Digging Water Well in Kenya Africa

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Digging Water Well in Kenya Africa
I have been fortunate here in Siaya, Kenya, I have been able to watch some men and women digging a well for water. I moved from the center of Siaya to the Sussy Hotel, it far enough outside the city whereby there is no public water lines.

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Siaya, Kenya
East Africa
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Hotels in Siaya
Siaya is the closest city to Kogelo, the Homestead of Barack Obama.
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This woman instantly came to talk with me when I walked over to inspect the large hole in the ground. She tells me they are digging a well for water, however it is not finished.

They have made a simple winch out of trees, and then used a few nails to create the handles. I have seen many wells like this in my travels, however this is the first time I have seen this type of well actually being dug. Hauling dirt out of deep holes is difficult; setting up this temporary winch is very wise, and makes their jobs easier.

Sometimes there is a winch on the top of wells like this, other times there is just a rope hanging in the well. I will go across and ask the workers if they are going to have a winch on top of this well after they are finished. Hauling up a couple of buckets of water is less of a problem then digging a 20 meter deep hole and removing a couple of tons of dirt, maybe the winch is only needed to dig the hole. I am quite certain this winch is just a temporary one; this is too rudimentary to survive being used daily for years.

I can see the water in the bottom of the hole, I am not sure how they keep the sides from falling in, there does look like they have places some type of covering on the walls at the bottom of the hole.

This is very dangerous work and a great way to die quickly. The local ground is hard clay, therefore safer than in other situations, however, cave-ins are always possible.

I am happy to say, the water in the Sussy Grand Hotel is not muddy looking, and I believe well water is better looking water than the public water systems of Kenya, Africa.

Does anyone know how they keep the sides from falling into the water?

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Digging Water Well in Kenya Africa

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Reader Submitted Comments | Deleted Comments (0)

Bob L said on Sunday April 26th, 2009 06:31:36 PM

Depends:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_well#Dug_wells

tleb said on Friday May 1st, 2009 03:53:51 PM

You line the well with rocks fitted together. Its more complex than that, but basically it holds the ground (dirt, sand, rock, debris)out of the hole, but lets water flow in.