Rainwater Harvesting Technologies in Makueni County, Kenya

Rainwater harvesting has been in existence for many years and has positively impacted life,agriculture and economy. Despite these known benefits of rainwater harvesting, Makueni County’s populationis slowly adopting rainwater harvesting technologies. Water scarcity still remains a major constraint to life andeconomic development in the County. The aim of this paper is to evaluate rainwater harvesting technologies andthe factors contributing to adoption of the technologies in the ASAL areas with Makueni County being the casestudy. The study was conducted in Wanzauni and Itetani locations in Tulimani division, Mbooni West district,Makueni County within Kenya’s Eastern Region which lies within the arid and semi arid ecological zones ofKenya. A total of 160 household questionnaires were administered, focus group discussions and key informantsinterviews done during data collection exercise. The data was analyzed using Statistical package for socialscientists (SPSS). Various rainwater harvesting technologies (RWHTs) are used within Makueni Countyincluding macro-catchment (earth dams, sand/sub-surface dams), micro-catchment (Zai pits, strip catchment,tillage, contour and semi-circular bunds) and rooftop rainwater harvesting technologies with rooftop catchmentbeing the most commonly used technique. However, adoption of these RWHTs in Makueni County is slowirrespective of their potential to improve livelihoods. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to predictfactors affecting adoption of RWHTs within 160 households in Makueni County. Some of the factors found tohave statistically-significant positive effect on the adoption of RWHT are gender, literacy levels, social andeconomic status and technological know-how on RWHT. Ways of promoting the adoption of RWHTs such ascapacity building and training, poverty alleviation through enhancement of income generation activities,enhanced formation of community groups aimed at water development activities, and improved designsincorporating mechanized technologies in favour of women and children, are recommended.