Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 158 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jun 2016

Functionality Status:  Water Flowing - Needs Attention

Last Checkup: 02/16/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Africa Sand Dam Foundation. Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Background Information

Kyandwiki Self-Help Group was formed in the year 2015, and now has 33 members: 23 females and 10 males. The average size of the families in this group is six members, 158 members total. The main economic activity of the community is farming, with 63% of respondents saying they depend entirely on farming as their livelihood. To supplement farming, 19% of the respondents mention that they engage in causal labor on the side. In this case, casual labor could be digging terraces, fetching water to sell, herding livestock, and other activities.

After visiting several projects implemented in nearby communities, the Kyandwiki Self-Help Group grew an interest in strengthening and protecting their existing water sources. The group is particularly worried about the degradation of their river, which affects its water flow and water levels. The solution is to construct a sand dam that will restore the degraded river bed. The community got in touch with ASDF, who advised the group to register and prepare a project plan that they wish to implement during a five-year partnership.

The Current Source

The main sources of water in this area are a natural spring and a seasonal river whereat the members dig scoop holes. 63% of respondents fetch water from the natural spring, while the other 37% fetch water from the river’s scoop holes. On average it takes one or two hours to travel to one of these water points. The limitations of having no other water sources nearby has created business opportunities for the youth, who fetch water from the spring and carry it to the nearby town to sell. Those who do not have the ability to travel to the spring or river buy this water, which costs between ksh 10-30 per 20-liter jerrycan. For those community members who cannot afford water fees, there are long lines at the water points very early in the morning, often before 5am.

People get water form the spring by directly scooping it up with small containers. When at the river, they get water by scooping it from freshly-dug scoop holes in the sand. There are times when the spring runs dry from too many people fetching water. When this happens, locals sometimes have to wait for hours before enough water is available for fetching. The low recharge rate of the spring has been caused by overuse and lots of human activity, which have degraded the catchment point over time.

The common way to transport water is by strapping containers to the back of a donkey or placing it in carts. A donkey can carry four or five full 20-liter jerrycans per trip. An ox can pull about 400 liters of water in a cart. Most households have at least one beast of burden because fetching water has been a challenge for as long as community members can remember.

To avoid numerous daily trips to the water points, each household has a specific day set aside just for fetching water. Most families prefer fetching water during the weekends when the children are around to help. This makes the weekends a particularly busy time at the spring and river, where there will be long queues and reduced water quantities available. Besides the weekends, some families have to make trips on Wednesday and Friday. On any water-fetching day, more than three trips are made to and from the water point. When it arrives home, the water is poured in larger reservoirs that will be rationed throughout the week. And of course this rationed water is for family members first and livestock last. This water challenge greatly affects the livelihood of farmers who of course opt to sacrifice the health of livestock for their families.

Sanitation Situation

100% of households have a pit latrine, most of which are well-constructed and roofed. They are frequently cleaned, but the pits are left uncovered. Since every household has a latrine, open defecation is not observed as an issue in this area.

About 75% of households have tools like dish racks and clotheslines. Most garbage is disposed of in a compost pit located in the furthest outside corner of the home compound. When full, the contents of these pits are burnt to create more room. Because most of the group members received a formal education, they understand the implications and consequences of poor hygiene. Hygiene is perceived as a symbol of class and well-being.

Solution

The group has decided to place a hand-dug well next to their river's sand dam. They will provide all necessary construction materials such as stone, water, and sand, along with a few volunteer laborers responsible for excavating the well. Construction is expected to take two months, which involves excavation, lining with concrete, and installing an Afridev pump. And as the neighboring sand dam matures, the water table will rise and provide both better water levels and quality. This shallow well built alongside the sand dam will give community members a safe way to access naturally filtered water (see the sand dam project here!).

The group members will be trained for three days on:

  • Proper and safe water-handling and storage
  • Sanitation and hygiene practices such as hand-washing
  • Constructing a tippy tap (hand-washing station)
  • Water treatment
  • Building a strong water user committee

The community will also be learning about environmental conservation by planting trees to restore degraded land. This shallow well will be pivotal for establishing these tree nurseries.

Project Results: Training

The community training was held at a group member’s homestead, close to the sand dam and shallow well. This meeting point was chosen because training was scheduled during the rainy season, and members wanted to have a roof over their heads to keep them dry.

Training was initially scheduled to take place in April, immediately after the sand dam was constructed. But since the long rainy season starts in April, it was necessary to give the community time off to concentrate on farming. In May, the members would be less busy and able to take part in training. Because of the flexible schedule, the training was attended by all group members.

Participants also developed an action plan to improve personal hygiene. For example, community members planned how to get the tools for water treatment and when to start. These community members were grateful for what they learned. Farmer Rose Wamnua said, “I have learnt how hand-washing is important to avoiding diseases. I have learnt how to introduce hand-washing to all members of community through construction of the tippy-tap!”

