Africa Sand Dam Foundation: Banking Rainwater in the Sand

Since 2010, the Africa Sand Dam Foundation has worked with self-help groups in Makueni, Machakos and Kitui counties to build sand dams — reinforced masonry walls across seasonal riverbeds that trap sand and store rainy-season runoff within it, protected from evaporation and contamination. The foundation has supported the construction of 680 sand dams to date, plus accompanying shallow wells, hand pumps, rock catchments and school water tanks. A mature sand dam can hold water for a community year-round long after open sources and boreholes run dry or turn saline. Communities provide labor, sand and stone, while ASDF and its partners supply cement, technical design and skilled oversight.