Miriam Denis Le Sève works for ODI as a Water Policy Programme Research Officer and she recently travelled to Kenya. This is an account of her field research experience.
English
Building a team
Researchers seldom work alone. On projects like this – which included 27 focus group discussions and 20 interviews, across 9 sites and in 3 counties – teamwork is a necessity. WASH staff from implementing partners advised me on my itinerary, helped arrange transport, recommended accommodation, liaised with communities and accompanied my site visits. From the beginning, it was important that we developed a strong working relationship.
But, despite the logistical help I received from partners, the security situation in Marsabit and Wajir meant that I could only travel to Turkana; so we needed to recruit a consultant who could replicate the research in other counties.
Laban MacOpiyo, our consultant, is experienced at facilitating field work and brought on-board experienced staff able to conduct discussions and interviews in local dialects. The team was taking shape.
Developing the tools
With the team in place we still needed to develop data collection tools aligned with the aims and objectives of the research and informed by the Water Policy Programme’s previous work on drought and resilience.
In ODI’s London office, guides were prepared for 3 focus group discussions – for Water User Committees and male and female beneficiaries – and 4 sets of key informant interviews – for selected beneficiaries, representatives from SWIFT, service providers and the National Drought Management Authority. Semi-structured, these discussion guides would explore the role SWIFT interventions had on securing water access throughout the drought – as well as the drought’s influence on these interventions.
In the field
First on the itinerary was a morning meeting with Oxfam’s WASH Strategist. As his role is to facilitate research and analysis to inform future WASH interventions his engagement was crucial. In addition to discussing the purpose of the research, the itinerary and deliverables, I conducted the first interview of the trip, using the interview guide prepared earlier. The afternoon was spent with the consultant making final preparations and going through the research tools before travelling together to Lodwar – the driest spot in arid Turkana. Later that day we led a training session with Arrupe, Philip and Eliza – three local enumerators who would be conducting the focus group discussions and interviews in the field.
The first site visit was scheduled for Monday, with the driver, two enumerators, the Practical Action representative, the consultant and myself. It took just over an hour of driving through dust, past goats and over wadis to reach Turkwel, an agro-pastoral community and Practical Action site south-west of Lodwar.
As became the pattern for every site visit, we began with a short meeting with the village and Water User Committee (WUC) chairpersons before being shown the water point system. Then, under the welcome shade of acacia trees, three focus group discussions were conducted in parallel, led in the local language by enumerators.
Conducting discussions
These were with 5 to 10 members of the WUC and up to 15 male and female beneficiaries who could speak about their water access before and after the construction of the SWIFT water point. These discussions were substantiated by up to 4 individual interviews with selected community members, such as a teacher, a mother, a herder or water trader. All discussions took place in the local languages.
The following day we replicated this process in another site near Lodwar on the banks of the River Turkwel. Here we were shown a ‘hybrid’ pump, that draws on solar power during the day and electricity at night and so provides a continuous water supply. Then more interviews were conducted with representatives from the town’s water service provider, LOWASCO. Through SWIFT, Oxfam had been working with LOWASCO to introduce solar-powered pumps and build the capacity of staff. More interviews followed in the Country Drought Management office that, through a County Steering Group works closely with Oxfam on drought response and preparedness.
We then travelled northwards to Kakuma – the base for the next round of field visits. Located in one of Kenya’s most remote and impoverished areas – towards the border of South Sudan – Kakuma is known primarily for its refugee camp which now accommodates almost 200,000 refugees from neighbouring countries.
Meeting pastoral communities
Under the relentless sun, we continued field visits over the next two days, travelling to two remote pastoral communities – Lokitpetot Akwan and Nangomo. Part nomadic, part settled these communities depend on livestock for their livelihoods. We learned that the impact of the SWIFT interventions in each location has been transformative – not just for the immediate communities but for the numerous pastoral households that continue to settle around the water points.
At Lokipetot Akwan, it was heart-warming to hear the story of a woman who, with two young children, no longer needs to walk 15 kilometres in search of water.
Consolidating the lessons learnt
With the Turkana fieldwork over, we headed back for one final debrief. It was then back to London for me, and onwards to Marsabit and Wajir for the consultant to replicate the research in the two regions of SWIFT intervention.
After all this work, dust and travel it is gratifying to see our research nearly published. Next time you read a research report spare a thought for the researchers building relationships, navigating conflicts or explaining the finer points of questionnaires to local facilitators of the remote areas they’re seeking to better understand!
Miriam Denis Le Sève
