Published in August 2025

We spoke to two members of the Muunguini self-help group (SHG) in Makutano Village, southeast Kenya. Both individuals are farmers who provided valuable insight into how their sand dam project is improving their livelihoods, their surrounding environment, and their incomes. 

Isaac Muthoka (58 years old), pictured above, and Rose Ndunge (60 years old) are both farmers from the Muunguini SHG. They share very similar feelings about their past struggles with water scarcity, due to lacking a nearby water source. Not only did their farms suffer but, as a result, their families struggled too. This was the main motivation that pushed Rose to join the Muunguini SHG in 2020, with Isaac also joining in the same year.

In the past, they explained that people had to walk for long distances to retrieve water. Rose tells us about the journey in greater detail:

“We used to set out as early as 5:30am to trek to the River Miu, which is around 5km away. The journey was made difficult with the hot sun beating down on us. I would spend almost four hours travelling there and back to collect this water.”

Isaac explains that this journey, which was often made twice a day, would consume most of his time. This meant that he never had many chances to tend to his farm, making it difficult to achieve the results that he wanted, namely growing enough food for his family to eat and producing a surplus to sell for an income.

“The long treks made us feel tiredness in a way that we felt so deeply. We could hardly do anything else. I might have some energy to work on my farm, but barely. I would watch my livestock eat dust and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Despite their struggles, constructing a sand dam through the Muunguini SHG, with the support of Sand Dams Worldwide and our southeast Kenyan partner, Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), is changing farmers’ lives for the better. Tending to their farmland has become easier as a result of gaining access to a nearby reliable water source, as well as the training in sustainable agriculture they have received from ASDF. Isaac says:

“In general, my farm is good now. We received many trainings as a group, including those on farm care and measures to put in place to have productive farms through soil and water conservation. I have prepared my land to have vegetables and trees on it. Currently, I have planted some kale, tomatoes and mangoes, but the plan is to have even more variety.”

Rose reiterates this amazing transformation due to improved water access and quality. She says that the change only encourages her to commit to farming work even further to reap more benefits:

“I have started farming tomatoes and bananas and intend to plant onions, spinach and mangoes to name a few. I’m on track to make KSH 10,000 (around £57) per month, which I will be using to pay for school fees for my children.”

Rose Ndunge, farmer and member of Muunguini self-help group in southeast Kenya.

When asked about how he feels about the sand dam project and its potential to improve his farming, and in turn his life, Isaac gleefully states:

“I hope to achieve food security; I have good plans to maximise usage of the new sand dam as it’s adjacent to my farm. I hope to bury my head in farming and kick away hunger in my family and community at large.”

Rose and Issac’s perspective is a testament to sand dam technology and its ability to support sustainable agriculture, which in turn has an impact on food security, improved nutrition, and increased household incomes.

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