Data Sources
Information for this community profile predominantly came from Key Informant Interviews.
Furthermore, to get an appreciation of which villages may be most suited for SPACES work within the Kongowea location, informal discussions with village elders were conducted to try to prioritise certain villages that harbour sufficient individuals involved in the fishery and the tourism industry.
Our entry to Kongowea was facilitated by a fisherman we found at Nyali Beach landing site who was accommodating, knowledgeable and heavily involved in community level issues. At times information is corroborated with data obtained from the Ecosystem Service Focus Groups.
Location
Kongowea site is located in Mombasa County, Nyali Constituency, Kisauni Division, Kongowea ward, Kongowea location. Kisauni division is sub-divided into two wards ( Kongewea and Ziwa la Ng’ombe wards). Kongowea location is sub-divided in to two sub-locations namely: Kongowea and Maweni.
Figure 1: Categorisation of Kongowea (administrative divisions)
The constituency-ward system and the administrative system differ slightly. We adopted the administrative system as it corresponds to the 2. Figure 2 below highlights how the administrative system fits into the ward system. Of note, Kongowea and Mkomani both form part of Kongowea sublocation, whilst Maweni is part of Kongowea location. The maps are not accurate and should only be used as a guide. Discussions with key informants within Kongowea location, and focus on specific villages and their boundaries can ensure that we do not stray out of the administrative zone during data collection.
Figure 2: Niyali constituency incorporating Kongowea (yellow shows Kongowea location boundary). Blue shading represents the whole of Niyali constituency.
Figure 2: Niyali constituency incorporating Kongowea (yellow shows Kongowea location boundary). Blue shading represents the whole of Niyali constituency.
Demographics
| District | Location | Sublocation | Male | Female | Total | Households | Area in Sq. Km. | Population Density | Division |
| MOMBASA | KONGOWEA | MAWENI | 22618 | 19569 | 42187 | 12742 | 6.37 | 6626.92 | KISAUNI |
| MOMBASA | KONGOWEA | KONGOWEA | 34540 | 29453 | 63993 | 19332 | 8.35 | 7659.61 | KISAUNI |
Compared to the other sites in Kenya, there is a very high population density within Kongowea location (Table1). It will prove hard to ensure we have sampled sufficient households. Obviously things may have changed quite considerably since 2009, one key informant suggested there were 600 000 people in Kongowea location,whilst this may be highly inaccurate, it may suggest that there has been some population increase since 2009.
Specific Villages
There are thought to be 25 villages and over 30 000 households, it is clear that not all can be sampled, and that we need to narrow our focus. Whilst we could sample from all the villages across the whole area, this may prove time consuming. Discussions with Key Informants may provide us with information on specific villages that have sufficient number of households for our analysis and have a larger proportion of fishers or mangrove users or those involved in tourism than other villages.
We list below the list of villages across the two sub-locations and those that are singled out as being of particular interest to SPACES research. The information on specific villages was obtained via informal interviews and has not been confirmed through secondary sources or via triangulation of methods. The aim was to provide an overview or an indication to help us prioritise certain villages over others rather than provide specific and accurate information (e.g. number of fishermen).
Mkomani Village
This village is one of the most preferred sites for the intended research by the community profile team. It comprises both high levels, mid-level and low level income groups. There are thought to be over 20 fishermen using two landing sites adjacent to Mkomani show ground and Kenya Marine Fisheries area, and overlooking Fort Jesus museums across the creek. The two landings used are Mkomani and Gwagwara. Gwagwara landing site is used seasonally and mostly when there are no strong winds and ocean currents. Fishermen in these sites are mainly gill net fishers and basket trap fishers (malema). Tourism is not well expressed though more information is required as the site is right next to Fort Jesus that sees high numbers of tourists every year.
Ziwa la Ng’ombe
The villages are similar to Mkomani but with a high number of middle and very low income earning communities. There are also some rich people with larger (storey) houses. There are about 15 fishermen, all fishing at the Nyali landing site. Tourism is not well expressed at the village but quite famous at the landing site. The fishers mainly practice beach seine and spear gun fishing.
Kisimani
Village is slightly more developed than Ziwa la Ng’ombe, but with mixed income communities (high, mid and low income communities). There are about 8 fishermen practicing beach seine fishing. All fishers use the Nyali landing site
Kidogo Basi
There are about 6 -7 fishermen in the village using the Nyali landing site. Communities fall within mixed income categories (high, mid, low income levels). Tourism is not well expressed at village level. The population is about 8000 people as per 1999 census, 45 % being male and 55 % female.
Ratna Square
Slightly highly developed village with equal population of mid income to higher income earners. There are very few low income earners. Most fishermen live in rented houses. Most of the fishers do their fishing at the Nyali landing site.
Site Characteristics
It was not possible to get detailed characteristics of each village. It was mentioned by our initial guide (fisherman from Kongowea) that it would take days to walk through all villages within Kongowea location. He did mention that there was heterogeneity within villages (for example, different levels of income and poverty), however there was little heterogeneity between villages. This goes against what was said by the chairman of the Agriculture and Fisheries committee. The latter mentioned that the Kongowea location can be divided into three classes. It is important to remember that these classes are relative to each other within Kongowea and not outside the Kongowea location.
Class 1 : Have all amenities, security is good and include areas such as Nyali
Class 2; Moderate and include areas such as Kongowea, Mkomani, Kidogo Basi
Class 3: Very poor infrastructure, no toilets, poor health facilities, water is a problem, no electricity and include areas such as Maweni, Kisumu Ndogo, Shauri Yako.
