Water is essential for life, but millions of people around the world lack access to clean and safe water sources. This is especially true in Eritrea, a small country in northeast Africa, where only 19% of the population has clean water close to home. The rest have to travel long distances, often on foot, to fetch water from rivers or wells. But many of these water sources are contaminated, unreliable, or broken down, posing serious health as well as environmental risks.

That’s why this month, we are supporting the Zoba Debub Community Boreholes project, a carbon offset project that aims to provide clean and safe water to rural communities in Eritrea while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from wood burning.

The Zoba Debub Community Boreholes project is a project that repairs and maintains boreholes that tap into underground water sources, eliminating the need for water purification by fire. Boreholes are holes drilled into the ground, up to 100 meters deep, that have pipes and hand pumps installed to extract water. They are a simple and effective way to access clean water from underground aquifers.

However, many boreholes in Eritrea have fallen into disrepair due to poor management, lack of funds, or vandalism. This leaves many people without access to clean water, forcing them to resort to unsafe alternatives. The Zoba Debub Community Boreholes project works to identify broken boreholes, renovate them, and supply a maintenance program to ensure that they continue to function properly.

By providing clean water, this project helps the environment and the people in several ways:

• It reduces greenhouse gas emissions from wood burning - Many people in Eritrea use wood fuel on inefficient stone fires to purify their water, which releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere. By providing safe water, this project reduces the amount of firewood needed for water purification, thus lowering the emissions from the combustion process.
• It improves health and hygiene - Access to clean water is crucial for preventing diseases, such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, all of which are caused by contaminated water. Clean water improves hygiene, sanitation, as well as nutrition, which are essential for human well-being and development.
• It saves time and money - Fetching water from distant or unreliable sources can take hours, especially for women and children, who are often responsible for this task. By providing water close to home, this project saves time and money for the local people and allows them to pursue other opportunities and activities such as education.
• It empowers women and girls - By providing clean and fresh water close to home, this project allows women and girls access to clean water when they need it the most.

We are proud to support this project as part of our commitment to social and environmental responsibility. We believe that access to clean water is a human right and that fighting climate change is a global duty. We believe that this project aligns with our values and vision and that it can make a positive difference in the lives of the people in Eritrea, all through the sale of our crystal jewellery.

If you share our passion and want to support this project, you can do so in several ways:

• You can spread the word about the project and raise awareness about the water and climate issues in Eritrea by sharing this blog post, following us on social media, or telling your friends and family about the project and why it matters to you.
• You can learn more about the project and the people behind it by visiting the Gold Standard registry, where you can find detailed information, reports, and updates about the project and its outcomes.

Please, visit our Ecologi page to see all the projects we have funded through the sales of our crystal jewellery and home accessories. Feel safe in the knowledge that when you buy from Xander Kostroma, you're also contributing towards these wonderful projects across the globe.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Xander & Co.