Our COVID-19 response

This year, the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a devastating threat to the health and security of people all around the world.

Throughout this period, a key message from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been to wash your hands regularly in order to help curb the spread of the virus. But for many dryland communities following this simple guidance is simply not an option as they do not have a reliable, local source of clean water.

Thanks to our generous supporters and in-country partners, despite the recent challenges and restrictions, we continue to support dryland communities across Africa to deliver sand dam projects and school water tanks.

Watch how a sand dam works here:

We have launched new programmes in Ethiopia and Malawi, are in the process of developing a new partnership Tanzania, as well as continued our work in Kenya, Mozambique (where we also have a new partner) and Zimbabwe.

These projects – most of which include climate-smart agriculture and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) training - will enable community members to support their families with sufficient food and water, to build climate resilience by re-greening and sustaining their environment, whilst also safeguarding their health and halting the spread of coronavirus during this most challenging time.

With global cases of COVID-19 still escalating, now more than ever before, we need your help so we can continue building sand dams and school water tanks (where applicable) before more families fall victim to the pandemic.

Here is just an example of how your support could help:

£20 could provide a community with 4 bags of cement for their sand dam

£30 could supply a community with a rake, gardening fork, shovel and watering cans, to plant trees for fruit, fuel and fodder

£60 could provide a community with a roll of barbed wire, to reinforce and strengthen their sand dam during construction

Please donate what you can to support dryland communities to reduce global health threats with access to clean water

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£20 could provide a community with 4 bags of cement for their sand dam

£30 could supply a community with a rake, gardening fork, shovel and watering cans, to plant trees for fruit, fuel and fodder

£60 could provide a community with a roll of barbed wire, to reinforce their sand dam

Other

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Latest

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What is a sand dam?
Reversing land degradation and desertification

Conservation of the environment is critical to the economic development of people living in drylands.
Donate

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

Find out what are drylands, why they are they are such harsh regions to live, how sand dams are applicable in drylands and what difference they can make to over 40% of the world's land surface.
1 million sand dams for 0.5 billion people by 2040

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.
Our approach

Find out more about Excellent's approach, from working with self-help groups to why we partner we on-ground, local organisations.
Climate-smart agriculture

It’s astonishing to see what can be achieved through these simple, but highly effective, techniques of climate-smart agriculture.
Watch how sand dams work

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

We need your help so that we can continue to support more vulnerable dryland communities to take part in sand dam and climate-smart agriculture projects, and empower them to end hunger and achieve long-term food security.
Improving health and daily lives

Sand dams provide a safer water supply as the water stored below the surface is protected from evaporation, contamination and waterborne diseases.