Social

Sand dams for drinking water and food security

The aim of the cooperation project with the Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) was to work with self-help groups and find ways to ensure water supply all year round, providing drinking water supply for humans and animals, and in this way enable sustainable farming activities for all group members. Key measures included the construction of "sand dams" that can store large amounts of rainfall and the organisation of various training measures and courses.

Africa

Kenya

Ndwae Ngutwae

Funding period: 2016-2017

The climate in the districts of Makueni and Machakos in Eastern Kenya province is hot and dry for most of the year. Climate change is placing an additional burden on communities: the decline in annual precipation levels in recent years has led to a situation where farmers, who mainly rely on subsistence farming, are no longer able to meet their basic needs or even earn enough money to send their children to school or cover their health expenses. Both Makueni and Machakos are known as districts affected by food insecurity.

Zwei Frauen arbeiten mit Eimern in der Hand an einem Sanddamm — The community members are actively involved in the construction measures and take ownership of the projects. Photo: arche noVa – Initiative for People in Need e.V., Dresden Photo: arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden

Evi Hoch (Wilo-Foundation) pumps drinking water for the community during the Wilo-Foundation's project visit in July 2024. Photo: Wilo-Foundation

Frauen nutzen eine Handpumpe am Sanddamm, um Wasser zu entnehmen — Hand pump on the sand dam of the Mbukilye Ngukilye Widows facilitates the withdrawal of water. Photo: arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden, Credit: Axel Fassio

In these dry and hot districts southeast of Nairobi, most of the rivers carry water only during the rainy season. Rainwater seeps into the ground within a few days, and rivers dry out. To prevent this and to assist the population with building sand dams for water storage, the Wilo-Foundation supported this project, which was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as the main donor.

In collaboration with the Nairobi-based NGO Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) the inhabitants erected 18 sand dams for harvesting rainwater which can be used as drinking water and for field irrigation. Under the project, communities were also trained on effective farming methods and attended WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) training sessions on measures to improve their hygiene situation. The project benefited about 8,000 people.

Accompanying training courses were carried out in the course of the project. Among other things, the focus was on how the self-help groups manage the use of water resources. Photo: arche noVa – Initiative for People in Need e.V., Dresden

Mitglieder der Athiani SHG installieren eine Bewässerungsanlage — Members of the community are installing an irrigation system. Photo: arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden

In 2020, the Wilo-Foundation was awarded the arche noVa water donor seal. In addition to the project in Kenya, the foundation also supported the organisation’s water and emergency aid projects in Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon and Ukraine.

Photo Header: arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden

Our funding partner

arche noVa – Initiative für Menschen in Not e.V., Dresden, is a humanitarian organisation from Dresden that has been supporting people in need, performing long-term development cooperation and implementing education programmes for over two decades. The association works to ensure that all people receive access to safe and clean drinking water as well as basic sanitation, and considers itself part of a worldwide network of civil-society actors. That is why arche noVa actively supports qualitative development in the fields of WASH as well as global learning and education for sustainable development through capacity and skills development and active networking.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

What are the SDGs?