1. Sand Dams & Sub Surface Dams
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For generations, families in
Kitui lucky enough to live within reach of a seasonal river
have harvested water from scoop holes in the river bed.
Though these rivers do not flow in the dry season, the deep
sand acts as a reservoir for water.
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We use this
principle to build a sand dam. Here (left, right and above
right, a suitable site is found on a seasonal river bed
which has a hard underlying rock formation which will form
a suitable foundation for the dam wall. |
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Under the
guidance of the Development Department of the Diocese of
Kitui, a water committee is formed which will partner with
Friends of Kitui to provide their labour, and locally
sourced materials such as sand and gravel for mixing
concrete. The majority of the committee will usually be
women, not least because it is traditionally womens' work
to fetch water. However all the community gets involved,
including the village leaders and elders. |
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The first task of
the committee is to agree on common ownership for the site
of the sand dam, so that all may have access to water in
perpetuity. The owner of the land on which the dam is to be
sited will grant access, and this is legally registered.
Once the preliminaries are sorted out,
the technical survey takes place to determine the Bill of
Quantities for the construction. Then site clearance takes
place, to expose the solid rock base on which the dam will
be constructed.
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The Development
Department's Water Technician will liaise with the
appropriate Government Agencies who will grant the
appropriate licences, and sometimes will also produce the
technical drawings for construction. At this point, a
skilled artisan will be employed to oversee the
construction process. Work now begins, with the
enthusiastic participation of the community. |
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Collecting the materials for
construction is a major part of the effort. The community
will hand-carry tons of sand to the site.
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Gravel, or hardcore, for the
concrete will also be provided by the community. Usually
this is produced by breaking larger rocks by hand- and most
often, it is the women who will do this arduous work.
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This dam at
Makongo in eastern Kitui is shown nearing completion. On
left we see the Assistant Chief for this district, and on
right some members of the organising committee. In the
background, men and women carry and place rocks in the
concrete to construct the dam wall. You can also see the
steel reinforcing bars which give the wall strength. |
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(Left) Jacinta,
Water Technician in the Development Department, points to
the completed dam, shown also on the right. This is the
side of the dam where the rains will wash down sand, which
will build up to the height of the spillway in the centre
of the dam. |
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This picture
gives some idea of the scale of the construction. This dam
was sponsored by ThreeSixty Marketing from Kilkenny,
Ireland |
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Shown here is a
mature dam at Kyeni, close to Kitui town, and some 10 years
old. The upstream side of the dam, and for a hundred metres
or more, has filled up with sand, which retains tens of
thousands of litres of water. For the first few years after
construction, water wass harvested by scooping in the sand
bed, just as we showed on the first pictures above. |
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After 10 years,
in this partcular case, Friends of Kitui constructed a well
close to the sand dam. This well was sponsored by Dalkey
Clinic, Dalkey, Ireland, and now gives the community access
to very clean and safe water for hundreds of people. Not
only do they have safe drinking water, but the area around
the dam for a considerable distance is now more fertile due
the to retained water, and the community can now grow and
irrigate new crops for their families.
Shown right is a group of women from this
location celebrating the commissioning of the new well with
song and dance.
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Hand Dug Wells
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Water Storage Tanks
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