Uganda Safe
Water Project
Changing lives through restored water points, time returned to families, and safer, cleaner water access for rural communities in Northern Uganda.
Safe water changes the rhythm of daily life
Before the community handpump was fixed, families in project communities in Northern Uganda often had to travel more than 4 kilometres to seasonal open wells for water, then spend even more time gathering wood to boil it. Water collection was exhausting, time consuming, and deeply limiting for women and children in particular.
Unsafe water and the labour required to make it drinkable shaped everyday life. Time that could have gone into school, income generation, childcare or farming was instead absorbed by long walks, fuel collection and the health impacts that came from poor water access.
With reliable safe water restored closer to home, households no longer need to spend hours each day on water and firewood collection. That shift creates room for more productive work, more time together as families, and less pressure on already degraded local woodland.
The project’s value is not only in emissions avoided. It is visible in the practical improvement of daily life: safer access to water, stronger household resilience, and local environments beginning to recover as communities stop cutting wood purely to boil water.
Having a clean source of water so close to our homes is life-changing. We no longer have to spend hours travelling to collect water and find wood.
Gloria, 39, lives in Dokolo District with her husband and five children. Before the local handpump was restored, she and her children travelled long distances to a seasonal open well and also had to gather firewood so the water could be boiled before drinking.
That routine placed a heavy physical burden on the family and contributed to the local area being stripped of trees. Gloria describes how the journey caused back ache, took hours out of each day, and left very little time for anything beyond the basics of survival.
With a clean water source now close to home, the family no longer spends hours walking for water and wood. Gloria says they can now do far more with their time, and that the land around the village has begun to recover as households stop cutting wood simply to make drinking water safe.
Rehabilitation, training and long-term care
The project rehabilitates and maintains rural boreholes and handpumps so communities can access safe water close to home. Reliable infrastructure removes the need to boil water over wood fires and helps cut emissions at source.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene training equips communities with practical knowledge on safe collection, hygiene and sanitation use, helping long-term behaviour change extend beyond the physical water point itself.
Communities are supported to manage and protect their own water points. Local ownership is central to keeping boreholes working over time and ensuring the benefits are sustained well beyond the initial rehabilitation works.
Verified emissions reductions from avoided boiling fund ongoing maintenance, monitoring and expansion. Carbon finance makes the model commercially credible while directly supporting improved living conditions on the ground.
Impact beyond verified emissions
In addition to reducing emissions, the Uganda Safe Water Project creates measurable social and environmental co-benefits. Its safe water model helps improve health outcomes, reduce time poverty, and support more equitable opportunities for women and children.
UN SDGs contributed to by this project
Built on trusted partnerships
CO2balance develops and manages the project model, ensuring carbon finance supports long-term safe water access while maintaining the monitoring and verification needed for credible climate impact.
The project depends on communities managing and protecting restored handpumps over time. Local ownership is what turns repaired infrastructure into a durable source of safe water.
Independent certification and project monitoring ensure the impact is not anecdotal. Verified reductions and documented social outcomes are what keep the project credible and investable.
More from our safe water portfolio
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