Across all of Just a Drop's Projects, sustainability is the most important factor.

In fact, sustainability sits in our DNA. We began as a way for the travel industry to give back to the communities it was serving, and since then, we have helped to develop a number of sustainable initiatives and projects to help businesses make societal and environmental impacts. 

Our projects and solutions are sustainable and designed and developed to last, for maximum benefit to the communities they serve. Our approach ensures community-ownership, which is key to a project's sustainability. We believe in transforming lives for the long-term, and we aim to monitor our projects for a minimum of 7 years after completion.

Every one of our projects includes a donation to our carbon offsetting work. This helps us to keep our travel carbon neutral and lead by example.

We're pleased to share a couple of examples about the impact that our work is having on the environment: 

Reducing Carbon Emissions through tree-planting in Nicaragua

Over the last 50 years, Nicaragua has lost 49% of its forest through deforestation and poor farming practices.

With our local partner in Nicaragua we supporting communities to rebuild forests and develop sustainable farming practices through watershed restoration projects, including:

• Working with communities to plant nurseries and then transplant the seedlings to places where the trees will grow.
• Teaching communities about agroforestry and intentionally integrating trees with livestock and crops to create a sustainable land-use system. This rejuvenates damaged cropland and pasture while restoring streamflow, increasing rainwater absorption, recharging groundwater sources, and reducing soil erosion.
• Enhancing the microclimate by introducing relevant crops and fruits that provide food security and trading resources to community members

Find out more about the work that we do in Nicaragua here

Sand Dams in Kenya

A sand dam is a rubble cement wall constructed across a seasonal river. When the rain falls during the rainy season, the dam traps the water which is then filtered through the sand and naturally cleaned. We build a shallow well and pump so that the safe water can be easily extracted all year round to meet the communities’ needs.

The sand dam provides a large volume of water, which we will utilise to implement a comprehensive food security and livelihood programme. Through this, we train the community in new farming skills, diversifying crops and improving yield, dig terraces, provide tools, distribute seeds and drought-resistant crops, and plant trees. We also train the community to grow an excess of produce to sell at market, as well as in bookkeeping skills, so as to create income and improve livelihoods.

Further, the project actively mitigates climate change, which severely impacts those who already have a precarious source of water. In Kenya, extreme weather patterns are increasing with droughts especially becoming more common, lasting for longer and rain fall decreasing. Sand dams preserve the water across the year, it doesn't evaporate or become polluted, so safe water is available and food sources able to be maintained. To add to this, the terracing on the land around sand dams ensures that during the rainy season, the water is absorbed into the land, and the topsoil remains, rather than being washed away.

The sand dams are hugely sustainable and allow for: 

         

Only 1-2% of water from the river is stored in the sand dam meaning that communities further down stream are in no way effected by the dam.

We also run a number of sustainable initiatives for corporate partners to engage in: 

 

By working with Just a Drop, we can help you to embed sustainability into your business - whether this is through supporting our sustainable projects, carbon offsetting or through water stewardship. You know your business best, so we'll work with you to find the best solution for your specific business.

To find out more please contact: [email protected]