Gankyanga Visit

After speaking with staff from URF and representatives from the women's groups we have decided to focus on two communities during the rest of the assessment trip: (1) Gankyanga and (2) Kyabagonia. These two communities are located within easy walking distance from Hope Integrated Academy.

On Sunday we were able to meet with the head woman's family and walk around Gankyanga. Today and tomorrow Amber and Sarah will conduct a focus group session with the woman's group followed by 10-15 household interviews. Here are a few observations from our visit on Sunay:

• Sparse population - As of now we are trying to define the total number of people and area
• Large variation in household behavior (i.e., early adopters vs. traditional)
• There are two water sources: (1) a swamp/pond that fluctuates with seasons and (2) a hand pump that is located 30-40 feet from the swamp. We were told that the handpump dries up but the swamp does not. Our initial thought is that the swamp must be spring fed.
• There are a number of rain water catchments (installed by World Vision) that have tap/valve problems.
• Property boundaries do not seem to be important for common goods (i.e., water, mango, etc).
• Primary fuel is wood but charcoal is also used.
• Sauce pans are typically large (average family size is 8-12 people) meaning some stoves may not be appropriate.
• Chickens and turkeys are raised but have had problems with disease. A pair of turkeys can be purchased for 7,000 shillings and sold 9 months later for 40,000 shillings per turkey.
• There are large maize and sorghum crops (as well as a few small family gardens).
• There is some sort of loan system in place (seems to be mostly between community. memebers

Here are a few pictures (see comments for captions/descriptions):