grow vegetables as a group and also individually both for domestic and commercial use. The ecology of our area has drastically transformed.

How has having a clean water point helped you through the pandemic so far?

With the water points, this has enabled people in the community to wash our hands frequently, maintaining personal hygiene all the time. There are now a few cases of waterborne diseases, and our hygiene standards have been improved.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Kenya, has fetching water changed for you because of restrictions, new rules, or your concerns about the virus?

Yes, since the start of the virus, we keep social distance in our water sources, we wash hands before handling the water pump, but the water supply is plenty.

How has COVID-19 impacted your family?

Loss of jobs to my children has led to real challenges because, currently, I don't get any support. They are not generating any income. We are living in fear of our lives all the time. Those in school are not learning currently, and maintaining them at home all the time is a big challenge; hence total deterioration of behaviors' hence girls becoming pregnant at a very young age. The closure of religious institutions has led to a big mess to the youth. Children below 13 years old will not grow spiritually because of the restriction put in place by the government. The leaders in our churches and even our elders have were banned from attending church services.

What other challenges are you experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Lack of money to fulfill our basic needs. Closure of some of the business hence price hiking of some of the commodities.

What hygiene and sanitation steps have you and your community took to stop the spread of the virus?

Building and using a handwashing station, social distancing, making and wearing face masks, keeping social distance, staying at home.

Like most governments around the world, the Kenyan government continues to set and adjust restrictions both nationally and regionally to help control the spread of the disease.

What restriction were you most excited to see lifted already?

The worship centers have been opened, the opening of urban areas.

What restriction are you still looking forward to being lifted?

There are still curfew hours from nine at night to four in the morning.

When asked where he receives information about COVID-19, TKTK listed the radio, television, newspaper, loudspeaker/megaphone announcements, word of mouth, and our team's sensitization training.

What has been the most valuable part of the COVID-19 sensitization training you received from our team?

Eating foods rich in vitamin c to boost my immune system, consumption of fiber diet to avoid constipation. Using the mask all the time and washing hands frequently. Doing physical activities as part of my wellness.




Project Photos


Project Type

Sand dams are huge, impressive structures built into the riverbeds of seasonal rivers (rivers that disappear every year during dry seasons). Instead of holding back a reservoir of water like a traditional dam would, sand dams accumulate a reservoir of silt and sand. Once the rain comes, the sand will capture 1-3% of the river’s flow, allowing most of the water to pass over. Then, we construct shallow wells on the riverbank to provide water even when the river has dried up, thanks to new groundwater reserves. Learn more here!


Income from Mud

January, 2014

Access to clean water can also provide access to a new livelihood.

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Kee Community 1A.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Kee Community 1A maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

We have just traveled 125 Km on a long rough dusty road, from the ASDF office in Mtito Andei to an area called Tawa. We are here to visit the 2nd  Sand Dam within the Kee Self Help Group, designed and constructed by ASDF and funded by The Water Project in 2013. 

When we arrive at Kee #2 Sand Dam we see a woman fetching water from a scoop hole and slowly filling up 5 jerri cans that are precariously loaded on a donkeys back.  Adjacent to her is a young man working at the bank of the sand dam. The bank of the sand dam is muddy and that’s a good thing, because this young man is using that mud to make money.  

Caleb forming bricksCaleb is the young man’s name and he states, “I am 25 years old and I am doing what I know best.  I dropped out of school and started casual laboring in this village. Water has been a problem but since this dam was constructed, we have had a reprieve.”

With the water table higher than it has ever been during this dry season, due to the sand dam, Caleb explains that with assistance from a friend he can make 400 bricks per day between the hours of 8 am and 2pm. He is able to make the bricks out of the mud.

Brick making is mostly done in the hot hours of the day under the scorching sun. Their sweat-soaked clothes cling to their bodies as they toil away in the mud this warm morning. They get water from a scoop hole next to the sand dam. This is poured on soil excavated from the ground with hoes and mixed till it is almost viscous. It is tedious and very physically demanding work as a lot of water is needed and constant relentless mixing of the soil and water. A simple wood frame box is used to form the shape of the bricks.

As Caleb fills the brick forms, with well mixed mud he explains,

scoop hole collecting“It is tough working in the mud but we earn some income from this. One brick sells at Ksh.15  (roughly 17 US cents) locally. But today, I am making bricks for my Dad who intends to construct a residential house in the nearby market center. He is not paying me for this work. He is a good man. He has supported me quite a lot in life, that is why we are here reciprocating our support to him.”

 Caleb has mud smeared all over his clothes and looks extremely tired. It is around 11.00am and a lot of work awaits him. No smile on his face but the figures he gives us seems very attractive. One can make up to Ksh.5000 (USD$60) in a week. They spend 2 – 4 days drying the bricks and another 2 days to prepare the kiln and burn them. One needs wooden logs to burn the bricks, which are rare to get as the community discourages cutting down trees.

“Brick-making was not possible before the dam was constructed here and we used to fetch water 6km away from here. It was difficult. Some of these challenges culminated to my dropping out of school”, Caleb concludes with a shy face.

The water problem in Tawa had been an accepted factor of life. But since ASDF began working under the biding of local self-help groups and committed itself to constructing sand dams in the area, the problem has been greatly reduced. And now, the communities are utilizing the access they have to a clean safe water supply not only for drinking and washing but for income generating activities such as brick making. 

Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Kee Community 1A maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Kee Community 1A – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

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