Published in March 2026

Kenyan farmers Ferdinand Muema and Francis Kioko used to spend a lot of their time fetching water from unsafe sources, instead of putting their time and efforts into improving their livelihoods and creating a better future. Here they explain how sand dams have helped to free up time and improve their lives.

Ferdinand (45-year-old father of three) and Francis (34-year-old father of two) both live in Wambiti Village located in Makueni country, southeast Kenya. They wanted to gain more time by having easier water access, thus giving them a better chance of working on and overcoming their farming issues. Ferdinand explains:

“I joined the group in 2023. I joined because I wanted to have easy water access to improve my fruit and vegetable farming.”

Prior to the project, the availability and accessibility of clean water was concerning, as Francis explains:                                                   

“Before the sand dam projects, our lives were hell. Water was scarce and dirty, we were struggling a lot, just to get a little bit of water. We had little water to do farming, let alone think about maintaining proper hygiene. We used to spend a lot of time fetching water from distant sources, which was not only physically demanding but also time-consuming. At the scoop holes, it was a matter of who comes first. ’Late you come, late you leave’ was the saying in our community.”

Similarly, Ferdinand explains that even if the walk to the scoop hole wasn’t as far (compared to Francis) from his home, the act of waking up early to queue up did take time and energy. Ferdinand says:

“I used to walk for 45 minutes, but I would wait for 1 to 2 hours at the scoop hole for my turn.”

Alongside the arduous hours spent trying to retrieve water, the farmers experienced frequent health issues and poor harvests. This lead to their families not having enough food for themselves, lacking nutritional variety in their diets and having to spend money on store-bought items. Francis speaks of his family’s experience saying:

“Before the dams, my farm was not even productive. I could work tirelessly yet get a very poor harvest because of bad farming skills and lack of enough water. We depended on occasional rains which were never guaranteed and could fail any season.”

However, both Ferdinand and Francis note the changes that have taken place since the sand dam project. Their community has mobilised together with Sand Dams Worldwide and our partner, Africa Sand Dams Foundation (ASDF) to build two sand dams, each with a shallow well to extract clean water. Francis describes the new developments:

"Water access has positively changed our daily lives. We have replaced our most precious time fetching water, to do other activities now, since we can fetch water very quickly from the shallow wells. I have begun growing bananas, kales and sweet potatoes. I have made a profit of KSH 10,000 (around £60) so far and I'm still hoping to get more.”

The community also received training from ASDF covering water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and improving farming practices. Ferdinand thinks that both types of training were necessary and life changing in their own ways:

“We gained knowledge about proper sanitation practices, safe water management, and hygiene habits. This has led to better health, reduced incidences of waterborne diseases and reduced healthcare costs. The improved farming training has deepened my understanding of the local environment and agriculture. There's been a shift in my daily routines; from understanding the best planting seasons to mastering irrigation techniques, each day is now filled with tasks aimed at developing my crops.”

Both Ferdinand and Francis feel very positively about the sand dam project and the work put in by the community to get them to this new reality where water access, food security and cleanliness are no longer issues. Francis concludes by saying:

“I feel very good. This feeling will continue to grow the more I achieve, which I believe I can do with the supply of water from the sand dam.”

---

Want to make a donation towards a sand dam project and have it doubled? Click here to find out more about our Big Give Earth Raise campaign