Community-led water service: Kosovo village, Mathare slum, Nairobi

Our UC-Berkeley-University of Nairobi and Muungano Support Trust (MUST) collaboration in 2009 resulted in many positive outcomes for the residents of the Mathare Valley informal settlement.  In one village, called Kosovo, we helped plan and design for piped, 24-7, water access for each household. The Nairobi Water and Sewer Company eventually installed new water pipes and community members, through Muungano, are managing and maintaining the service by supporting residents to obtain meters and assist them in paying water bills.  While a comprehensive evaluation of this intervention is ongoing, here is an article by SDI describing some aspects of this community-level utility management .  Importantly, we are SCALING UP lessons from this project in our current Mathare Valley Zonal Plan, which aims to offer a comprehensive and integrated plan for improving infrastructure, economic livelihoods, housing, land rights and essential services, such as health care for all villages and over 150,000 residents of the Mathare Valley.