Solar water project to change lives of Kalobeyei refugees

Three organisations have commissioned an integrated solar water desalination project for refugees in Kalobeyei camp, Turkana West subcounty.

The host community and refugees will both benefit from the solar water desalination project for drinking, irrigation, fish farming and saline water farming.

The project, an initiative of Seawater Solutions, Boreal Light GmbH and WaterKiosk Ltd,  is a global showcase of adaptation strategies against climate change impacts into water and food supply.

Boreal Light CEO Hamed Beheshti said they manufacture the machines in different places in the world but they are happy to report in Turkana to deliver the machines to help residents access water.

He said the project is the result of a unique partnership between the World Food Programme of the UN, UNIDO ITPO Germany, the UNHCR office in Kenya, NARA Ltd and Turkana county.

Beheshti further said the unique purpose behind the project is not just drinking water that is needed, but farmers also need water from the machines to the greenhouses for irrigation.

He said although a water source exists in Kalobeyei, it is located 245 metres below the surface and extreme depth means water cannot easily be obtained without electricity, which is not readily available.

Beheshti said the high salinity of the groundwater means that even when it is accessible, the borehole cannot provide potable water.

“The community at Kalobeyei camp often suffer from access to hygienic drinking water. In addition to human consumption, water is essential to the cultivation of crops,” he said. 

“Due to the high salinity of the water from the borehole, people typically use rainwater for agricultural purposes. Consequently, the recent waves of drought resulted in severe famine and malnutrition, especially among younger generations.”

He said to make life in the camp easier, Seawater Solutions in partnership with Boreal Light GmbH introduced an integral solar water desalination plant that will provide the drinking and irrigation water, respectively, to meet the demand of the refugees.

Beheshti said not only do the WaterKiosks provide safe drinking and irrigation water, but they also create quality jobs related to the operation and maintenance of the machine, as well as the farming activities.

According to the Turkana Natural Resources executive Mario Iris, water is the top priority agenda of the county government to address food insecurity in the region.

He said the county has limited resources and it’s not easy to acquire such machines but with the support of partners they can address the challenges facing the community.

Mario appreciated the effort of partners for the donation of a solar water desalination project that will provide water for drinking, irrigation, fish farm and saline water farming activities.

Emma Murangiri, technical adviser to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi, said they are supporting partners to ensure that arid and semi-arid lands can grow their own food.

She said as the Agriculture ministry, they are keen for food production in ASAL regions to support school feeding programmes.

Peter Loreng, a resident of Kalobeyei, said the project commissioned will improve their livelihoods because water shortage was a big challenge to them.

“All we have been asking for is clean water and that for irrigation so that we can carry on with farm activities. Now that we have clean water for drinking and enough water irrigation our lives will change,” he said.