Story by Faith Esika
Among the rolling hills of Kaptagat, Uasin Gishu County, Jeremiah once stared across a farm that tested his resolve every dry season. Battling with the recurring scorching sun, his farm could only sustain maize and oftentimes, the maize would succumb to the heat. For him, water scarcity was not just an inconvenience, it was a periodic battle. To keep his farm and domestic uses afloat, Jeremiah had to purchase up to 350 liters of water every week from local water vendors who sourced it from dwindling rivers. The costs continually mounted but the returns from his farm rarely matched the effort.
Then in 2023, the Eldoret Iten Water Fund (EIWF) came into the picture. They arrived not with empty promises but with tools of transformation. With their support, Jeremiah installed a 50,000L capacity water pan in his farm. This to him was more than just a structure, it was assurance. He connected it to a simple gutter system on his roof, transforming every drop of rain into stored potential. Suddenly, the possibilities of his farm felt endless.
With water, came courage, and with courage, came change. The once bare land after every maize harvest became a tapestry of life. Now, coffee shrubs stand healthy while vegetables like snow peas, collard greens and cabbages thrive in the watered soil. Fruits like tee tomatoes, strawberries and tomatoes are now birthed from this land. Crops that once deemed too delicate for the dry season now flourish under his care. As the impact of the first water pan became clear, Jeremiah was further supported by the fund with two more, each 100,000L capacity. Equipped to store even more water, he was guaranteed that his farm had a bountiful future. Beyond this, the Eldoret Iten Water Fund (EIWF) supported him with indigenous agroforestry tree seedlings as well as
30 macadamia tree seedlings which he has intercropped with his coffee shrubs. The transformation did not stop with Jeremiah. Inspired by the progress, his wife joined the movement. Supported by EIWF, she received a 24,000L capacity water pan of her own, collecting water through another gutter system. With this resource, she plans to venture into fish farming, expanding the family’s vision for a resilient and diversified farm. Today, Jeremiah’s farm is a testament to what water security can do for resilience and diversification. With every water pan filled by rain, he has offset the need to tap into fragile natural water sources as he was once accustomed to for his daily water needs, marking a vital step to securing both livelihoods and natural ecosystems.
