In the semi-arid Makueni District, traditional women's groups are proving to be effective catalysts for grassroots development when they collaborate with knowledgeable NGOs and focus on appropriate technology.
Makueni District, Kenya - Under the hot sun, the women slowly and deliberately carry their heavy loads up the steep and dusty path from the river. They support their burdens on their backs, braced with a cloth band around their forehead. Others use sticks to cajole donkeys carrying the weight of double loads.
On most days, the women of Makueni village carry water up from the Kaitia River with plastic jerry cans. It takes a lot of time for women to get water from the river and it is very tiring. If the water was near to their homes, it would give the women time do other activities in the home.

Makueni Sisters Corporation assessed this need and identified water well as one of the solutions for Makueni women. There are many village water projects in the world, but what makes this one unusual is the degree to which the villagers will be involved - in this case the women - have identified their needs and organized themselves to collaborate with outsiders to design, build and maintain the water system.

As such, the Makueni Women's Water Project, along with a series of other projects that have been operated by women's groups in this semi-arid district some 150 kilometers east of Nairobi, makes a powerful statement.

The story of how the Makueni Women's Group came to help build a water system that promises to provide safe drinking water year round for some 6,000 people in two villages is a complex one, with partners at many levels.

The water project is worth examining in some detail because it is among the newest and most active of the projects here, and it focuses on community development more than merely income generation. Genuine group consultation has played an important role in helping the women to identify their needs and goals.

Sharing ideas

Makueni women’s group offers workshops on health and hygiene and also on consultation - a group-oriented, non-partisan, non-adversarial decision-making process. According to some women in Makueni, the principles of consultation were important in helping them to set goals and priorities.

It is easier for women to share ideas together. This helps the women listen to each other and to get the good ideas, regardless of who got the good idea in the community