1 million sand dams for 0.5 billion people by 2040

Sand Dams Worldwide (formerly Excellent Development) plans to directly support other organisations to build 100 sand dams every year by 2020, increasing to 200 every year by 2025; 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 about our strategy here:

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Latest

June 2022 sand dam expedition with Jersey Overseas Aid

Jersey Overseas Aid volunteers and Sand Dams Worldwide team up once again to support a community in southeast Kenya to build a sand dam that will help transform lives for generations with clean water.
BBC report: Climate change killing elephants, says Kenya

Kenya's Wildlife and Tourism ministry says that climate change is now a bigger threat to elephant conservation than poaching.
Jobs at Sand Dams Worldwide: Trusts Fundraising Manager

We are recruiting!
Act Now: Tackle Food Crisis With Sand Dams

Support dryland communities to overcome food shortages, and ensure they can grow enough food to eat and sell. It all starts with ensuring they have access to water. That’s where sand dams come in.

Our philosophy and values

Our philosophy and values define who we are, every action we take and how we behave towards others. They are our most profound convictions. Each of us is called to respect, experience, enact and promote them.

What is a sand dam?
Donate

Please donate what you can to transform lives and land with sand dams and clean water.
Reversing land degradation and desertification

Conservation of the environment is critical to the economic development of people living in drylands.
Act Now: Tackle Food Crisis With Sand Dams

Support dryland communities to overcome food shortages, and ensure they can grow enough food to eat and sell. It all starts with ensuring they have access to water. That’s where sand dams come in.
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.
Watch how sand dams work

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