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VOICES FOR WETLANDS AND WATER: CASE STUDIES ON WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT & WASH IN KENYA
Maji Chap Chap: Bringing Rain Water to the Kitchen Table
Ewaso Maji Users (EMU) Sacco is a community- based financer for the five MKEWP counties. The Sacco enables members to be water secure by borrowing affordable loans, dubbed Maji Chap-Chap, for installing water harvesting infrastructure. It is the only water Sacco in Kenya. With current membership standing at 250 and growing, the Sacco partners with manufacturers and suppliers to help members acquire quality products for harvesting and storing rainwater at discounted rates. The manufacturers and suppliers also link members to qualified and certified technicians. Once the infrastructure is installed, water for household use is harvested and stored in tanks while the excess is channelled into water pans for irrigation and livestock use. Maji Chap-Chap enables farmers to shift from rain-fed agriculture so that they can produce crops all year round and depend less on irrigation during dry seasons. This not only cushions them from the impacts of climate change but also eases pressure on scarce river water during droughts and improves livelihoods. In addition, it assures sanitation and hygiene in the dry months of the year when river water is minimal or unavailable.
Susan Gathoni, CEO EMU Sacco
“Members who have taken up this initiative are now model farmers. Our challenge is capital growth, which has been affected by the COVID pandemic. The county governments have expressed interest but yet to get involved. We, however, hope to start a revolving fund that will inject capital into the Sacco so that it can run on its own,” says Susan Gathoni, MKEWP Water Officer and CEO, EMU Sacco.
Patrick Maina at his farm in Nanyuki, Laikipia
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