Published in March 2022

What’s in a name? A lot.

That’s the conclusion of our team and of our stakeholders. And as a result, I am very pleased to announce that we are changing our name from ‘Excellent Development’ to ‘Sand Dams Worldwide’, with immediate effect. Do look out for our updated website and communication channels in the coming weeks.

We have chosen Sand Dams Worldwide: what we feel is a more explicit and memorable name that says what we do, resonates with our supporters, and embodies our vision to scale sand dams worldwide, helping dryland communities to break the cycle of water poverty by building sand dams.

We know that sand dams can transform lives. With a dependable and nearby supply of clean water, communities can grow enough food to eat and sell, provide for their families, generate income, avoid disease and adapt to a changing climate. Watch here how sand dams work:

In short, the building of a sand dam helps communities restore, rebuild and regreen. You will see these three words in our new logo and start to be reflected in our communications. They sum up how sand dams and our work help people to restore degraded land and raise the water table, rebuild communities themselves and the lives of individuals, and regreen the environment and ecosystem.

Of course, we are proud of everything achieved and all support garnered to date under our former name. But as we celebrate our 20th anniversary this year, we feel now is the time for a new name and brand to support our ambitious goal to build 1 million sand dams for 0.5 billion people by 2050. And we hope you are inspired to continue supporting us on this next leg of our journey.

I also want to assure all our supporters that our core values and dogged determination to make the world a better place for those who are living in some of the driest parts of the world remain central to the organisation, its operations and to me. We remain a global sand dam charity determined to expand the network of sand dams to provide clean water to those who need it most. Our new name will help us do that.

Please donate what you can and empower women and girls to shape their own futures with sand dams