Soil erosion, indigenous irrigation and environmental sustainability, Marakwet, Kenya

Irrigation developed indigenously has long been practised on the Western rift escarpment of the Kerio Valley in Kenya by the Marakwet people. Outsiders have often remarked on the problem of soil erosion, and suggested that the irrigation practices are unsustainable. This article discusses local and outside perceptions of soil erosion under irrigation, and their implications for assessing the sustainability of indigenous irrigation. It argues that erosion is taking place, but that local farmers do not perceive erosion as such as a critical challenge to their farming activities.