Water is the lifeline of dry land communities. In Laikipia, community-led water harvesting is helping families grow food, keep livestock healthy and reduce the risk of climate-driven failure. Laikipia Permaculture Trust places Water Security For All at the centre of its resilience work, pairing low-tech water-capture systems with community training to make those gains durable.
Laikipia Permaculture Centre Trust
Why community water harvesting matters
In semi-arid landscapes even small improvements in groundwater recharge and stored water can mean the difference between a failed season and enough food for a household. Community systems — from contour bunds and farm ponds to rooftop rainwater tanks and stone gabions — slow surface runoff, trap silt, and allow soils to recover. That increases infiltration, supports trees and fodder, and reduces the need for expensive, unsustainable water trucking.
Proven low-cost techniques that work
- Contour trenches and swales – cut along the contour to capture rain across slopes, reduce erosion and keep moisture in the root zone.
- Earth dams and ponds — small community ponds store water for dry spells, livestock and small irrigation.
- Rooftop rainwater harvesting — simple tanks connected to gutters provide safe household water and small-plot irrigation.
- Stone gabions and check-dams — hard-structure options that slow flash floods and trap sediment in gullies.
These methods are widely appropriate because they use local labour and materials and can be scaled according to need.
A community-led model: training + ownership
Technical designs are only half the solution – the other half is local buy-in. LPCT emphasises training and local stewardship so communities maintain structures, monitor water levels, and pass knowledge on. This ensures projects last beyond the life of any single grant or contractor.
Laikipia Permaculture Centre Trust
Impact in practice
Where communities adopt these methods yields multiple knock-on benefits: increased crop yields, fodder for livestock, reduced soil loss, improved tree survival, and lower conflict over scarce water. LPCT’s integrated approach (water plus land restoration and food security work) multiplies these wins. The organisation lists water security as a core thematic area of their projects.
Laikipia Permaculture Centre Trust
How you can support or replicate this locally
- Support LPCT via donation or partner with a project.
- Start small: install a household rain tank, plant a swale on a sloping plot, join a local tree-planting day.
- Share knowledge: invite permaculture trainers, document results and celebrate local maintenance wins.
If you want to see resilience scaled in Laikipia, support community water projects — donate, volunteer or spread the word. Learn about LPCT’s water work and projects on their website
