Published in August 2026

We spoke to Mutie Mwendwa (47-year-old father with 3 children) and Christine Ndanu (32-year-old with 2 children) from southeast Kenya. They shared their experience of being members of Bondeni Women self-help group (SHG), their journey to building a sand dam and the benefits they are reaping.

Mutie describes why he was influenced to join Bondeni Women SHG’s sand dam project:

“We saw the good deeds from our neighbours who built a sand dam at Misuuni Village, and we were triggered to construct ours to get water closer to us.”

Life before the sand dam project was characterised by early starts and long walks to fetch water from far distances. Christine describes what a typical day would look like:

“When I wake up, I prepare my children for school then come back to make tea. Then I feed my cattle, then at around 8 am I leave to fetch water. It’s hard to walk the many kilometres to get water which is often dirty and with rocky ground to climb on, but my children’s smiles keep me walking and needing to get the best for them.”

Not only was the walk to water long, but when community members reached the water point (a scoop hole dug into a riverbed), it was dirty and made people sick when consumed. Mutie expresses his worries about this, especially when it pertained to the health of his children:

“Getting dirty water has posed significant diseases in my family. My children caught amoebiasis (which causes diarrhoea and dysentery) because of that water.”

The constant daily back and forth journeys for water detracted community members (predominantly women) from farming, other work and their hobbies, whilst children who had to accompany their parents on the walks for water would often miss out on school.

Mutie explains how this experience specifically impacted his farm, thus his ability to achieve food security for his family and the chance at improving his income through selling any surplus harvest. He observes:

“Concentrating too much on water always has led me to have less focus on my farm, hence getting less harvests.”

Mutie Mwendwa, member of Bondeni Women self-help group, southeast Kenya.

Embarking on a sand dam project with the help of Sand Dams Worldwide’s local partner, Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), has revived a lot of hope for Christine and Mutie who anticipate that the water supplied from their sand dam, and the climate-smart agricultural training provided by ASDF, will help them to transform their own lives in numerous areas.

Christine talks more about her farm and the implementation of the lessons she has learned, which she believes will take her farm to a new level of production:

“We have already achieved so much; the sand dam, our tree nurseries, demo plots and terraces which we hope will help us to conserve soil. I hope to start farming and growing vegetables, oranges and bananas which will boost my food and income security. In a month, I hope to be making 60,000 Kenyan Shillings (about £344).”

Christine Ndanu, member of Bondeni Women self-help group, southeast Kenya.

We asked Mutie how he felt about the project and he concluded by saying:

“I love the fact that we managed to have this project in our community. I just feel happy seeing how hard we worked and the fruits that are on the way.”

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