Kenya Project Vol 3: Back to the hardware stores we go

Yesterday we had successfully delivered two tanks and some cement to the women's group. We still needed to deliver more materials though (we didn't have the space to transport them yesterday). This meant another trip to the hardware store and inevitably more waiting around...

Walking into Loitokitok town to the hardware store - Kilimanjaro in the background. Loitokitok is set in a beautiful position. It is the closest town to mount Kilimanjaro on the Kenyan side. The elevation of the town brings fairly mild temperatures and more rainfall than surrounding areas. We were visiting in the rainy season which is why you can see a lot of greenery around. The Eduet women's group is based in Rombo which has a very different climate, it is hot and arid.

Our mission for today was to purchase all of the necessary guttering for the rain water harvesting. The Eduet women and their respective friends and family had insisted that they install the guttering themselves, they just wanted us to purchase it for them. We also needed to purchase all pipe work for the the tank which would provide water for the drip irrigation system and then any related tools, fixtures and fittings. We arrived in Loitokitok at 8:15, by 12:30 we had all necessary equipment except for some fittings for the gutters which we'd need to pick up from Rombo the following day. As usual, it was late by the time we got to the women's group. At 14:00 it would be another late start but we had made great progress because we now had barely anything else left to buy which was probably the most time consuming element of the project due to all the waiting around.

We were lucky enough on this day to find a bus heading to Rombo which had a roof rack so we could attach our materials to the vehicle. Once in Rombo, Boda Boda (motorbike) was the only option for transporting the materials so it was certainly a test of balance.

Ouch, them shoulders were aching!

Offloading our gear, I was carring a load of things too but couldn't picture them because there was no one else around to take the photo.

Here they are...the remaining team....Edward and Kelvin turn up with the last of the materials.

You can't go to see Eduet Women's Group without being invited into the house for drinks and some food. No matter what time of the day it is you can never start work without Chai and some hospitality so we headed inside, quickly guzzled and gobbled down some lunch and proceeded with the project.

To complete the work most efficiently we decided to split into two groups for the duration of the rest of the project. Ryan and Edward would take charge in making the concrete base for the second tank. Kelvin and I would sort out the piping for the drip irrigation system and put the taps and necessary fittings on both tanks. We were helped by the women’s group and locals on all accounts and made good progress due to everyone's collaboration.

A picture tells a thousand words, so i'll let the pictures do the talking on this one..

Constructing the concrete base.

Using local stones to make the concrete.

The chair lady of the women's group was always willing to get stuck in!

Mixing the concrete and filling the base (in the background).

Making the concrete for the base is time consuming!

Sorting the tanks and fitting the drip irrigation system

Fixing the taps to the tanks meant climbing inside the tanks. The temperatures were never less than 30 degrees and the tanks felt like a furnace inside. Here's Kelvin nipping out for a bit of much needed air. Each tank needed a tap at the base to access the water and also a pressure hole at the top for water to escape if the tank reaches maximum capacity.

These are the pipes which feed water from the tank into the drip irrigation system.

We decided to dig a trench for the pipes to protect the plastic from the sun, which will eventually turn it brittle, and also to protect it from other hazards such as intruding cattle.

The pipe is in the trench and it is all connected now we just need to cover it. Just about everyone around the site helped to dig the trench. It has been a community effort.

Today has been a very productive day, thanks once again to everyone's teamwork. We leave very satisfied and very dusty! We don't have a huge amount left to do. The tank which leads to the drip irrigation system still needs to be finished and the concrete base needs finishing. We also need to buy some fittings for the guttering which we couldn't find today. The Eduet Women are going to install the guttering which is a good thing because if the local people are involved as much as possible it means that when anything breaks they have the knowledge to fix it themselves.

Bye for today!