Drinking Water

Two men in front of a well with a crank

The shaft extends up to 50 meters below ground, linking up with an underground tunnel.


Men next to water channels

Project Manager Georg Taubmann (front left) examining the water project.

Access to clean drinking water is a basic human right. In the West we tend to take this for granted, but for the people of Afghanistan it's by no means automatic. It's a very arid country, and wells often have to be extremely deep to reach ground water - 20 to 40 meters is not uncommon. Working with local village elders, Shelter Now digs wells in various locations, secures them and installs hand pumps. We do not use diesel pumps as these would place too much demand on the water supply, lowering the water table significantly and ultimately causing all the wells to dry up.

Digging and securing a well and installing a hand pump costs nearly US $900. One well provides drinking water for up to 40 families.

The water provided by the "kareez" is also suitable for drinking. Kareez are man-made tunnels which collect ground water from the slopes of the mountains and channel it into the village below, often over several miles. There the water is used for drinking, washing clothes and for irrigating the fields and fruit plantations.

Many of these irrigation systems are several hundred years old and have dried out or were destroyed during the war. Shelter Now employs local specialists to repair and expand them. The job has to be well paid as it is not without its hazards, often involving work between 30 and 50 meters below ground.