The villages we walked around with our guide were those in class 2 and indeed, a preliminary walk around Kongowea and between adjacent villages initially seemed to suggest that it was difficult to discern one village from another. We did not however venture to the more “well off” parts of the area within Nyali.
Due to time and monetary constraints some of the information provided here is based on specific villages (most notably site descriptions by the village elder regarding Kidigo Basi) and may not be representative of every village in Kongowea. We would expect that much of the information however will be applicable to most villages within Kongowea.
Figure 3: Photos of waste disposal site in Kongowea with some vegetation and of a typical Swahilihouse
A village elder from Kidigo Basi village provided us with much information regarding site structure, demographics, and amenities. In general, he argued that the infrastructure is generally good and most of Kongowea location has a good road network. However, although the main roads are okay, some of the feeder roads cannot be used during the rainy season. Drainage was thought to be poor (there are no sewers) and he argued that this could lead to water borne diseases during the rainy season. Conversely the borehole water was perceived as mostly clean, although it is saline with only water vendor shaving access to pipe water (although this may not be the case in the more affluent areas such as Niyali).
Throughout Kongowea he describes there to be very few schools and health services available. However, many people are thought to enjoy the services offered from up market areas such as Nyali. This village elder describes most of Kongowea as predominantly Christian (estimates 70%).
Some of the villages within Kongowea such as Kidigo Basi are relatively new (less than 20 yerars) and are described as “swelling” due to in-migration from other parts of Kenya.
Some of the villages within Kongowea such as Kidigo Basi are relatively new (less than 20 yerars) and are described as “swelling” due to in-migration from other parts of Kenya.
Figure 4: Photos of a small road and walking path in Kongowea
The village elder argued that there seems to be very little government or NGO permanent presence in the area, with very few offices in place. Although there are many NGOS, they are not very active within Kongowea. There are few mosques or churches in the area (none in Kidigo Basi), so meetings take place within schools.
Livelihoods
The livelihoods appear to be very diverse within Kongowea. We list below those mentioned from various Key Informant Interviews. This is by no means exhaustive and further work would be required to get an understanding of how important each of these are to those within the area. It is clear from the Ecosystem Service focus groups we carried out that fishing and tourism are important ecosystem related jobs.
The BMU secretary mentioned that locals diversify livelihood activities to ensure their survival during different seasons. Seasonality seems to play a big part for both fishing and tourism. For example, the boat operator mentioned that the during high season those involved in tourism can meet all their needs from tourism.
Savings are done through self help groups or through M-Pesa but there are very few outlets available, e.g. community organisations such as the BMU can facilitate savings for members through deduction of one shilling for every kilo sold (BMU secretary).
Fisheries
It is still unclear as to how many fishers there are within Kongowea location, however fishing is still thought to be an important livelihood (Ecosystem Service Focus Group information). We were supplied with the following information pertaining to fisheries relating to seasonality, historical changes, formal regulations, and what happens once fish are landed. The high season is in November to April and low season from May to October. The price of fish is dependent on the season. It is thought that there has been a reduced income for fishermen over time. This is argued to be due to a reduction in fish catch because of banned gears, and a high cost of recommended fishing gears. The use of wrong type of gear leads to confiscation and their destruction by the KWS.
Other formal regulations included:
-Not allowed to catch immature fish
-Environmental protection e.g. corals
-Turtle not to be harvested
-Only those with licences allowed to fish
The types of fishing gears used include beach seines, spear guns, gill nets, hand lines, and long lines. Once caught, fish have to be sold immediately to dealers as there are no storage facilities. Refrigerated vehicles come to collect the fish once landed. The fish buyers and dealers that often come with ice to help store and transport the firsh. As a result, fishing is still controlled by individual businessmen who own gears and agree with the fishermen on the prices. It is mostly the mama karangas that do the trading, other dealers will only come occasionally when there is a big catch that cannot be consumed locally.
Tourism
Tourism was also mentioned as an important livelihood within the Kongowea location. At first glance it is clear that a higher number of tourists are received in the more upmarket Nyali area especially during high season. Kongowea location therefore has certain facilities for tourists including hotels in Nyali area, but also beaches, handicrafts, and guides which can be found in other parts of Kongowea. One boat operator argued that tourism has reduced over the years due to insecurity, beach overcrowding, harassment of tourists, and political instability. He also added that there is an important seasonality issue at play and during low season some hotels have to close and send workers home. Whilst we have asked for the dates of low and high seasons we have had completely contrasting answers, which may be due to different tourism activities Key Informants are involved with. The boat owner mentions high season is during September to February whilst the driver and tour guide suggests high season is from July to August. Further work is therefore required to get an understanding of the seasonality of different aspects of tourism.
Whilst Tourism was mentioned as being very active in the area, it is thought that the locals are not benefiting much from it. Most hotels do not belong to the locals although some are employed (Agriculture and Fishery Chairman). Furthermore, most locals do not own boats. Nevertheless most boat operators are employees of boat owners and get paid a salary. And a number of locals are employed in the hotel industry (Boat Operator).
The boat operator argued that for locals to benefit more, taxes need to be reduced and tourism needs to be boosted by improving political stability, security and reducing taxation of foreigners.
The boat operator argued that for locals to benefit more, taxes need to be reduced and tourism needs to be boosted by improving political stability, security and reducing taxation of foreigners.