Malawi has suffered greatly from the effects of climate change; flooding, drought, and environmental degradation have produced widespread food and water insecurity amongst the largely rural population, who depend heavily on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. With only 5% of households surveyed producing enough food to last more than 9 months of the year, and many rural communities lacking access to clean water, there is a great need to restore degraded land and rebuild lost livelihoods.

We will support two communities to construct a sand dam – a sustainable rainwater harvesting solution that stores up to 40 million litres of water (which meets WHO drinking standards), providing people with year-round clean water. Unlike other water solutions sand dams recharge groundwater levels and enable vegetation to regenerate. Combined with environmental protection measures, including tree planting, land degradation is reduced, increasing soil fertility so that farmers can grow more crops.