Water Under Our Feet

Until recently, finding water was a time-consuming and arduous task for the villagers of Makuka in Kyuso District, Kenya. Their main water supply was situated some 20 kilometres away. However, during the first part of 2009, the villagers themselves dug two wells to access groundwater within the immediate area.

Initially, the only support received was in locating the water source. Thereafter, using only shovels to remove soil, and hammers and chisels to bore through sections of hard rock, the villagers dug until water was reached at 52 and 67 feet (15.8 and 20.4 metres respectively). After the water was located, a local organisation, the Mitamisyi Poverty Alleviation Programme (MPAP), provided support in the form of well linings and hand-pumps. MPAP also helped to build cattle troughs and latrines, which are needed to ensure that the water supply does not become contaminated.

25 villagers, women and men, agreed to participate in a discussion on their understanding and experience of climate change.

Sand and Water Porridge: How has the climate changed? Kitunda Mutava: "I was born in 1932 and I have lived most of my life in Kyuso. It is obvious that the weather has changed a lot. We see rain in January; we never saw that in the past, and we see no rain in October when the long rains used to start. It has not rained at all this year and our crops never even germinated."

Mwikali Kiteme: "The long dry season usually begins in July, but look around you, it is already dry and it is only early June. Our gardens should be full of crops for harvesting, and the bush should be providing grazing for our livestock, but it is all bare and it was the same last year as well. I have heard of children in one family trying to make porridge out of sand and dirty water. How can we endure this? Previously rain might have failed for two consecutive seasons, but now it can fail to rain properly for eight consecutive seasons. The last good rains we had here were during the El Niño of 1998."

What was it like in the past? Kitunda Mutava: "In famines of the past there was little food for sale. Today, there is food but little money to buy it with. In times of famine, we would travel to Meru district, which is on much higher ground and has good rainfall. We searched for work and would be paid with food. Of course, we also had our livestock even though there was always the problem of water, even when there was grazing."

Traditional Crops Do Better: What are the most serious changes you have seen? Kitunda Mutava: "We should have rains twice a year, but now we are lucky to get showers to give us pasture. But this is not the only change we see. The climate has changed inside the people as well. This is the place where millet, sorghum and cowpeas are traditionally grown. But people have changed to maize and beans. There was never enough rain for those crops and people in the past knew that. Our children used to chase the birds which attack millet and sorghum, but nowadays our children are at school and adults do not want to spend days chasing birds. They want to go to Church and to the market so we cannot blame the climate for everything."

How many people here planted millet and cowpeas this year? Kasembi Muthui: "I planted maize and beans but nothing grew this year, not even the millet and sorghum because it's so dry, so we are all in the same position."

Would you change the way you plant and return to traditional crops? Kasembi Muthui: "We have no choice. We have to change back to the way we lived before. Millet and sorghum are good foods and are not as damaged by insects and they do not need much rain. We have to try and give our children a future here as there is nothing for young people in Nairobi anymore, unless they are lucky to get good jobs."

Keen to Learn New Water Harvest Techniques: You have managed to dig two wells by hand and have found a reliable source of water for you and your livestock. What does that mean for you? 

Peter Musya: "It is unbelievable. For years we trekked all the way to Ngomeni, 20 kilometres away, to fetch water. We never knew we had water under our feet. We will always pray to God to give us water from above, but now we can dig for water. It is our water and we have worked for it. We know we can grow at least some food when the rains fail or when it rains very little. We can grow fodder for our livestock so that we do not have to sell them when prices are poor during drought. We can have beehives, as bees need water as well as forage."

And what about the land? Is there anything more that you are thinking of doing with it? Peter Musya: "If you look at the gardens, they are dry and wasted. The heavy rains are washing away the soil and leaving bare ground that lets all the water run to the river Tana. We know we have to preserve the soil so that the water goes into the ground and that the soil also stays. Now we know what we can do together, we want to make the most of what we have, even though the climate is working against us. We want to learn about other forms of water harvesting that can work. We know they require a lot of work but we are capable and committed."

Find more information about Concern Universal and the Mitamisyi Poverty Alleviation Programme (MPAP)