Nakuru West Network
The Nakuru West Network was created in 2002 with 612 members organized in more than 10 saving schemes/groups. The network was formed as a result of eviction threats the Ponda Mali informal market traders faced from the county government. Savings amongst the traders was one of the federation rituals the traders embraced wholly and started a table banking process to improve their businesses which evolved later on towards forming a network and saving towards security of land tenure.
About two thirds of the members of Nakuru West are market women who live and work in the same locality. The members have an average family size of five people with a monthly household income of about USD 100. A majority of them live in poorly constructed houses within their areas. Majority of the members in this scheme are tenants who would like to improve their standards of living, through low cost housing.
Nakuru West Greenfield Housing Project
The project is located in Nakuru County and is a Greenfield housing project within the Barutt area, Nakuru West Constituency. The project is being implemented by the Muungano wa Wanavijiji Nakuru West Network- Shikamoo Savings schemes, an affiliate of the Kenya Federation. The federation has constructed over 300 houses so far in the area.
The project is a Greenfield initiative situated in Nakuru County, specifically in a formal area known as Bairutt. The majority of households in the project come from an informal settlement called Kwa Rhonda, which is situated on privately owned land. In Nakuru County, public lands are limited, and a significant portion of low-income residents are tenants in privately owned housing units and plots. The project is active in 11 settlements, and within these areas, there are 481 females and 234 males involved in the 11 savings groups.
Federation members in the area resolved to buy pieces of land and requested the Muungano Alliance to carry out a low cost housing model. Members of Muungano Wa Wanavijiji Shikamoo savings scheme organized themselves around the issue of land tenure, since a majority of them live in poorly constructed houses within their areas. Majority of the members in this scheme are tenants who would like to improve their standards of living, through low cost housing.
Dreaming process and Planning
Once the network has purchased land for their member a process of house and settlement dreaming commences. The Dreaming Process is a method we use to design projects with communities. It helps us to properly understand the people they are serving, allows us to dream up new ideas and create new solutions based on the communities actual needs. The process is undertaken in order to capture the communities hopes, aspirations and priorities for the development of their settlement, proving that when the people themselves play a central role in the shaping of their environment, the impact of the project is maximized.
Climate Change crisis
In 2021, the rise in water levels in Nakuru, leading to floods, forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes and farms, believed to be the devastating effects of climate change. Experts suggest that the rising waters in Nakuru lake was caused by water flowing from the lake through underground channels, which have reduced due to the movement of tectonic plates. Many residents had built their houses with loans, and this occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tragically, three people committed suicide as a result. In response, Muungano Wa Wanavijiji conducted community sensitization on disaster preparedness and capacity strengthening in savings to curb climate change related risks that may occur in future.
Challenges
The greenfield projects faced a big challenge on the cost of buying land and construction of housing. Land costs are high in Kenya making it hard for communities to afford large portions of land even in the peri urban areas. The members are forced to pay very high to acquire land and housing. Unlike Insitu housing projects, the costs of houses are higher.
High demand by members, this kind of project has the potential to be scaled up by the federation working with other communities within the county to mobilize to increase the membership and set up other housing projects around the country. This has therefore pitched the federation to begin to engage with government and other partners in enhancing project value addition to ensure the models meet the government housing standards to warrant support in Scaling up. The federation is currently exploring with two counties (Nairobi and Kiambu) the possibility of the county Governments setting up city housing funds to finance upgrading of informal settlements. This will enable the federation to carry out incremental housing at scale.
The Nakuru West Network has to date communally bought 8 acres of land for 230 members, AMT is pushing communities to purchase their land with their savings. This is due to constraints of capital; it also allows the groups to strengthen their savings culture and eventual sustainability.
Next Steps
There is a need to protect the riparian space
Continuous sensitization on climate change issues and how they can prepare for future disasters.
Muungano should continue, strengthening the capacity on areas such as land housing and services as well as the importance of savings, so that the communities so that they can be able to save
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