It was song and dance yesterday when about 3, 000 residents drawn from four villages in Mbeere North Subcounty, Embu County, received a 50,000 cubic metres dam, effectively ending years if trekking and human-wildlife conflict.

With Kithiru Kiruire Earth Dam in the heart of Karorome, Kianda, Kanyua (A) and Muthanthara villages complete and a 10-minute distance, the residents are assured of adequate food; reduced time and distance of looking for water and minimised crocodile attacks at the Tana River.

The Project Management committee chair, Dorothy Igoki Njeru said the villagers had lost many animals and even people to crocodile attacks when in search of water at Tana River.

“The nearest river is between 6 and 10 kilometres away. We used to trek for about six hours to the river and back home. We lost a lot of time in the process. We have also seen many of our goats being taken away by crocodiles, but since 2018, that has been something in the past.

She said the project is a blessing to this part of Embu County which experiences prolonged drought for its Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) condition.

“We have already seen improved farm output. I have just harvested 10 bags of 90-kg bag of green grams, something I never achieved before,” she said. In the nearby farms, there is plenty of millet, maize and cowpea crops.

Addressing the residents and guests after commissioning the 50, 000 cubic metres capacity dam, National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) board chair, Raphael Nzomo said in the long term, the dam will prepare the residents to deal with drought.

“I would like to single out the benefits of this project to school girls, who, from your testimonies, now spend less time fetching water and have more time to attend school. At the same time it will support the livelihoods of the people here based on crop farming; livestock production and forestry,” he added.

NDMA implemented the Sh17 million-project through financial support from the European Union of Sh12 million together with Embu County Government’s Sh3 million and the residents gave Sh2 million.

The project was implemented in two phases including civil works and livelihood support in which NDMA installed a drip irrigation system for horticultural crop production on a demonstration plot among others.

It was completed in 2018, three years since construction started in August 2015.

An estimated 7, 000 cows and 13, 000 goats will get enough pasture and other feeds.