Putting Communities First: How Homa Bay is Pioneering a People-Led Path to Climate Resilience
I n Homa Bay, a municipality nestled on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, the impacts of climate change are becoming impossible to ignore. From flooded streets that disrupt livelihoods to water shortages that leave families vulnerable, the challenges in informal settlements are severe. But amid these struggles, the community—and now the county—is stepping up to chart a new course: one that places people at the center of climate action and builds a foundation for long-term resilience.
The Daily Struggles of Homa Bay’s Informal Settlements
In informal settlements such as Makongeni, Shauri Yako, and Sofia, poor service delivery has long shaped daily life, particularly for women and girls. In Sofia, residents spoke of the constant anxiety that comes with unpredictable floods, overflowing latrines, and the daily struggle to find clean water—challenges that shape routines, limit opportunities, and take a toll on dignity. Inadequate access to water means residents often rely on a single, distant water point, leading to long queues and exposing women and girls to risks of harassment during early morning or late evening collection. These vulnerabilities are now exacerbated by climate change. During dry spells, water becomes even scarcer, and households face increased costs or are forced to rely on unsafe sources like Lake Victoria—despite risks such as waterborne diseases or even wildlife attacks. Conversely, during extreme rainfall, the lack of adequate drainage leads to flooding, which causes pit latrines to overflow, roads to become impassable, and houses—especially those with tin roofs and poor foundations—to be damaged. Women reported difficulty taking children to school during such floods and noted a rise in food prices due to climate impacts on small-scale farming and fisheries. These challenges reflect a compounding effect: poor infrastructure and inadequate urban planning amplify the exposure of already vulnerable communities to the growing impacts of climate change.
When the rains come, they bring a different crisis. According to findings from Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) conducted in May 2025, flooding affects isolated pockets around Shauri Yako including areas near the tourist hotel and within Shauri Yako, causing streets and markets to overflow. On market days congestion is high, with 71% of the population relying on pit latrines that overflow during floods, contaminating streets and water sources. Homes suffer from soil erosion that weakens foundations, and 80% of houses are made from iron sheet that become dangerously hot during the dry season. Transport grinds to a halt, particularly affecting people with disabilities who face challenges due to limited street lighting and few speed bumps. Small-scale vendors, mostly women, lose income as flooded markets and poor drainage disrupt trade. Power outages increase during the rainy season, lasting from 6 pm to midnight, caused by damage to electricity transmission lines such as erosion-related transformer collapses. While about 71% of residents have access to electricity, many still rely on charcoal and firewood for cooking, raising health concerns.
The problem is compounded by the lack of a solid waste management system. The FGDs revealed that 71% of residents dump solid waste in open areas, and there is no designated dumping site in Shauri Yako. Waste often clogs the few available drains, worsening flooding and leading to sanitation and health risks such as pit latrine overflow during floods. With 92% of the population relying on pit latrines and human waste often ending up directly in the lake, these overlapping issues create a vicious cycle of contamination and disease, disproportionately affecting the poorest residents.
A Community Under Pressure, Trying to Fill the Gaps
In the absence of adequate public infrastructure and municipal services, residents have attempted to fill the gap themselves. Drawing on local knowledge developed over years of living with flooding and water challenges, community members know where floodwaters tend to collect and have dug makeshift drainage ditches in those low-lying areas to help redirect water. They’ve also organized informal clean-ups to clear blocked drains and established early warning systems based on local weather signs, such as sudden changes in wind or cloud formations. In Makongeni, for example, residents built a rudimentary wall from loose rocks and sticks—materials they could gather locally—to protect a frequently flooded street. However, without cement or structural reinforcement, the wall is easily washed away by heavy rains, underscoring the limitations faced when formal support and technical resources are not available.
Bridging the Gap: GCA’s Support for Systemic, Inclusive Planning
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), in collaboration with Akiba Mashinani Trust (AMT), Suez Consulting, and local partners, is bridging bottom-up community knowledge with top-down planning through its People’s Adaptation Planning (PAP) approach. This process ensures that communities are not only consulted but are co-creators and leaders of local climate solutions, embedding their voices firmly in formal decision-making.
At the heart of this approach is the People’s Adaptation Plan, which is owned and led by the communities themselves. Built on community-led mapping, climate risk assessments, and neighborhood consultations, the plan identifies adaptation options grounded in residents’ priorities and knowledge.
A critical element is the future-focused Climate Risk Assessment (CRA), which projects how climate risks may evolve over the coming decades such as more intense rainfall, erratic seasons, rising temperatures, and increasing urban heat and water scarcity. This forward-looking data supports communities and decision-makers in making more informed and long-term choices. For instance, opting for flexible nature-based drainage systems rather than solely relying on informal community efforts.
Strengthening Local Institutions for Long-Term Resilience
Building a climate-resilient future isn’t just about community engagement—it also requires strong, responsive institutions. In Homa Bay, the county government and agencies like the Homa Bay County Water and Sanitation Company are aware of growing climate pressures, but often lack the resources, or technical capacity to act.
GCA is helping to close this gap. By working with the county government, Tom Mboya University, and civil society groups, the project is equipping local actors with tools like the rapid CRA and training them on how to interpret and apply climate data in local plans. This ensures the CRA findings are not just understood but used—in project design, budgeting, infrastructure planning and provision of basic services.
To build shared understanding around the CRA findings and support future integration, GCA and partners facilitated inclusive consultations involving residents, local leaders, utilities, universities, and government officials. Through a three-day workshop, community members were introduced to the foundational concepts of a Climate Risk Assessment—what climate is, how hazards arise, and how these translate into risks and contribute to vulnerability. This dialogue allowed them to relate these scientific ideas to their lived experience, creating a shared understanding that can inform adaptation priorities grounded in both current realities and anticipated changes. County officials participated actively, committing to use CRA insights in local planning, budgeting, and infrastructure development. This process ensured that the People’s Adaptation Plan is both community-driven and scientifically informed, strengthening Homa Bay’s ability to mitigate emerging climate risks.
A Future Built on Collaboration
Homa Bay’s residents are actively responding to climate challenges by digging makeshift drainage ditches and organizing informal clean-ups to clear blocked drains. These community-led actions demonstrate local knowledge and a practical understanding of flood-prone areas, which must be central to shaping future adaptation solutions.
By combining this lived experience with scientific climate projections and government support, the People’s Adaptation Plan offers a new model for climate resilience—one that is people-led, data-informed, and institutionally supported.
The collaboration between GCA, the county government, AMT, Suez and local communities is building more than a plan—it’s building trust, adaptive capacity, and a blueprint for climate action that others across Africa can learn from.
Homa Bay’s Lesson: Start with People, A Plan for the Future
The story of Homa Bay is not just about adapting to climate change. It’s about rethinking how we plan, who gets to decide and how we prepare for risks that may not yet be visible—but are certainly on the way.
By placing communities first and planning for the long term, Homa Bay is pioneering a powerful path forward—one where resilience is built not just in infrastructure, but in institutions, relationships, and people.
The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action – they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.
