https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0244-3043
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ABSTRACT
In the course of Kenya’s Vision 2030 development plan, the Kenyan Northern Rift Valley recently became the playground for new stakeholders, interests and speculations. Large-scale development projects, such as the geothermal exploration in Tiaty East sub-county, is one of them and is described as game-changer in a formerly marginalized area. This article explores the case of Mt. Paka, a dormant volcano, where the Kenyan Geothermal Development Company (GDC) recently finished their exploratory drillings and established a road and water infrastructure for the geothermal project and the adjacent communities. Drawing on ethnographic research, this contribution examines the dynamic processes of ruination, reappropriation and negotiation along the newly built water infrastructure. While GDC is constantly trying to counter the ruination of pipelines with maintenance and retrofitting, local communities utilize leakages along the infrastructure, maintaining it in its ruined state to satisfy their own needs. This study highlights how the water infrastructure at Mt. Paka materializes in unexpected ways and shows its transformative potential in two directions: the ruination and the reappropriation of it.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 Interview, GDC watchman, Paka, 3 January 2019.
2 Stoler, Imperial Debris, 11.
3 Howe et al., “Paradoxical Infrastructures”; Stoler, Imperial Debris.
4 Stoler, Imperial Debris, 14.
5 De Jong and Valente-Quinn, “Infrastructures of Utopia”, 333f.
6 Ruined or incomplete infrastructure does not have to reflect its functionality. For an account of different spectres of “incomplete” infrastructure, see: Guma, “Incompleteness of Urban Infrastructures.”
7 Howe et al., “Paradoxical Infrastructures”, 6.; Star, “The Ethnography of Infrastructure”, 382.
8 Howe et al., “Paradoxical Infrastructures”, 4.
9 de Jong and Valente-Quinn, “Infrastructures of Utopia.”, 333f.
10 Stoler, Imperial Debris, 11.
11 Appel, Anand and Gupta, “Promise of Infrastructure.”
12 For another account of how infrastructure in Kenya can disrupt everyday life, see: Lesutis, “Disquieting Ambivalence.”
13 See: Harvey, “Cementing Relations”; Anand, “Municipal Disconnect.”; Harvey, “Containment and Disruption.”; Harvey, Jensen and Morita, “Infrastructural Complications”; Jensen, “Infrastructural Fractals.”
14 Officially, most parts of Mt. Silali are in Turkana County and only the southern slopes extend into Tiaty East, but the use of land and the legitimacy of this boundary are highly contested.
15 Greiner, Greven and Klagge, “Roads to Change,” 1065.
16 Basakula et al., “Spatial-temporal Analysis of Land-use”; Vehrs and Heller, “Fauna, Fire and Farming.”
17 Greiner, Alvarez and Becker, “From Cattle to Corn,” 1480–83.
18 Republic of Kenya, “Kenya Census.”
19 The two sub-counties Tiaty East and Tiaty West cover the area formerly known as East Pokot District. After the 2010 Constitution of Kenya devolved power from the National Government to newly formed County Governments, East Pokot District became part of Baringo County and was divided into Tiaty East Sub-County and East Pokot Sub-County. In July 2020, East Pokot Sub-County was renamed Tiaty West Sub-County to avoid confusion. Nevertheless, literature published on this area before the constitutional change (and afterwards) often refers to it as East Pokot District. The highlighted area in shows the boundaries of East Pokot District, with the North-South highway essentially forming the western border of Tiaty East.
20 Bollig, Risk Management., 20f.; Oesterle, “Innovation und Transformation,” 44.
21 Oesterle, “Innovation und Transformation.”
22 Bollig, Risk Management; Republic of Kenya, “Baringo Development Plan 1974–1978.”
23 UNESCO, “Rural Press Extension Project.”
24 Republic of Kenya, “Baringo Development Plan 1997–2001.”
25 Greiner, Greven and Klagge., “Roads to Change.”
26 Government of Kenya, “Kenya Vision 2030.”
27 GDC, “Menengai Project”; Klagge et al., “Cross-Scale Linkages”; Schade, “Kenya Olkaria IV Study.”
28 Greiner, “Negotiating Access”; Lind et al., “Land, Investments and Politics”; Mosley and Watson, “Frontier Transformations.”
29 The process of geothermal development has different phases: (1) exploration, (2) appraisal, (3) steam field development, (4) power plant production, and (5) resource utilization (see: Bw’Obuya, “Impact of Geothermal Energy,” 15).
30 The overall potential of the Baringo-Silali block is estimated at 3000 MW.
31 GDC, “Baringo-Silali Project”; Klagge et al., “Cross-Scale Linkages,” 216.
32 The KfW is a German state-owned investment and development bank.
33 Interview, GDC supplier, Kambi ya Samaki, 05 January 2019.
34 Interviews, DCC for Tiaty East, 20 December 2018; Assistant Chief of Paka, 11 January 2019; Chief of Paka, 18 January 2019; County Commissioner of Baringo, 12 March 2019.
35 Ibid.
36 Republic of Kenya, “Kenya Gazette No. 29”.
37 Interview, women, Chepungus, 12 February 2020.
38 Interview, elder, Chepungus, 8 January 2019.
39 Several leakages had proven to be reliable in daily utilization, often depending on their location and pressure load.
40 Interview, shop owner, Adomeyon, 11 January 2019.
41 Interview, shop owner, Adomeyon, 14 January 2019.
42 Elder at baraza, Adomeyon, 22 February 2019.
43 Interview, teacher, Adomeyon, 11 January 2019.
44 Elder at baraza, Adomeyon, 22 February 2019.
45 Interview, Mt. Korossi, 06 March 2019.
46 The land issue remains complicated as the area is generally considered as communal land by most actors, but under the new Community Land Act (2016) (see: Alden Wily, “The Community Land Act.”), which has yet to be fully implemented, the land remains under County trust until it is officially registered as communal land with the National Land Commission. The process of registration is progressing slowly and remains unfinished by the end of 2020, although the issue is crucial for dealing with compensation claims.
47 The construction and maintenance were carried out by contractors, who handed over all responsibilities to the GDC after the end of their contract, which increased the maintenance burden.
48 Interview, Water Point Committee, Kadingding, 21 March 2019.