Sand dams empower dryland communities to transform their own lives and land.

When people have access to clean water, they can take their future into their own hands, live sustainably, and work their way out of poverty with dignity.

Watch how sand dams work

Film explaining how sand dams work and their potential impact in the world's drylands

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“More than just water, this is opportunity”

We spoke to two members of the Mweleli Cluster Development self-help group located in southeast Kenya. Both Annah and Jonathan share details on their lives before and after their sand dam project. They touch on their livelihoods, the lives of children, their health, and their hopes for the future to give us a picture of how their lives continue to positively change.

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Author: Dwain Lucktung

“It’s not just a dam, it’s a lifeline”

In a recent interview, we heard the story of Simon Mbithi, whose decision to give back to his community led him to join the Iiani Village self-help group. He tells us how contributing towards the construction of a sand dam in his community is now improving his quality of life.

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Author: Dwain Lucktung

Good health and well-being

Two community members gave us insight into how the Nyanthumbi community, with the assistance of SDW and our Malawian partner, Churches Action in Relief and Development, have been able to overcome public health challenges in their area through a sand dam project. Click here to read more.

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Author: Dwain Lucktung

Our Impact

1,488

Number of sand dams

Over 1.2m

People with access to clean water for life

Over 1.5m

Trees planted

£18

Per person to provide clean water for life

Donate

Please click here to donate what you can to transform lives and land with sand dams and clean water.

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Target amount: £2,147,483,647.00

Amount raised: £199,852.55

Fundraise

Latest news

  • Micaia Foundation (Mozambique) achieve sand dam certification!

    Our partners in Mozambique, the Micaia Foundation, have been certified in sand dam siting, design and construction, meaning they can now continue construct sand dams in Mozambique independently. In this story we hear from the Micaia team on what this means to them and to our shared goal to scale up sand dam projects. Read more

Our Strategy

  • 1 million sand dams for 0.5 billion people by 2050

    Read about our plan to directly support other organisations to build sand dams, in turn, realising our vision to support millions of the world’s poorest people by helping them to transform their own lives through water and soil conservation in drylands. Read more