CETA Helping to Bring Clean Water to Kenya's Lake Region

CETA has become a partner of ACESS, the African Centre for Engineering Social Solutions, an organization aiming to develop and support indigenous solutions to the lack of financial resources, safe water, and reliable electricity transportation in Africa. Clarice Odhaiambo, the founder of ACESS, met with University of Hartford faculty, staff, and students on October 30 to explain the ideas behind the organization and show examples of successful projects already underway in Kenya’s Lake Region.

Ms. Odhaiambo, an alumna of the University of Rhode Island, an M.S. in chemical engineering, and holder of three U.S. patents, worked for Unilever in Africa, where she supported local products. Later, she worked for Coca-Cola, which is in every country on the African continent. As she said, “you can always find Coke, even if you can’t find milk.” At her urging, Coca-Cola, which requires clean water to produce its product, piloted a clean water project, which was also supported by the Gates Foundation in an effort to supply safe water for schools. She realized that there are simple, local solutions to many of the problems in sub-Saharan Africa, but someone has to provide support, get things moving. And Ms. Odhaiambo decided to undertake the effort and found ACESS.

Clarice Odhaiambo, founder of ACESS, presenting to University of Hartford faculty, staff, and students.

Focusing on Kenya’s Lake Region, where over 58 percent of households live in absolute poverty, ACESS determined that women spend hours to fetch water. Further, affordable irrigation prevents farmers from raising agricultural productivity. But locally based agribusiness could make households competitive in the market. Basically, the lack of adequate and inexpensive water management technologies reduces agricultural output and prevents economic growth in the area (“Economic Empowerment in Kenya’s Lake Region,” concept paper submitted to US AID Mission Kenya, September 30, 2008). In addition to clean water, ACESS is hoping to assist in establishing high-value cash crops such as the grain amaranth and tilapia (a fish, which is a favored local food).

Last summer, Ms. Odhaiambo traveled through the region accompanied by professors from Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, the provost of the University of Hartford, Lynn Psasquerella, and several students, including Teagan Rosendhal from the University of Hartford. As In her presentation to us, Ms. Odhaiambo reported seeing many local solutions to local problems. “The people are poor in terms of money, but they are not lazy. They have indigenous ideas.” So any appropriate solutions to the problems of water and viable agriculture will be “small scale, affordable, and locally produced and controlled” (“Economic Empowerment” 3). The objective is to combine modern ways with tradition, “not even Engineering 101. If there’s such a thing as Engineering minus 101, that’s it.” Teams of Kenyan and U.S. students and faculty will support local populations in implementing appropriate technologies to the local problems. As Ms. Odhaiambo said, “the students can help—but also learn.” Another summer trip for interested university people as well as sponsors is planned for next summer so that participants can find out what the local people want and then work with them.

Among the various projects being considered by ACESS are point-of-use water treatments, safe and inexpensive storage containers (plastic being too expensive), solar-powered pumps, wind-driven pumps, and the like. Ms. Odhaiambo calls these solutions social engineering, which is to say engineering for social, not commercial, gain. CETA’s expertise in water supply and treatment will certainly find applications in working with ACESS.