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  1. Why sand dams
  2. The benefits of sand dams

The benefits of sand dams

Sand dams provide safe, clean water for life closer to people's homes. And with this comes a multitude of benefits. 

Improving health and daily lives

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. Read more

Published: 16th May, 2018

Updated: 4th September, 2018

Author: Dwain Lucktung

Education

Education

Sand dams have a huge potential to raise the prospects of the youngest generation. They not only free up children's time to go to school, they also enable their parents to generate income to invest in their children's education. Read more

Published: 15th May, 2018

Updated: 4th September, 2018

Author: Dwain Lucktung

Empowering women

Empowering women

Sand dam projects empower women as they become decision makers and are able to generate income for their communities. Read more

Published: 14th May, 2018

Updated: 5th September, 2018

Author: Dwain Lucktung

Increasing income

Increasing income

In order to become more secure, farmers need to grow a reliable amount of food; enough to generate a surplus that can be sold at local markets. Read more

Published: 12th May, 2018

Updated: 4th September, 2018

Author: Dwain Lucktung

Climate-smart agriculture

Climate-smart agriculture

It’s astonishing to see what can be achieved through these simple, but highly effective, techniques of climate-smart agriculture. Read more

Published: 11th May, 2018

Updated: 5th September, 2018

Author:

Reversing land degradation and desertification

Reversing land degradation and desertification

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

Published: 11th May, 2018

Updated: 12th September, 2018

Author:

Sand dams for wildlife and peace

Sand dams for wildlife and peace

Sand dams reduce human to human and human to wildlife conflict in areas of Northern Kenya where there is conflict over scarce water sources. Read more

Published: 10th May, 2018

Updated: 1st October, 2018

Author:

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Showing 10 of 7

Latest

  • Excellent win 2020 iF Social Impact Prize!

    Excellent win 2020 iF Social Impact Prize!

    Excellent Development are awarded an International Forum Design GmbH (iF) Social Impact Prize for our sand dam project work in southeast Kenya.

  • Empower families to feed themselves

    Empower families to feed themselves

    We need your help so that we can continue to support more dryland communities to build sand dams and implement climate-smart farming, providing vital food and water supplies to vulnerable families.

  • £83,443 raised in Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020!

    £83,443 raised in Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020!

    In this year's Big Give Christmas Challenge you helped us raise over £80,000 to build two sand dams and implement a range of environmental protection measures in southern Zimbabwe.

  • Missing school and education due to COVID-19 and lack of water

    Missing school and education due to COVID-19 and lack of water

    Kasangi Simon, a 12-year-old pupil at Nzeluni Primary School, southeast Kenya, shares her experience coping with water shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what difference a school water tank would make.

Most read

  • What is a sand dam?

    What is a sand dam?

  • 1 million sand dams for 0.5 billion people by 2040

    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.

  • Donate

    Donate

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

  • Zimbabwe (Partner: Dabane Trust)

    Zimbabwe (Partner: Dabane Trust)

    Dabane Trust and Excellent are working together with rural communities in the semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe to develop simple, appropriate and sustainable water abstraction and food production systems.

  • Watch how sand dams work

    Watch how sand dams work

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

  • Sand dam manual

    Sand dam manual

    For everything you need to know about building sand dams, click here to read (and download for free!), Sand Dams: A Practical & Technical Manual.

  • The challenge

    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.

  • Job opportunities

  • September 2018 sand dam expedition with Barclays Isle of Man

    September 2018 sand dam expedition with Barclays Isle of Man

    Barclays Isle of Man volunteers and community members share highlights from the construction of a sand dam they worked together to build in southeast Kenya in September 2018.

  • Working together with Rotary

    Working together with Rotary

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Registered in England & Wales No. 4432166. Registered charity No. 1094478

Excellent Development, 7-14 Great Dover Street London, SE1 4YR, United Kingdom