About the region:

Sand Dams Worldwide is working in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts, in the southernmost part of Malawi.

Both districts have over 80% poverty rates, and the southern region of Malawi is actually home to 47% of the country’s poor population.

This may be due to the extreme weather of the region, with temperatures often reaching over 40°C. This also results in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts having the lowest food security rates in Malawi, with over 70% of households in the district experiencing very low food security.

About our partner:

Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) is a development and humanitarian relief organisation based in Blantyre, Malawi. They have previously worked with local farming communities to implement solar irrigation projects, and have been central to the relief efforts in the aftermath of the recent floods in southern Malawi.

How we’re working together:

In 2019 we began working with CARD to conduct a study into the feasibility of sand dams in Nsanje and Chikwawa districts in southern Malawi. With input from the Dabane trust and ASDF, we established a number of sites that were suitable for sand dams, and started construction on the first sand dam with the Mzondola community on the Thangadzi River in 2021.