People Fixing the World

Fighting the ‘Water Mafia’ with Pipes in the Sky


Listen Later

In Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, access to water is a minefield. The marketplace is dominated by water cartels, or mafias - water is often syphoned off from the mains supply and pumped in through dirty hosepipes.

But Kennedy Odede is trying to change that. Dubbed the ‘president of the poor’, he set up a scheme to pump water up from a borehole deep underground, and deliver it through a new network of pipes with a difference. To avoid contamination, and keep them safe from the cartels, Kennedy’s pipes are suspended 15m in the air on a series of poles that carry them around the slum.

In this episode of World Hacks we travel to Kibera to meet Kennedy, see the aerial waterways in action, and ask if his scheme can expand to help people living in slums across the globe.

Presenter: Dougal Shaw

Reporter: Sam Judah
Producer: Sam Judah for the BBC World Service

Photo Caption: Kennedy Odede

Photo Credit: BBC

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

People Fixing the WorldBy BBC World Service

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

229 ratings


More shows like People Fixing the World

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,595 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

896 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,055 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,459 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,803 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

963 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,750 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,042 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,090 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

90 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

266 Listeners

The Food Chain by BBC World Service

The Food Chain

347 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

972 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

409 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

422 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

87 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

747 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

234 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

336 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

353 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

475 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,193 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

723 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,027 Listeners