How locals recreated a killer rock to source of life

From the top, Masue rock which stretches several metres provides a scenic view of Sultan Hamud and other neighbouring towns along Mombasa road in Makueni County. In another life, the massive, winding rock would be a tourist attraction of sorts.

However, until 2014, the residents of Masue village in Mbitini ward knew nothing but torment from the rock, especially during the rainy seasons when heavy torrents of water from the rock would gush downwards at top speeds, tearing into people's farms and leaving in their wake untold destruction of homes and farms. Additionally, the runoff water from the rock would pulverize the area into ugly gullies, big enough to swallow even an elephant.

Whether it was during the dry season or rainy season, the locals had nothing good to look up to. In dry season, they would face the sad reality of water scarcity, forcing them to camp at the seasonal River Muoni where they dug wells to compete with livestock and wild animals. Few months after the rains, the river would dry up, plunging the locals into a life of misery.

Life of misery

Yet when the rains came, they would be displaced from their homes and farms by fast-flowing waters from the rock, occasioning massive soil erosion.

Having resigned to their fate, the residents aptly nicknamed their village wa-Ngiti, loosely translating to a place of dog's life.

"The rock was like a curse to us then. But today we are happy it is one of the main source of fresh water for us," says Rose Kimilu, a local resident.

In 2013, a team of 11 people from Mbitini ward was organised by the Anglican Development Services Eastern (ADSE), the development arm of the Anglican Church of Kenya which is a member of the Adaptation Consortium (ADA) and for three consecutive years, they were trained on the concept of climate change, its impacts and how to adapt and mitigate against the same.

Peter King'ola, is the vice chairman of the 11 member Mbitini ward climate change planning committee who says after the training, they were commissioned to identify a community project within their locality.

He says through Participatory Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (PVCA) for climate change, the community prioritised the construction of a rock catchment to harvest water from the rock with twin distribution lines to feed the entire village and to also stem the terror caused by the rock.

"Together with other members of the community, we identified Masue rock as our key focal point. We wanted a project that would address water insecurity in our area while at the same time addressing the damage caused by the rock during rainy seasons," King'ola says, explaining how the idea of the rock catchment was born.

The technology behind the rock catchment is simple; a three feet concrete wall has been constructed at the bottom of the winding rock where the rain water is collected and directed to a V-shaped embankment that is fitted with an extended giant metallic pipe. It is through this pipe that the collected water is directed to a 250 cubic metre concrete tank constructed a short distance away from the rock.

This tank then drains - through gravity - to two other 150 cubic metre tanks erected separately about a kilometre away from where locals access the water in kiosks. The water project has served both the locals and institutions such as Masue AIC day and boarding primary school which established a boarding due to the ready availability of water. Other schools benefiting from the project are Masue Secondary School and Kasuvi Primary, according to King'ola.

"Currently nobody goes for a kilometre looking for water. Whenever it rains as it is currently, we are assured of clean and fresh water," says King'ola sentiments echoed by Damaris Ndulu who describes the rock water project as a huge relief.

Conservation of indigenous trees

The ward climate change committee has also been training the locals on conservation of indigenous trees and planting of new ones as well as terracing to combat soil erosion. The tree project around the rock has not only helped to kill the gullies but also provided an opportunity to some farmers such as Daniel Maweu to start bee keeping projects and fruit farming a few metres below the rock, something that was unthinkable in the past.

"I want to put up 200 beehives here because the environment is good for bees. The trees will provide the much needed nectar and water is available," says Maweu who has also planted pixie oranges in a two acre farm.

The once neglected wa-Ngiti village is now a place of abundance and good life where schools and churches thrive and where promising farms sit side by side. Slowly, the name has changed from wa-Ngiti to now Masue village.

Mutuku King'oo is the chairman of the sustainability committee that is managing the water project and says rock has the potential to harvest millions of litres of water. With more storage facilities, King'oo says the rock catchment would ensure availability of water from one rainy season to the next.

Currently due to high demand, the water is depleted within three months during the dry season, forcing the locals back to the seasonal rivers, or as in the case of the schools, buying from private water companies.

"Our future plans are to expand the project in order to serve more people and for longer period. We are looking for support to acquire more water tanks," King'oo says.

The immediate help would most likely come from Makueni County government where its chief officer for environment, natural resources, mining and climate change Japeth Mutuku says they are working with the county residents in addressing climate change adaptation priorities, building community resilience, and fostering sustainable economic growth.

"As county government we are committed to the sustainability of both donor funded and county government funded projects to turn around the people's lives," assures the chief officer, adding that the 30 ward climate change planning committees spread across Makueni county receive regular trainings to build people's resilience to climate change.

"Capacity building is our key priority area thus we are giving total support to the sustainability of community projects such as Masue rock catchment," Mutuku says.

Figures from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) show that about 28 million Kenyans lack access to safe water. IRC also projects that severe drought currently ravaging parts of the country will leave about 5.4 million people without adequate access to water and food between March and June this year.

[This story was produced with support from WWF-K VCA Project and MESHA]