The worst drought in decades has brought water, and where to get it from, top-of-mind for everyone in Kenya.

It has also drawn into the country some of the world's newest technology, that, quite literally, makes drinking water from thin air, albeit at a cost of some heavy electricity use.

In the space of 24 hours, the new water makers can extract 20 to 5,000 litres from the surrounding air, depending on the size of the machine and the amount of humidity, said Metuka Lutzky of Esmun Services, now importing the US Air Water Corporation's machines.

The amount of water the machines can create in Kenya is higher than in many other places, thanks to the high humidity in areas such as Mombasa and Nairobi.

The need is also great.

Following from a run of failed rains, the government has turned to drilling boreholes, even as the water beneath the ground recedes to deeper levels, and was this year forced to close some of the country's hydropower stations.

As the country has been rocked by water shortages, maintaining safe drinking water supplies has been a concern, with spates of water-borne diseases.

Against this backdrop, over the past six months, Easun Services has begun importing and promoting the new water maker.

"The purpose is to get water to everybody," said Lutzky, who cited examples of students schooling in rural boarding schools that lacked access to sufficient water for day-to-day needs.

However, some of the challenges of drawing attention to the new technology has been the assumption that the machine is a water dispenser sold at a high price.

However, unlike any other water dispensers, the technology behind the Air to Water machines and systems is more complex.

The machines have been in use elsewhere in the world since 2003, in homes, offices, factories, farms, hospitals, building and construction sites, oil fields, oil rigs and platforms.

The military, international aid and rescue organisations, stationary and mobile units, have also been turning to them.

In Zimbabwe for instance, the machines have sold in large numbers, especially in areas hit by typhoid.

They also saved the lives of those affected by the 2004 Tsunami wave that hit the Indian Ocean, in which survivors had little or no access afterwards to safe water, said Lutzky.

The machines can also be used to purify tap water and even as bottled water dispensers after connecting the pipes on the back part of the machines.

Like the water from the air, it is filtered, re-mineralised, treated and then chilled to keep microorganisms at bay.

It has an electronic spout and LED display that shows the amount of humidity in the air and the amount of time it spends collecting the air. It also shows the amount of water stored.

The catch with the technology is the sheer scale of electricity consumption.

The machines use 0.55 kilowatts of electricity to make one litre of water, and can be run from ordinary power supply or generators.

"Solar power can be used too," said Lutzky, "but the number of (solar) panels needed would even cost more than the (smallest) machine itself."

Solar panel suppliers estimate power on this scale would require some eight panels, at an installation cost of Sh700,000, to keep the watermaker in constant action.

The smallest machine, mostly used in homes and nearly the size of a fridge, costs Sh116, 000.

However, the bigger machines, especially those used for farming and irrigation schemes, require a special order.

Patented by Israel, the Air to Water machines are mostly made in China, the US and Israel.

They are imported to Kenya from Miami, Florida, USA.

African Laughter