Kenya

The drought-ravaged region of Turkana in north-west Kenya is parched after more than four years without substantial rain. Rivers have dried up and people have lost their lives digging boreholes to collect groundwater.

Climate change is making the problem worse. Thousands of animals have perished because they don’t have clean water to drink. The pastoral farmers who rely on these animals for their livelihoods are struggling. Not only do they not have enough water to give to their animals, they don’t have enough to drink themselves, or to cook and wash with.

A unique combination of solar innovation, skills training and knowledge sharing is already changing lives in this parched region. Families are harnessing the power of the sun to give them the water they so desperately need. We’re working with communities and local authorities to keep the water freely available to everyone. This makes our solutions work for years to come.

In the coming years, we’ll be partnering with more at risk communities to help them become resilient to drought and other disasters. We plan to work with 180,000 of the most vulnerable and marginalised people to help them thrive in the face of climate change.

Kisumu is Kenya’s third largest city. Overcrowding, bad hygiene practices and a lack of proper services means that water borne diseases such as dysentery and typhoid are common. Open defecation is widespread. Kisumu’s high water table and frequent floods create additional health hazards – flood water contaminated with waste flows through the street when it rains.

We’re working with partners to put toilets and handwashing facilities into homes, community centres and schools. Community volunteers are championing handwashing and good hygiene and helping their peers with advice and guidance on avoiding disease. Girls are being targeted with advice on how to remain clean and healthy when they have their periods.

Meanwhile, local labourers and pit emptiers are being trained to build new toilets and empty the toilet pits safely, offering a valuable service to their community. Will be scaling up these low-cost and community-led solutions over the next year, supporting 150,000 people living in low-income urban settlements.

In Kenya, traditional sources of fuel are dwindling and there is strict restriction of wood harvesting in government forests. This particularly affects women, because they’re usually responsible for fuel collection. When wood is scarce it takes longer for women and girls to collect, which restricts their educational and economic opportunities.

Improved cook stoves use a third of the fuel of traditional stoves, saving money and reducing deforestation. They also reduce indoor air pollution, improving health. Briquettes use waste materials like charcoal dust, sawdust and other household biomass waste like coconut husks, which are compacted and can then be used in stoves, providing an affordable technology that is a safe and a cleaner energy source than firewood. Meanwhile, solar products range from household lighting to USB battery chargers, offering a range of safe, clean and affordable energy options.

When women demonstrate and sell these products to other women, the uptake is often significantly higher. So, in a business sector currently dominated by men, there is huge potential for women entrepreneurs to make a difference and to increase the use of clean and safe energy fuel and products. There is also clear evidence that improving incomes of women translates into an increased investment in family and their wellbeing, creating stronger, happier and more independent family units.

In Kenya we are working with struggling small holder farmers to make agriculture work better for them, many of whom are women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living. The objective of the project is to establish vibrant and inclusive rural economies in East Africa by promoting agricultural livelihoods for young people, underpinned by agro-ecological principles and practices. The project aims to break the cycles of low productivity and increasing rural poverty, through a holistic and gendered approach which will enable young men and women to increase their income through agri-business.