• Play:
• Song Name: Community action to improve rural roads
• Artist: WRENmedia
• Album: AGFAX
• Year: 2006

Suggested introduction
Pitted with pot holes, or swamped in sand or mud, the poor condition of rural roads causes frustration and delays for millions of people across the world everyday. And for those, like farmers, who depend on rural roads to transport their produce to markets, the impact can be especially severe. Even if transport facilities are available, they are often very expensive as vehicle owners try to compensate for the hard knocks their vehicles receive.

However, in the districts of Kiambu and Kirinyaga in central Kenya, local people are developing their own solutions to the problems of poor roads. In the towns of Lari and Mwea, farmers, business people, transporters and others who use the rural transport network have elected community parliaments, enabling them to pool their ideas, access support from development agencies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and have their voices heard by local authorities. Mike Davison recently met with two of the parliamentarians, John Kariithi from Mwea, and Abraham Mburu, chairman of the Lari community parliament, who began by explaining their approach to rural road improvement.

TAPE IN “We have mobilised the farmers …
TAPE OUT … Yes very soon.”
DURATION 6’15”

Closing announcement: John Kariithi, explaining some successful initiatives of the Mwea Community Parliament in improving the rural road infrastructure. The community parliaments in Lari and Mwea have been supported by the Kenya Network for Dissemination of Agricultural Technology (KENDAT), and the Crop Post-Harvest Programme of the UK Department for International Development.