Climate Adaptation: Women And Water Scarcity Strategies In Kakuma Refugee Camp, North?West Kenya
Rift Valley Institute
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Abstract: This paper provides a gender-focused analysis of water scarcity in Kakuma Refugee Camp, where climate change and resource pressures intensify the challenges faced by women. Drawing from over 40 interviews and focus group sessions, it reveals the hidden costs of daily water collection, hygiene barriers, and tension over resource sharing. It documents traditional and innovative adaptation practices developed by women?such as shared water scheduling, barter systems, repurposing greywater, and inter-community support networks. Socio-cultural knowledge and previous displacement experiences shape women?s resilience. The research advocates for embedding water access and dignity into humanitarian interventions and calls for co-designed infrastructure that meets women?s needs. It contributes to policy debates on gendered adaptation in fragile ASAL zones and recommends integration of Kakuma?s experience into county-level water planning frameworks.