DARAJA

DARAJA: The Inclusive City-Community Forecasting and Early Warning Service

(Please scroll down for DARAJA awards, statistics, case studies, videos, press articles and more).

DARAJA, which means ‘bridge’ in Swahili, is a service and partnership that aims to improve weather and climate information services (WCIS), including early warnings of extreme weather, for urban users.

By adopting a systems-wide approach, DARAJA builds ‘bridges’ and operational partnerships between the actors critical to the co-design of the products, dissemination channels and feedback loops for weather forecasts and extreme weather alerts.

These actors in the system include:

• Vulnerable Urban Residents, including the residents of informal settlements;
• National Weather Agencies providing residents with climate information;
• Civil Protection and Disaster Management Agencies that keep them safe;
• Infrastructure Operators that serve them;
• Media houses, telecommunications companies and schools, are all key in dissemination to residents.

The DARAJA Service is delivered into a growing programme of urban demonstrators via a range of digital tools, apps and resources hosted on a digital platform. The DARAJA Platform supports a growing learning network of partners engaged in DARAJA deployments. We will use the platform as a key resource to continue scaling but also deliver service via the UK Met Office, National Meteorological Agencies, and community partner organisations.

The DARAJA Service has been piloted already in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam with strong impact results during 2018-2020. These included up to a 20:1 benefit cost ratio (BCR) in enhanced productivity and avoided climate related damage and loss to users. The DARAJA service originally piloted through WISER Africa programme support in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, reached 982,000 residents and achieving strong results in terms of enabling communities to take action in advance on the provision of early warnings. The communities, therefore, undertook early responses such as repairing their homes and roofs, moving possessions to a safe place and cleaning household and community drains. 

Since its launch in September 2018, DARAJA has provided nearly 1 million people in Kenya and Tanzania with improved weather information. From 2023, supported by the UK FCDO through the Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) programme led by the UK Met Office, DARAJA is expanding across East Africa to Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, as well as continuing its services in Tanzania and Kenya. Additionally, DARAJA receives support from the World Risk Poll and Lloyd’s Register Foundation. DARAJA is also being adapted for use in Small Island States (SIDS) via a demonstrator for the Caribbean based in Kingston, Jamaica (IDB), addressing their unique challenges posed by rising sea levels and extreme weather events.

Our Vision

DARAJA is receiving additional support to scale out of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam into other global cities, from the EIT Climate-KIC, the EU‘s leading public private climate innovation partnership.

Our vision is to scale DARAJA to provide actionable climate information and early warning services to 250 million urban residents, prioritising the most vulnerable, by 2026 and ultimately to all 1 billion people living in urban informality.

DARAJA aims to make a significant contribution to the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership (REAP) and its goal to make 1 billion people safer from climate disasters by 2025.

Resurgence is also proud to be a partner of the UN-backed Race to Resilience, through our Weather Climate Information Service, DARAJA. Race To Resilience aims by 2030 to catalyse Climate Action by non-state actors and the private sector, to build the resilience of 4 billion people from communities who are vulnerable to climate risks.

Financed initially by the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER), DARAJA has won two significant  independently judged awards: from the Global Resilience Partnership (Innovation in Resilience) and from  British Expertise (International Climate Cooperation).

Partners in past and ongoing DARAJA pilots and deployments include: FCDO Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) Programme, Climate-KIC, IDB, Met Office, Red Cross Climate Centre, Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA), Meteorological Service of Jamaica (MSJ), Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), Centre for Community Initiatives – Tanzania (CCI), Centre for Caribbean Climate Innovation (CCIC).

---

DARAJA: Nairobi and Dar es Salaam Pilots

DARAJA has been delivered to date in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam by Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) in Nairobi, the Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI) in Dar es Salaam, Resurgence, the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) and array of key local community partners, leaders and stakeholders.

DARAJA aims to improve the climate resilience of vulnerable populations living in informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya by building bridges between communities and weather and climate information providers.

DARAJA has been financed and developed under the UK FCDO (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) Met Office-led Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) Programme.

DARAJA’s goal in East Africa is to improve the climate resilience of vulnerable populations living in informal settlements in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya by improving their access to actionable weather, climate and early warning information.

DARAJA Impact Findings

A joint Resurgence-KDI-CCI research team working under DARAJA has carried out one of the most comprehensive mappings of information flows through the two cities to date, solely dedicated to access, uptake and use of extreme weather and climate information services.

As a result of DARAJA , communities living in the informal settlements of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam have been able to take better preventative action ahead of high impact weather events. This has resulted in both avoided loss and improved livelihoods for the communities.

The impact results achieved on the ground in each city by KDI, CCI, KMD, TMA and  DARAJA  local partners and stakeholders are based on research conducted  at the start and end of the project involving  over 700 household surveys  across the two cities.

To date, DARAJA implemented in the two cities, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, has reached 982,000 residents. Analysis of baseline and endline data has confirmed significant improvements in terms of access, understanding and use of WCIS by the residents and the people and organisations that support them. In Nairobi, the number of residents able to access actionable WCIS increased from 56% to 93%, reaching a minimum of 800,000 residents, as a direct result of the DARAJA initiative. 98% of the residents state that they use DARAJA information services to prepare for extreme weather through actions that avoid damage and loss such as repairing their homes/ roofs (+300% on baseline) moving possessions to a safe place (+166%), cleaning household (+110%) and community (+68%) drains. Similar results have been achieved in Dar es Salaam.

Download: DARAJA Impact Results Slides

---

DARAJA 2024 World Habitat Award Win

On the 4th January 2024, our weather and climate service and partnership, DARAJA, won a World Habitat Award 2024. World Habitat is the international non-profit organisation working to provide decent homes for everyone, in partnership with UN-Habitat.

In 2024 the Awards went to eight outstanding projects (including DARAJA) that demonstrate innovative and transformative approaches to housing, from community-driven solutions to climate change adaptation. Our submission (with KDI Kenya and CCI Tanzania) was one of 141 entries entered and DARAJA was selected as one of the eight winners. The only winner in Africa and the only one working in Climate Adaptation and Climate Loss & Damage.

World Habitat’s official press release found here.

World Habitat 1-minute video on DARAJA Award win found here.

DARAJA website created by World Habitat (featuring images, statistics, case studies and quotes from the communities in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam) found here. 

“DARAJA Weather Forecasting Service Earns World Habitat Award for Protecting Local Communities From Climate-Related Loss and Damage

The DARAJA weather forecasting and early warning service has been awarded a World Habitat Award for its innovative approach to saving lives and protecting homes in informal settlements in Kenya and Tanzania.”

---

DARAJA 2020 British Expertise International Award Win

On the 21st October 2020, Resurgence won the International Collaborative Project of the Year Award for DARAJA, at the British Expertise International Awards 2020. The Award recognises and celebrates the best of UK expertise in international development, infrastructure and capacity building.

To read more, please click here.

Watch Awards win announcement here.

---

DOWNLOAD DARAJA IMPACT FINDINGS

The impact information below, is taken from a robust sample of community residents who accessed or used Weather and Climate Information through DARAJA services.

Download: DARAJA Impact Results Slides

---

DARAJA Press Articles found here.

DARAJA Videos found here.

DARAJA Publications found here.