Traditional aid builds things that decay. Our model embeds maintenance and self-replication into every project from day one.
A donor funds a well. The well is dug, the photo is taken, the report is filed. Two years later, the pump breaks. Nobody has money for the spare part. The well sits dry. The community is no better off than before — sometimes worse, because expectations have been raised and broken.
We fund a well, yes. But before we dig, we set up a committee, train them in basic maintenance, agree on a symbolic fee for water (around 1 cent per 20-liter jug). That fee funds maintenance. Surplus accumulates. Within 18-24 months, the surplus covers the cost of digging a second well in the next village. Charity stops being a transaction and becomes a perpetual motion.
€8,000
to build one well
€18,000/yr
compounding surplus
A 60-metre borehole in Karamoja costs about €8,000. It serves 300 families. At one cent per 20-litre jug, average usage of 60 litres per family per day, that's €54 per day for the community. Maintenance costs €40 per month. The pump needs replacement (€800) every 8 years. Surplus per year: ≈€18,000. That's enough to drill two more wells per year, indefinitely.
One-shot donations build things that decay. Our model turns every donation into a loop: each project earns a little, and that funds the next one.
Local management from day one. We never run things — we set up committees and step back.
Symbolic fees. Enough to fund maintenance, low enough not to exclude anyone. Free for the indigent — covered by the surplus.
Open books. Every project's accounts are public, audited yearly.
We measure in decades, not quarters. A school built today should still be open in 2056.
Every project has a replication plan. If it can't be replicated, we don't fund it.
Designed exit. We aim to be unnecessary in any given location within 5 years.