Sand Dams Protect Water for Drought-Hit Pastoralists in Kenya
Despite the scorching sun, Kirinkle Saruni keeps a watchful eye on his 15 cows grazing by a sand dam.
"I hope water reserves will sustain us until the next rains. Pastoralists from other areas are increasingly coming to the dam for water," said Saruni, looking pensive.
He is one of about 400 villagers in Olenarau, in Kenya's southern county of Kajiado, who make daily trips to the dam to quench their animals' thirst.
Recent rain failures have particularly hit livestock-herding communities across the country, some of whom have lost their entire herds to drought, or are left to walk long distances in search of water.
When rain spells do occur, the barren land is less able to absorb rainwater.
To remedy this, the African Medical and Research Foundation has built 20 sand dams in the area in the past decade. The structures use concrete walls built across river beds to capture and hold rainwater in sand deposits.
Anita Gould