So not only have community members learned how to construct helpful tools like dish racks and clotheslines, but they have also learned how to make a tippy-tap (a hand-washing station made of all easy-to-acquire local materials).

Hand-Dug Well

The construction process began with excavation on March 6th. This area has a hard, stony terrain which can prevent extensive excavation, and thus the community selected four potential well sites. The community assigned four men to fully concentrate on excavation of the shallow well while the rest continued work on the adjacent sand dam. Once the men found an area that would allow, they dug a pit 14 feet deep. Walling of the well was completed in April, by late April the well was cased, well pad was built, and the Afridev pump installed.

Major excavation delays occurred due to the onset of the rainy season. All of the rain made the well walls weak and thus dangerous for excavation. In total, delays lasted about two weeks. When they encountered hard terrain, the men poured water to soften it enough for a few feet more.

The shallow well will be recharged by the sand dam as the sand dam matures. This will ensure that the shallow well yield is high and a regular supply of water is ensured. The water user committee has also decided to set times when water can be collected: early morning (6:30am - 9am) and late afternoon (4pm - 6pm), allowing the well to recharge. Periodic water tests will be done to ensure that the quality of water is known, and that any beneficial water treatment methods are encouraged.

During pump installation, the water user committee was trained on pump care and maintenance, and is expected to fix any minor repairs. In the case of major breakdown, the community will call us.

Farmer Josephine Mumbua Musumbi is just happy that she now has a separate water point for her family. Before, people would take their animals to the same place as others would pull their drinking water! She attested that "the shallow well will provide humans with water away from the where the livestock are getting water... I think this will help in reducing diseases." She's right!

Project Updates


December, 2017: A Year Later: Kyandwiki Hand-Dug Well

A year ago, generous donors helped build a hand-dug well for the Kyandwiki Self-Help Group in Kenya. Because of these gifts and our monthly donors, partners are able to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the actual water project. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – we’re excited to share this one from our partners Muthei Mutune and Titus Mbithi with you.




Project Photos


Project Type

Hand-dug wells have been an important source of water throughout human history! Now, we have so many different types of water sources, but hand-dug wells still have their place. Hand dug wells are not as deep as borehole wells, and work best in areas where there is a ready supply of water just under the surface of the ground, such as next to a mature sand dam. Our artisans dig down through the layers of the ground and then line the hole with bricks, stone, or concrete, which prevent contamination and collapse. Then, back up at surface level, we install a well platform and a hand pump so people can draw up the water easily.


A Year Later: Kyandwiki Hand-Dug Well

December, 2017

The group members hope to install a community water tank at the nearby market, to which they would pipe and pump water from this well to sell to others. This would fetch good money for the group.

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Kyandwiki Community 1B 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!

A year ago, generous donors helped build a hand-dug well for the Kyandwiki Self-Help Group in Kenya. Because of these gifts and our monthly donors, partners are able to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the actual water project. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – we’re excited to share this one from our partners Muthei Mutune and Titus Mbithi with you.


Safe drinking water used to just be a dream for hundred in this area, but it is now a reality. Water-related complications such as typhoid and amoeba are things of the past, since everyone is drinking treated water from a clean source.

A polytechnic institute nearby, Vyulya Polytechnic, has benefitted from the project because students are now fetching water for their own use. Before the project was implemented, water was a big problem for them and they had to get it from a river named Mukuyuni, which is very far away.

Mr. Pius Nzoila Kitwa is one of the group members who worked hard to see this project's success. He met us at the water point to talk about the change that's happened over the past year. "We never used to treat our drinking water, but since the start of this project we have constantly been treating the water and storing it in a safe place. This has resulted in fewer cases of typhoid and amoeba. The initial distance traveled to Mukuyuni River has now greatly decreased, and the project has been serving a big population. We sell water from the well and use the money for maintenance expenses. Our children have improved their performance levels because they use time initially wasted going to fetch water on reading and doing their homework," he shared.

Field Officer Muthei Mutune with Mr. Pius and Francis.

And thanks to the surplus of water an adjacent sand dam provides, this hand-dug well is able to pump clean, safe water from the catchment area.

Pius Nzoila Kitwa pumping water at the hand-dug well.

16-year-old Francis Miunde was also there. "Distance [to water] has decreased from three kilometers to less than a kilometer, which is a very good thing to me because I have time to study... My personal hygiene has improved because water is available. This has happened to nearly all the students in the area, and they are now comfortable unlike before when some could be sent home because of being dirty. They are now comfortable and their performance has improved," he said.

The group members hope to install a community water tank at the nearby market, to which they would pipe and pump water from this well to sell to others. This would fetch good money for the group.


The Water Project and our partners are committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by monthly donors, allows us to visit communities up to four times a year. Read more about our program and how you can help.


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 Kyandwiki Community 1B 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 Kyandwiki Community 1B – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Barbara Belle Ash Dougan Foundation