Mud and dung still preferred building materials in Western, Nyanza counties

A mud-walled house in Yimbo, Siaya County. [Isaiah Gwengi, Standard]

Concrete is the most preferred floor material for households in the country, even as data by the government statistician shows cow dung is still being used by the majority in Western region counties.

A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that half (49.5 per cent) of main dwellings and residences use concrete, cement or terrazzo as floor material. Some 25.4 per cent of the households use earth or sand while 12.6 per cent use dung.

The report shows more households in Bomet, Kakamega, and Vihiga counties use dung as floor material compared to West Pokot, which is understandable since it is a marginalised area.

Dung is normally acquired from domestic animals, particularly cows and is believed to reduce infestation of jiggers and mites.

According to the report, Kakamega County leads with most households with dung as floor material (62.9 per cent). It is followed closely by Bomet (60.9 per cent), Vihiga (54.4 per cent) then West Pokot (53 per cent).

The data is contained in the country's first Kenya Time Use Report which is based on the 2021 Kenya Continuous Household Survey.

The report states that slightly over a third (37.0 per cent) of the households in rural areas live in houses with concrete, cement or terrazzo floors, while 37.5 per cent live in houses with earth or sand floors. "In urban areas, concrete, cement or terrazzo (69 per cent) was the most common type of floor material followed by ceramic tiles at 19.2 per cent," the report says.

The majority of these counties where households use dung as floor material also use the same for their walls.

Kakamega County, which led in the number of households that use dung as floor material is reported also to have 74.8 per cent using mud or cow dung as wall material.

Vihiga has 73.1 per cent using the same material, Bomet 60.4 per cent.

The majority of households in the counties of Western and Nyanza region use these materials: Nyamira 60.5 per cent, Kisii 58.4 per cent, Home Bay 59.7 per cent, Siaya 51.2 per cent, Busia 64 per cent and Migori 65.6 per cent.

West Pokot has the highest percentage at 81.1 per cent. The report shows that 29.0 per cent of households were living in bamboo or stone with mud or mud-walled dwellings during the survey.

"This type of walling material was more common in rural areas at 43.1 per cent," the report says. "At least 70 per cent of the dwellings in urban areas had walls made of stone and cement, cement blocks, bricks and cement finished walls."

Mombasa (87 per cent), Nairobi City (69.6 per cent), Nakuru (49.3 per cent) and Kiambu (42.1 per cent) counties had a high proportion of households living in dwelling units whose walls were made of either stone with lime or cement.

"The proportion of dwelling units with wall material made of wood planks or shingles or timber was high in Meru at 60.5 per cent, Nyeri (50.6 per cent), Nyandarua (47 per cent) and Laikipia (39.1 per cent) counties," the report says.

Unlike dung or mud which is used in selected counties as roofing material as well, iron sheets are the most preferred with a national coverage of 83.9 per cent.

Mandera County, however, leads with most of the households that use grass or makuti or twigs as roofing material at 65.4 per cent. It is followed by Turkana (62.2 per cent), Wajir (59.5 per cent) and Tana River (54.8 per cent) for counties above 50 per cent.

Majority of these counties are from arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) regions and pastoralism is a major source of livelihood which is associated with a nomadic lifestyle. As such, most dwellings in these regions are temporary.

The use of dung or mud as roofing material was highest in Samburu County at 17.5 per cent followed by West Pokot (4.6 per cent), Kajiado (4.3 per cent), Busia (3.8 per cent), Narok (3.7 per cent), Vihiga (2.5 per cent) and Kakamega (2.0 per cent).

The report states that the proportion of households living in dwelling units with corrugated iron or decra or versatile sheet roofing material was 88.9 per cent in rural areas and 79.3 per cent in urban.

"Comparison between rural and urban areas shows disparities in grass roofer dwellings, which were more common in rural areas(8.4 per cent) compared to 1.1 per cent in urban," the report says.

Similarly, the report adds, there were disparities in concrete or cement roofs which were more common in urban areas at 19.9 per cent compared to 0.6 per cent.

"Roofing sheets accounted for the highest proportion of roofing materials in all counties except Tana River, Wajir, Mandera, and Turkana where grass or makuti is the predominant roofing material," the report says.