Uwezo Project Delivers Fully Operational Storage Hall to Women Farmers in Chepareria

The Uwezo Project: Climate Resilience for Displaced Communities has reached a major milestone in Chepareria, West Pokot, with the completion and formal handover of a customized community storage hall. The project supports 50 women aged 18-35 who, driven from pastoralism by recurrent drought, have turned to farming as a new livelihood - only to lose much of what they grow to spoilage, pests, and exploitative middlemen for lack of proper storage and market access.

Between April and May 2026, local artisans customized an existing community hall into secure, climate-appropriate storage infrastructure: galvanized mesh ventilation windows to prevent mold and aflatoxin, rodent- and insect-proof sealing on every door frame and roof joint, and raised wooden shelving to keep sacks off the damp floor. The hall was zoned by crop type - maize, beans, vegetables, sorghum, millet, and cowpeas - and measured at a total capacity of 100 metric tons.

A formal inventory log book was introduced alongside a half-day orientation session for the 50 women on collective facility management and record-keeping. On 5 May 2026, the hall was officially handed over to an elected Women’s Group committee in a ceremony attended by community leaders and elders, who signed a handover agreement outlining shared roles and responsibilities. Within weeks, women began depositing maize, beans, sorghum, and vegetables, using the new zoning and log system correctly from the start.

Early results are already visible. Participants report harvests that previously suffered 40-50% losses to spoilage are now being stored safely, and several women have said they can wait for better market prices instead of selling immediately out of fear of loss. Agricultural extension officers who partnered on the customization have noted a marked improvement in storage conditions compared to pre-project practice, and neighbouring communities in Siyoi and Kasei have already asked about replicating the model.

The project has not been without setbacks: a prolonged drought during the planting season sharply reduced this year’s harvest volumes, limiting how much produce is currently available to store. The team is responding with climate-smart farming advice from agricultural extension officers, drought-resistant seed varieties, and plans to link the hall to nearby markets so it stays active even in a lean season. The next phase will focus on building direct buyer relationships in Kapenguria and Kitale, so the women managing this hall can finally sell on their own terms.

“When we invest in a young pastoralist woman’s leadership, we invest in the next thirty years of change in West Pokot.”