ANTHROPOCENE MUSEUM 8.0 | Nyukie Artefact / Steam Harvester

Exacerbated by climate change, the frequency and severity of droughts experienced by the Maasai community on Mount Suswa in Kenya and across the region has reached a critical point. On top of this, the Kenyan government’s appetite to expand on the exploitation of geothermal energy along this corridor has proven to be significantly detrimental to the natural environment and community rights. This project looks to reimagine infrastructural devices that address the unsustainable practices of geothermal energy extraction in the Great Rift Valley, while addressing water scarcity issues.

The Nyukie artefact, inspired by successful makeshift Maasai solutions to harvest water from the natural geothermal vents, is an optimised device that condenses and collects water for drinking and watering cows and crops, especially during droughts. The project is the first iteration of the design intended to be deployed in Suswa and other volcanically active sites along the Great Rift Valley. Using the expertise of volcanologists and mechanical engineers, geologists and hydrologists, the project is a working prototype that acts as both a steam and rainwater harvester, but more importantly as a community condenser where both humans and non-humans can commune beneath the reservoir that is scalable on a broader infrastructural network of existence. 

The Nyukie Artefact / Steam Harvester taps into the Maasai people’s monotheistic faith in the God they call Engai, who is mostly benevolent and who manifests in the form of different colours, according to his feelings. The changing colours and movements of the filaments across the steam harvester signal the mountain’s temperament and its connection to a higher power. A geological and spiritual register of a complex planetary system at work.