Micro Dam

Micro Dams: Tackling food insecurity

Micro dams are a great way to capture and store water for agricultural and domestic use. At Islamic Relief, we have constructed micro dams in Mali to ensure rainwater is stored for even longer, which can then be used by local farmers to irrigate their crops. This has subsequently improved food security and income diversification for vulnerable people.

In rural parts of Mali for example, many households face food insecurity due to harsh environmental conditions and the effects of climate change. However, micro dams – which are constructed using local materials – collect rainfall during the wet season ensuring that communities have an ongoing water source. The micro dam, therefore, provides drinking points for cattle, water for domestic consumption and irrigation.

Offering a sustainable water supply, our previous micro dam projects have increased agricultural productivity and allowed communities to adapt to the negative effects of climate change and fight food insecurity over the long-term. What’s more, women have become increasingly engaged within their communities, engaging in production, whilst young people are no longer forced to leave their homes and migrate to outside areas to earn a living.

Providing water for life

Here at Islamic Relief, we’re working worldwide in over 40 countries across the globe to ensure that not only do communities have a safe and reliable source of water for today, but for life too.

When we build a water system, we ensure communities have a sustainable source of clean water for years to come. We recognise the risk of drought, displacement and disease and with over thirty years of expertise we know that simply drilling wells and installing water pumps cannot solve the water crisis.

We bypass short-term interventions and high running costs to instead provide long-term sustainable solutions; installing irrigation systems, building water tanks, training communities, distributing hygiene kits and rehabilitating viable water systems.

Help us to provide men, women and children clean and safe water, an essential we all take for granted.