The question of how to efficiently use water as a resource – an important question with regard to environmental protection – is especially important for future generations. In developing countries, in particular, there is not only a lack of sufficient drinking water for the local population but water is also a scarce resource for subsistence farming. The relief organisation arche noVa – initiative for people in need, which specialises in water projects, implements projects to alleviate water scarcity and develop efficient solutions for water storage and water use.

In Kenya, the Wilo-Foundation provided funding for the sand dam project (2016-17), which enabled the people in the Kenyan Makueni and Machakos districts southeast of Nairobi to build sand dams for water storage. In collaboration with the NGO Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) the inhabitants erected 18 sand dams for harvesting rain water, which can then be used as drinking water and for field irrigation. As part of the project, they also learned more about effective farming methods and attended WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) training sessions on measures to improve their own hygiene situation.

Another project, which is currently being implemented in Ethiopia (2018-20), is aimed at improving drinking water supply for the population in the Adadle woreda, one of ten woredas located in the Shebelle administrative zone in the Somali region. To achieve this goal, water supply systems using ultrafiltration technology are being installed. These systems purify the water from the only available and heavily contaminated water source, the Shebelle River, to turn it into safe drinking water. In addition, the population receives training on sustainable farming and animal husbandry and crafts and takes part in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) classes to learn more about measures to improve the hygiene situation on the ground.

Arche noVa e. V., Dresden is a recognised relief organisation that supports people in need in more than 15 countries and works to ease their suffering and improve their living conditions. One of the priority areas of the association, which was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Dresden, is to secure the supply of drinking water for people in crisis zones and regions with structural disadvantages. The association’s work is based on the principle of help for self-help.