Women group turns swamp into a goldmine

By Mangoa Mosota

To him the piece of land was swampy, covered by reeds and of no big value.

So when a group of women approached Mr Javana Aswani about ten years ago, wanting to buy it, he had no big qualm. After all, they were offering quite a handsome price.

Today, the 15-member group has turned the one-acre parcel of land into a goldmine. It has become major a source of water, where the women have harnessed a number of springs. They pump water from the source to a tank, about a kilometre away, and sell a 20-litre jerrican at Sh5.

The group makes an average of Sh1,000 a day, quite good business for rural folk. As the country grapples with an acute shortage of water, residents of Ebusembe village, Emuhaya District are enjoying access to sufficient water. They are bathing in clean water courtesy of the project by the Ushirika Women Group. The group has since invested more than Sh4 million in the project.

With many rivers drying up following the wanton destruction of key water towers, the women project is a gem.

Fresh Water

The Equatorial Water Springs (EWS) project produces 144,000 litres in an hour.

When proper piping is done the project is expected to supply water to more than 20,000 residents of Maseno Township.

"The water is fresh. We are sourcing it from about 15 springs, 11 of them bringing water from underground," says Mr Alfred Nyongesa, the project’s technical engineer.

EWS was founded in 2002, and a year later started supplying water to residents.

The women group bought the piece of land for a modest Sh90,000, but today it is covered with diverse species of trees. They include fig and bamboo trees, which make the place wet. There are also bananas and yams.

"Fig trees have long roots and help rain water easily percolate into the underground, while the bamboo preserve it by prevention of evaporation after forming a layer," Nyongesa explains. Four years ago, the Water Resources Management Authority measured the yield of water and found it 78,000 litres an hour, but it has almost doubled. The project is situated about 500 metres from the Equator. The group’s treasurer, Ms Josephine Osotsi says the members saved diligently to raise the initial capital.

From a simple merry-go-around, the women are on the threshold of forming a major commercial water provider.

Monthly Savings

"We started saving as soon as we formed the group in 2000. Each member used to contribute Sh1,100 monthly. In two years, we raised Sh1.5 million," says Osotsi.

She adds: "We then approached a local bank and they advanced us Sh800,000 loan. We constructed three tanks, a power house and bought a water pump."

UWG is also constructing a water plant, which is about 70 per cent complete. All members engage in small-scale business. "They say ‘water is life’, but we say ‘hard work is life’," says Ms Agneta Ahono, the group’s chairperson.

She says the water is not interfered with, since it is from its natural source.

Even during the dry season, the amount of water at the springs only reduces slightly, unlike other sources.

Nyongesa showed The Standard polythene covers that are put beneath the manholes of the springs to stop sand from getting into the springs. Nyongesa says they dug a six-feet deep trench that is covered with polythene.

"I then dug 11 springs, about 15 feet-deep each and placed several cut jerricans one after another.

They reduce the surface area and increase pressure, in the process pushing the water upwards," says the retired civil servant. The springs are connected through underground pipes to a sedimentation tank, which has a capacity of 15,000 litres. "In this tank, heavy particles sink, and lets the water move into a 45,000-litre main tank," he says.

Avoid Contamination

The water is then pumped to a storage tank, a kilometre away.

Nyongesa, 60, says to avoid contamination, neighbouring residents who had dug pit latrines, willingly shut them down and built others far away. And the project has caught the eye of some local leaders. In April, Emuhaya MP Wilbur Ottichilo toured the project.

"Our MP was impressed and through his help, we secured Sh250,000 from the Constituency Development Fund to put up a tower," says Ahono. The 17-metre facility under construction will store more water from the springs. Maseno Theological College, Maseno Youth polytechnic, three secondary and two primary schools are among the institutions that will benefit from the project.

The group says it will place water meters at every consumer’s home, and charge monthly. Ahono says water tower will be competed before the year ends.

She says they require an additional Sh500,000 to complete the tower.