Success stories #10: Sustainability, Replicability and Scalability

One of the reasons for establishment AEF was to have an institution that will by design encourage sustainable interventions. The founders had noted many project interventions that were costly, short lived and some times irrelevant to grass root community needs. AEF is therefore committed to guide communities and their partners on sustainable and scalable interventions. Sustainable intervention should outlive a generation.To live to this AEF works with the communities and public institutions to ensure integration and adequate institutionalization as appropriate. In the success stories covered here, AEF has constantly encouraged and guided KVDC to work in collaboration with the District Development office. The result has been a unique Community based initiative towards sustainable development. The KVDC model is scalable. So far KVDC has facilitated a formation 10 CBOs. Some of these CBOs are successful in replicating KVDC innovations eg the construction of Sub-surface dams and deep wells. These arelong lasting and scalable interventions. The expansion on the number of CBOs involved has been unique and profitable. An umbrella CBO has brought together these CBOs and jointly have recently secured over Kshs 11 million, through a simple proposal in support of the solutions to a variety of needs identified by the various CBOs.AEF considers these achievements to be great lessons. AEF sees an opportunity to develop a model village to demonstrate what it takes to break the cycle of poverty and to put the community on a path for sustainable socioeconomic developed. In this effort AEF considers water to be the most important single resource that can help in achieving the above goal. AEF is therefore open to partnership with institutions and agencies interested in Water resource development. Availability of adequate water will support improved agriculture and cash crop group farming as the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty. This strategy will economically empower communities to be able to meet the costs of health care and other basic needs.