Maano Water Project

In Kanjoo, Miraa farming is the most profitable crop grown and sold. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government of Kenya prohibited its sale due to the amount of handling that was necessary from grower to consumer.

This was devastating for the farmers of Kanjoo whose already modest incomes plummeted overnight. Farmers are now realising the benefits of diversification for reliable incomes. However, without a steady supply of water for irrigation or for livestock, this diversification is incredibly challenging.

Project Aims:

• To build a water holding tank to supply 100 farms with a reliable water source.
• To increase yields and enable diversification to boost incomes and improve lives.
• To free up time for women and children creating increased opportunities and a return to education.

The Maano group is a group of farmers within Kanjoo that have come together to pool their financial and human resources. They originally consisted of 46 members who built a water intake tank at a spring source in order to be able to pipe water to their farms and homes.

During the dry season, the stream level would fall which would make it impossible for water to get to some of the houses due to the limited pressure. The group therefore wrote a proposal and requested for THI to build them a concrete water tank of the capacity of 135 cubic meters. This would solve the problem of water availability during the dry season and would also mean that 50 to 60 more households could join the group and have access to water for their farms and households throughout the year.

THI investigated the water supply to ensure its reliability and sustainability including the effect that drawing more water from the spring would have on the water table and river flow. After careful planning and discussions with the Maano group, it was decided that the benefits of this project were indeed justified.

The group voted on a representative to be the THI contact and they committed to the management and repairs of the tank going forward. The groups contribution to the project was to plant trees around the source to replenish water below ground and to the fence the catchment area to protect it from encroachment.

With the additional members now included, the beneficiaries of this project total around 600 with nearly 100 households now benefiting from water in their homes and around their farms. With this water readily available, women and children no longer need to travel long distances to collect water which has freed up their valuable time.

Children can return to education with hopes and dreams for the futures reignited. As part of the agreement between THI and the Maano Group, the members will pipe water to the low income households living in poverty nearby as part of their community spirit and social responsibility.