By Atula Owade
Kyeni Self Help Group (SHG)is a shining example of the important roles of community mobilization and inclusive governance in rural development. Established in 2013, the group is based in Masii location, Machakos County with a membership of 30 farmers. Within the seven years of its existence, the society has addressed some of the major challenges facing its members and the community at large.
Over the past couple of weeks, a team of experts from the Kings Agricultural Services Consortium (KASC) has been working on the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) in Machakos County. Kyeni, whose Kamba name translates to “light”, is one of the groups we work with. In a recent meeting, the members shone light into how they are solving problems involving access to fresh water, provision of healthy foods, and creation of jobs.
Access to Water
This is a major problem not only in Machakos but the Ukambani region as a whole. Being mostly semi-arid, most people have problems accessing water. Before the devolved system of governance, getting the government to prioritize local needs was more difficult due to the top-down approach taken in policy making and budgeting- including those relating to management of water resources.
Introduction of County governments in 2013 created space for more local voices to be heard. This is the space some residents took advantage of and quickly mobilized to form Kyeni within the same year. The group successfully lobbied for County support in the excavation of two community-run reservoirs for collection and storage of rain water. Each of them can meet the local residents’ water needs for up to 10 months, with ongoing plans for expansion.
In 2015 as well as 2017, the group secured technical support the African Sand Dams Foundation which put up a pair of sand dams- one each on Thwake and Maikua Rivers. Conflicts with downstream users were avoided through consultations with the local Water Resource Users Association. Likewise, sharing the benefits of the dam with residents of Kathiani across the river Thwake escalated conflicts related to harvesting of sand used in setting up the dams. Currently, the group is working on setting up a pumping mechanism to distribute water from these dams, which provide year-long access.
Access to healthy food
With access to water largely solved, other things fall in place. Agricultural activities in the area were being hampered by limited access to water. Now with increased availability, the community’s capacity to irrigate farmlands has significantly increased. There has also been a marked increase in plantation of leafy green vegetables, with the County also encouraging establishment of kitchen gardens.
These are major milestones as they have increased the community’s access to locally produced healthy foods. This is bound to get better if the water storage facilities are expanded alongside establishment of a more robust distribution system. Given the group’s proactiveness and external support, these aspirations are likely to materialize. The The efforts of Kyeni SHG are, therefore, helping to raise food and nutritional security in the area.
Creation of local jobs
Although it now has a cross-generational membership, Kyeni was originally envisioned as a youth group. It is younger people who established it to find ways of creating jobs for themselves. To an extent, this goal has been achieved. The potential for increased output due to irrigation has encouraged more people to venture into farming. This has helped stem emigration to urban areas, with a significant number now relying on farmlands for their livelihood. However, there are still several barriers which are yet to be overcome.
Josphat Mutyota Kiilu, who is the group’s Project Coordinator states that although they have made significant steps, there is still a long way to go. Beyond sealing information gaps, there is need to empower farmers with the right technologies, inputs and management practices to increase the productivity and develop enterprises around priority value chains. That is exactly why we at Kings Agricultural Services Consortium are situated in Machakos, working on the enterprise development of pigeon peas. Kyeni has already set the foundation we need to build on top of.
How that goes, is a story for another day.