Environmental Feature:LVEMP II Project comes to an end in Kenya as communities smiles all the way.

                        A member of Kapsaos admires some of the passion fruits from their
                      farm.They have been funded by LVEMP II Kenya-Photos By Dickson Odhiambo.

By Dickson Odhiambo.

 January 2, 2018.

 LVEMP II Project comes to an end in Kenya as communities smiles all the way.

As the curtain finally falls on the Lake Victoria Environmental Management II Project by December 2017, a number of Community Driven Development Projects in Kenya have showed improved livelihoods as well as conserving and protecting the environment.

In Nandi County like other areas of the larger Nyando basin within the jurisdiction of the project, the Community Driven Development Projects {CDDs} which have been funded by the Lake Victoria Environmental Management II Project {LVEMP II} have greatly helped in improving the lives of the locals as well as contributing significantly to environmental conservation with their areas.

To begin with, Litei Self Help Group which has been funded by the LVEMP II project with an aim of conserving and protecting the Kaptebengwo Spring water within Aldai constituency has done a wonderful job.

A member of Litei Self Help Group and Chairman of Kaptebengwo Spring water conservation under the group David Ng’etich says by conserving the spring water, the locals are now benefitting from clean water and water borne diseases like typhoid has greatly reduced.

He says LVEMP II funded the project at a tune of about 2.4 million which includes funding for a means of livelihood project where they are also rearing dairy goats between 2012 and 2013 after writing a proposal seeking their projects to be funded, adding that they were funded in three phases so as to complete the projects.

He says before they started conserving the spring water, a lot of it used to go to waste hence it did not help the locals much.

Ng’etich says they did piping and building of a new tank for conserving water which is now greatly helping the local community since some members of the communities staying around can now access the piped water in their homes as a result of the spring water Conservation.

A part from the two projects, Litei Self Help group has also managed to conserve the environment around the spring water by planting trees which has since grown and has been able protect the Spring water area.

                  
                                A member of the local community gets water from Litei SHG Spring
                               water Conservation within Aldai constituency of Nandi County

  
The Group’s Chairman Benjamin Mayio says they have also been able to rear dairy goat with the funds from LVEMP II whereby they now have more than 40 dairy goats.

He says they now get milk from dairy goats where each goat give one litter per day which they sell to the locals, adding that they sell a litter of milk at shs 40.

Mayio says each Member have been able to get at least a dairy goat as a means of livelihood.

For Kibirong Wetland management group with only 15 members, they have done well in managing Kibirong wetland where the group has planted trees for its conservation hence preventing encroachment.

The Group’s Chairman Abraham Kosgei says after being funded by LVEMP II Kenya at about 2.6million, adding that the group started by establishing tree nurseries and this made LVEMP II to fund them after spotting the effort it was making in environmental conservation. 

He says they have managed to conserve Kibirong Wetland which covers three locations of Koyo, Ndurio and Chepkong’ony and has coverage of 1,060 acres.

He says some people within the locality earlier had a tendency to encroach the wetland and destroyed vegetation and started planting crops because they lacked land for planting their crops.

He says the encroachment was so much that most of the natural vegetation was destroyed and this prompted them to start conserving the vast wetland.

As a means of livelihood, the group has also managed to establish three poultry units which have greatly help them as members of the group, adding that the group has also been able to purchase 3 incubators which they are using to hatch the eggs being laid by the poultry they are rearing.

He adds that the poultry units are distributed within the three locations, adding that the three incubators can manage to hatch over 1500 eggs with each carrying over 500 eggs to hatch.

 At Chesos area within Aldai constituency, Kapsaos Horticulture Self Help Group has greatly helped in contributing to environmental conservation by planting about 30,000 trees.

The Group’s Secretary Daniel Lelei says they have been able to do this alongside engaging in passion fruit farming as a means of livelihood after LEVMP II funded it at shs 2.5 million in form of grant together with the group’s own contribution of shs 500,000 thereby totaling to shs 3 million.

They have planted trees at Koyo hills and other hills within the area as well along various 20 streams.

He says they have managed to succeed in passion fruit farming until the group has purchased passion fruit juice processing machine which has been of greater benefit to the group.

He says they have been able to get about 1.5 million from passion fruit farming, adding that they have also managed to get more than shs 100,000 from selling tree seedlings from their tree nursery.

Jane Chirchir who is one of the group’s members says they have never gone wrong with passion fruit farming because it has ready market, adding that they plan to expand it so as to be able to make more profit.

                                       A member of Kapsaos SHG attend to the tree seedlings.

12 members of Underit Youth Group which has also been funded by LVEMP II has done some marvelous projects on environmental conservation and livelihood improvement where they have established tree nursery which has produced about 60,000 seedlings.

The Group’s Assistant Secretary Jacob Sanga says after they wrote a proposal to LVEMP requesting for funding, their proposal was approved and were funded at shs 1.8 million and they embarked on two projects mentioned above.

He says they were first trained on the issues of book keeping as well as tree nursery established before the funds were released and this has been of great help.

He adds that they have been able to plant part of the 60,000 seedling in various areas within their locality that include Matiema, Cheptilil, Underit Primary schools and Cheptilil Dispensary as well as along the springs.

The Group has also sold the tree seedlings to the County Government of Nandi which has managed to plant them thereby conserving some areas.

      
                                    A member of the Underit Youth SHG admires some of the Dairy goats
                                    they have been rearing as a means of Livelihoods after being funded by
                                    LVEMPII Kenya..

He says  as Environmentally based youth group, they have managed to request LVEMP II Kenya to purchase a 50-seater tent which they give the locals whenever they have an event so that the tent acts as a shade, adding that this has now prevent the locals to cut down trees during ceremonies.

On livelihood improvement, they bought 12 dairy goats and now boast of more than 40 dairy goats which have greatly helped its members.

“I can testify that LVEMP II Kenya has greatly benefited us in terms of environmental conservation as well as helping in improving our lives and thereby requesting that we should be considered again during the third phase of LVEMP so as to help us take our project to the next level, “he says.

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