Excellent Development

Water: A Basic Human Right

There is still a long way to go to ensure that all vulnerable dryland communities have access to what is their basic human right. Any support you are able to provide today will truly make a lasting difference to people’s lives for generations to come. Read more

Please select a donation amount (required)
£20 could provide a community with 4 bags of cement for their sand dam

£60 could provide a community with a roll of barbed wire, to reinforce their sand dam and keep it anchored to the bedrock

£120 could provide a community with a wheelbarrow and 10 bags of cement, to help them construct their sand dam

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Excellent Development wins at the Charity Awards 2021!

Excellent wins the International Aid and Development award for our sand dam projects in Africa! Read more
Make a regular donation and Create lasting change with sand dams

Regular donations provide tools, materials and ongoing guidance and support. They enable self-help groups to build a series of sand dams and boost their farming, bringing an abundance of food and water to their families, transforming lives for generations to come. Read more

Please select a donation amount (required)
£5 could provide a group with the tools, seeds and materials to produce vegetables, fruits and grains

£10 could provide expert training and support to empower groups to take ownership of their projects

£20 enable a self-help group to build a series of sand dams, bringing abundant water to their families

Other

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What is a sand dam?

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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

A second sand dam for a lifetime of benefits

Last year we visited Twone Mbee Wasya wa Mavalani self-help group in Kenya just as they began building their second sand dam. Here group members Agnes and John explain what life was like before they had access to clean water.

Conserving the environment and building climate resilience in Zimbabwe

Meet Mody, an elderly farmer from Zimbabwe who is helping to re-green her farm and local environment thanks to training and support from our partners in the region.

1,000 sand dams! An Excellent milestone

Programmes Officer, Callum Sheehan, looks at various sand dam success stories as Excellent Development reaches the milestone of enabling 1,000 sand dams in drylands.

Our Impact

1,196	Number of sand dams
Over 1m	People with access to clean water for life
Over 1m	Trees planted
£13	Per person to provide clean water for life

Donate

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

Excellent news

(re)GENERATION documentary series: building sand dams in Kenya

CSIS (the Center for Strategic and International Studies) have published a short film about building climate resilience in Kenya with sand dams, featuring our partners, the Africa Sand Dam Foundation. Watch it here! Read more

Our Strategy

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. Read more

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.

Our Impact

1,196

Over 1m

Over 1m

£13

Excellent news

Our Strategy