The 7,500 inhabitants of Kiumba Beach rely largely on fishing and farming for their livelihoods but lack the necessary facilities and access to market needed to maximise their returns. In particular, the lack of cold storage facilities means that produce spoils quickly and buyers set low prices. Other challenges faced by the communities include over-exploitation of fish stocks, inadequate investment in the sector, and lack of access to clean drinking water.
In 2025, the Climate Investor One-funded Empower New Energy partnered with international non-profit Renewable World to deliver the Homa Bay Livelihoods Initiative to enhance the livelihoods and household income of the fishing and farming communities of Kiumba Beach in Kenya's Homa Bay County.
The initiative aims to establish and operationalise solutions to significantly reduce post-harvest losses and improve market access for fisherfolk and smallholder farmers in Kiumba Beach.
So far, the project has resulted in the installation of solar-powered cold storage and skills development training for 50fisherfolk and 50 smallholder farmers and members of Beach Management Units(BMUs) to manage the facilities and improve produce handling. The technical design office-making facilities to reduce post-harvest losses is underway and a solar-powered water treatment unit is planned which will deliver safe and affordable drinking water.
The project will directly benefit 500fisherfolk and smallholder farmers, the majority of them women, and BMU members. Overall, 1,500 households will benefit from the economic uplift of fisherfolk and farmers in Kiumba Beach.
