Wine can turn into water, too. With Wine2Water we’re opening the door to wineries, distributors, wine shops and industry professionals so that, each in their own way, they can help drill safe water wells in rural communities in Ethiopia.
Wine is about place, time and shared craft. With Wine2Water we want to put that culture to work for something basic: making sure rural families in Ethiopia have safe water close to home.
In Ethiopia, only 5.9% of the rural population has safely managed drinking water (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2024 data). In the communities where we work, women spend two to six hours a day getting water and walk up to 15 kilometers.
A well that belongs to the community
Drilling and equipping a well costs around €20,000. Each one can serve 80 to 100 families, with water less than 30 minutes away, for more than 20 years. Contributions from different partners are pooled, and each well goes ahead once it is fully funded.
The community provides the land, helps with the work and sets up a Water Committee, with women taking part, to run the well. We carry out the project directly, with our own team in Ethiopia, and stay alongside the community for at least three years after handover.
The campaign’s wells are in North Shewa (Oromia), where we have already drilled 14 wells and restored 3 more. In all, we have drilled 159 wells in Ethiopia since 2005.
How wineries can take part
Each winery chooses whether to fund a whole well or share one with others: Gran Reserva (one well, €20,000), Reserva (half a well, €10,000) or Crianza (a quarter of a well, €5,000). The contribution can be made in money, in wine or a mix of both: by donating a batch of one of their wines, which we sell to fund the well, or by linking a label from their range to an agreed contribution.
Even if you can’t fund a well
We know not every winery can take on these amounts, and we don’t want to leave out anyone who wants to help. Small wineries, distributors, wine shops, professionals and media can get involved in other ways:
- Donating bottles or batches of wine.
- Organizing or supporting tastings, auctions and charity wine lots.
- Making a financial contribution, whatever you can afford.
- Spreading the word about Wine2Water or introducing us to other wineries.
Wine and financial contributions go toward funding the wells; spreading the word helps us reach more wineries.
Find your way to get involved
If your winery, shop or company would like to join, or you know someone in the industry who might be interested, visit wine2water.net, email hola@wine2water.net or contact us through adsong.org and tell us how you’d like to take part. Let’s talk about what we can do together.
