A group of smallholder farmers in Nyakach, Kisumu County are enjoying the benefits of adopting simple farming technologies in vegetable production. Members of Biju power group are now able to provide their families with a constant supply of fresh vegetables even during the dry season when vegetables are scarce, and the little available is very expensive.

KIWASH uses farmers groups to promote low cost farming interventions that can positively impact family income, nutrition and child health. KIWASH trains the lead farmers on good agricultural practices and sustainable low-cost farming technologies. The lead farmers then coordinate training and practical demonstration sessions to community members.

On June 20, KIWASH joined the Makueni County Government and key stakeholders in launching five-year strategic plans for Kibwezi-Makindu Water and Sanitation Company Ltd (KIMAWASCO) and Wote Water and Sewerage Company (WOWASCO) aimed at improving water services and coverage from 36% to 54% and 16% to 79% by 2021, respectively.

The two strategic plans were the result of a comprehensive assessment and strategic planning process carried out with the technical assistance of KIWASH. During the assessment process, the utilities were evaluated on operational practices and procedures, long-term plans for infrastructure improvements, and financial viability in comparison to industry standards and benchmarks.

On July 6, 2017, The Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), with support from KIWASH hosted a Sanitation Sub-Sector Investment Forum which attracted over 160 development partners including the World Bank, Africa Development Bank, the World Water Council and local commercial banks such as Kenya Commercial Bank, Cooperative Bank, Barclays Bank, Equity Bank, ABC Bank, Commercial Bank of Africa and GT Bank.

The Sanitation Sub-Sector Investment Forum provided a great opportunity for the key water service provider to share with participants the potential opportunities in the sanitation sub-sector that are commercially viable for investment.

A total of 65 villages in Kakamega, Kisumu, Makueni and Migori counties are on the path to being declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) after a community driven process conducted by the county ministries of health with support from USAID’s Kenya Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project (KIWASH).

Since October 2016, KIWASH has triggered 181 villages with a population of 59,203 in seven counties, namely Kakamega, Kisumu, Kitui, Makueni, Migori, Nyamira and Siaya counties. KIWASH aims to reach at least 70,000 people with improved sanitation.

Twenty-two staff members of the Cooperative Bank of Kenya participated in KIWASH’s training on water sector financing held on March 16 in Nairobi. The KIWASH technical finance advisor and a water sector regulatory expert provided participants with practical knowledge on understanding the water sector, financing opportunities, the importance of USAID’s Development Credit Authority (DCA) guarantee and other available credit enhancements to reduce lending risk to the sector.

Through DCA, USAID shares risk, or guarantees loans from commercial banks like Cooperative Bank of Kenya to water utilities in order to improve water access and quality.

KIWASH provides training to help increase utilization of the guarantee by commercial banks that have signed the guarantee for lending to the water sector. The Co-operative Bank of Kenya signed the guarantee in September 2016.

Sustainable water supply in urban areas remains a challenge because water utilities lose as much as 67 percent of their water to leaks in transmission, poor billing systems, theft and weak metering policies.

In Mbooni, a water company that distributes water to all residents and institutions was running into huge losses mainly caused by Non-Revenue Water (NRW) that affected its operations and service delivery. In October 2016, KIWASH trained senior management and technical staff of the water company on interventions to reduce of non-revenue water losses. 

On February 10, KIWASH signed a grant agreement with a Kenyan agribusiness firm Safe Produce Solutions. The grant supports a one-year project designed to provide 120 smallholder farmers access to appropriate irrigation technologies that boost nutrition, productivity and income generation in Kitui and Makueni counties.

Under the arrangement, Safe Produce Solutions installs simple irrigation equipment and builds the capacity of farmers to grow high quality horticulture produce. 

KIWASH in partnership with county nutrition and health departments are working to promote consumption of nutritious dense and diverse foods as well as improve food security at the household level.

In November 2016, KIWASH supported the establishment of an agribusiness demonstration farm at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital to display various kitchen gardening technologies such as multi-storey gardens, keyhole gardens, moist and raised bed gardens, hanging gardens and recycled tire gardens. The farm is managed by Hope for Kisumu Youth Achievers Group, a support group for people living positively with HIV.

On May 17, KIWASH hosted USAID Economic Growth Chief, Mark Carrato and the Kakamega County Executive Member of Water, Hon. Robert Sumbi on a protected spring visit in Malava, Kakamega County. The spring is one of 50 under rehabilitation with USAID support to increase water access to 50,000 people in Busia, Kakamega, Kisumu, Migori, Nyamira and Siaya counties.

Carrato met with county officials as well as community members and learned from them that the spring protection interventions have resulted in improved water quality, water yield and significantly reduced time in which the community members spend fetching water.