In the Chumvi area of Laikipia County, most boreholes die dry. Rain is scarce, recharge zones are few, and families walk long distances for domestic clean potable drinking water and water for livestock. James Hillencamp funded Kisima to drill a Maasai tribal community borehole in this tricky ground — past dry aquifers to 275 metres, with the first real strike at 200 metres and a confirmed 3.2 cubic metres per hour. The community is sorted. Next: James is working to secure six acres for drip irrigation and joint agricultural production.
In the Chumvi area of Laikipia County, most boreholes die dry. Rain is scarce, recharge zones are few, and families walk long distances for domestic clean potable drinking water and water for livestock. James Hillencamp, while traveling last November on a photography safari, discussed with his Maasai tribal guide, Philip Kenyaga, the hardships within his village of 500 Maasai members. No electricity nor safe potable drinking water was available. He then met with an Engineer within a local Conservancy and discussed the process and feasibility of self-funding a borehole project in Philip's community.
Once back stateside, James researched and corresponded with ten companies recognized as the best credentialed borehole well drilling companies in Kenya. Of those, he then narrowed down the list to four companies, each of which James then contracted to conduct four independent surveys seeking the optimal borehole drill sites.
James has a longtime Geologist friend that owns a borehole well drilling company in South Florida with extensive business throughout the Caribbean Islands, Ghana, South America and South Florida. Together they evaluated the four surveys and chose Kisima Well Drillers because our survey report was much more detailed than the others, giving confidence as to our site location and a successful well with clean potable water.
James then asked the four companies chosen to provide multiple proposals for the following;
All four companies can provide quality work. However, as James has stated, Kisima Well Drillers again provided the most detailed proposals with direct verbal communication and pictures throughout the project's work and completion.
James then funded Kisima to drill a Maasai tribal community borehole in this tricky ground — past dry aquifers to 275 metres deep, with the first real strike at 200 metres and a confirmed 3.2 cubic metres per hour result. The community is sorted!
Next, James is working to secure six acres of land for drip irrigation and joint agricultural production for the Maasai community. This will additionally require a six-metre-high water tower with two 10,000 litre storage tanks that will gravity feed the drip irrigation equipment.
With deep gratitude · Florida, USA → Laikipia, Kenya
Chumvi sits in one of the driest parts of Laikipia County — where borehole after borehole fails shallow. James Hillencamp, an American donor from Florida, believed this community deserved a real chance: he funded Kisima to survey, drill to 275 metres, case the hole, test pump at 3.2 m³/hr, and equip a solar-powered community water station that families, schools, and livestock depend on today.
James is now working to secure 6 acres for joint community farming — drip irrigation is the next chapter, with water finally on site. From everyone at Kisima and the Chumvi community: thank you for choosing lasting water over a short-term fix.
Before James Hillencamp & Kisima
Chumvi families and pastoralists travelled far daily — water for drinking, cooking, washing, and animals — with no guarantee of quantity or quality.
After 275m · 3.2 m³/hr
The borehole gives the community a shared source — domestic use and livestock without the old distances. James Hillencamp made that possible.
Chumvi is not a county where you drill 80 metres and celebrate. Kisima logged every interval — dry passes, first moisture at depth, and the necessary push to 275 metres where the borehole finally delivered clean potable water.
Surface · 0m
Laikipia’s Chumvi area: low rainfall, limited recharge, and a landscape littered with dry or failed boreholes. Survey and donor commitment came before rig mobilisation — the community could not afford another empty hole.
Shallow · <100m
Many attempts in the region never reach a productive zone. Cuttings stay dry, yields never come, and funds are lost. Our programme planned for depth from day one.
200m · First aquifer
At 200 metres, the formation changed: the first aquifer was hit. In Chumvi, that moment is everything — proof that water exists below the dry horizons that defeat shallower drilling. Logging continued to secure a sustainable completion depth.
275m · Final depth
Drilling and test pumping confirmed 3.2 cubic metres per hour — a community-scale yield in one of the hardest hydrogeological neighbourhoods we work. Casing, development, and equipping turned a deep hole into a community asset.
James Hillencamp asked four shortlisted drillers for detailed proposals across four work packages. Below is what Kisima delivered on site — from permits and survey through drilling, equipping, and security.
WRA borehole drilling permit, discharge authorisation, and NEMA-aligned environmental compliance for a community-scale abstraction in Laikipia County.
Hydrogeological survey (selected from four independent site surveys), rotary mud drilling to 275m, welded steel casing programme, borehole development, test pumping at 3.2 m³/hr, and independent laboratory water quality testing for potable use.
Solar PV panels and steel framework, submersible pump equipment sized to confirmed yield, elevated water storage tank, and multiple community distribution taps for households, schools, and livestock.
Perimeter security fence with gated access and solar-powered floodlights to protect the community water asset after dark.
This was never a private farm borehole. It was built for a village of 500 Maasai members who shared the cost of thirst — and for James Hillencamp, who wanted lasting impact, not a photo opportunity.
After a photography safari with his Maasai guide Philip Kenyaga, James returned stateside, commissioned four independent hydrogeological surveys, and chose Kisima for the most detailed report and proposals. He funded professional drilling in a zone where dry aquifers are normal — accepting the risk of depth to 275m. He is now working to secure six acres for the Maasai community to run joint agricultural production, with a planned six-metre water tower and two 10,000 litre tanks feeding drip irrigation.
A tribal village of 500 members with no electricity and no safe potable drinking water before this project. Families who walked long distances for domestic water and herders who moved livestock toward distant points can now centre daily life around one reliable borehole. Water for home, water for animals — and soon, water for crops on shared land.
Water was step one. James Hillencamp is working on step two: securing six acres of community land for drip irrigation fed from the new borehole — organised joint production, not scattered subsistence plots.
This will additionally require a six-metre-high water tower with two 10,000 litre storage tanks that will gravity feed the drip irrigation equipment. At 3.2 m³/hr, the borehole can support careful drip scheduling across six acres once the land is secured and hydrogeology and storage are managed well — turning Chumvi from a place of dry holes into a place of planned harvests.
Every image below is from the Chumvi community project — drilling, waiting, first flow, solar equipping, and the lives changed because James Hillencamp said yes.
Schoolchildren watched every metre. In dry Laikipia, depth is everything.
Welded casing and a protected head — built to last decades.
The community gathered at the hole itself. Jerrycans ready. Hope finally tangible.
On-site footage — water reaching the Chumvi community
Panels, pump, tank, and fence — a complete system under the Laikipia sun.
Fenced, solar-powered, and ready for the whole community — year after year.
Families, children, elders — daily water from a source they can trust.
James has allowed Kisima Well Drillers to provide his direct contact information regarding all statements above made by Kisima Well Drillers.
Project donor · Florida, USA
We watched borehole after borehole fail around Chumvi. When Kisima hit water at 200 metres and finished at 275, our community stopped walking for water. With water on site, James Hillencamp is working to secure land for drip farming on six acres.
Laikipia demands depth, patience, and honest hydrogeology — as James Hillencamp showed at Chumvi. If your community or donor partner is ready to drill where others have gone dry, talk to Kisima.
