WATER RESOURCES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA: A RESEARCH-ORIENTED WORKSHOP FOR A WIDE ARRAY OF STUDENTS

A research-oriented, multidisciplinary workshop, run through Miami University, centered on a two-week trip in Kenya. The course was designed for students of all backgrounds and levels; 17 graduate and undergraduate students from business, the humanities and social and natural sciences took part. Sites visited focused on rural and urban water sources and issues of water scarcity and contamination. Opportunities were provided for interactions with Kenyan residents, environmental groups, professors and students. An example of a multidisciplinary case study was an examination of the cut-flower industry around Lake Naivasha, involving not only hydrogeological questions, but also issues of labor practices, worker safety, poverty and sustainable development. Students performed background research on a topic of their choice before the trip, then investigated that topic or a related one during the trip for a follow-up paper. For many students this independent research involved collecting original data via interviews, water-quality measurements or geophysical measurements.

A principal focus of the course involved all the students in a water-quality survey of a semi-arid rural region of southern Kenya surrounding Mt. Kasigau, where seven communities depend on water emanating from the cloud forest at the mountain's highest elevations. Water is trapped at catchments behind small dams and piped down to the villages where it is distributed and regulated at water kiosks. Previously, it was determined that water at all the kiosks was contaminated with E. coli. The workshop's research objective was to gain insight into the source of contamination by sampling water from kiosks, water catchments and at points in between along each pipeline. Students, professors and villagers divided into teams and hiked with bacterial and chemical sampling gear from the villages to the catchments. Students analyzed samples in the evening. Water from almost all locations was contaminated by fecal bacteria with concentrations up to 228 CFU/100 mL. Contamination occurs at or before the catchments with no significant change along the pipelines to the villages. All water was relatively free from inorganic contamination. The project provided students with valuable community interactions and laid the groundwork for further collaboration.