Rural Water Supply
Solar-powered rural water systems in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia, built with communities and handed over for them to own and run.
Rural water system, Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia.
Reliable water, close to home.
The Rural Water Supply project, part of our Social and Economic Empowerment Programme (SEEP), brings safe, reliable water to rural communities in Benishangul-Gumuz. In 2024, Pharo Foundation implemented 5 solar-powered rural water supply projects in Benishangul-Gumuz, reaching communities in Shaga, Undullu, Alhamar, Homosha, and Tumet Aziz kebeles. This project had an impressive reach and served more than 22,000 community members. The success of these projects led the Foundation to expand. In 2025, two additional rural water supply projects were launched in Kudiyu and Tumet Jebero sub-districts, and they will serve a further 11,600 people.
Each system combines a solar-powered borehole, water storage, distribution pipelines and public water points, designed to keep running long after we leave.
The results have been transformative. Across the 7 sites, the projects delivered major infrastructure investments, including:
Array
Remote communities lack a dependable supply.
Rural communities in Benishangul-Gumuz travel long distances for water, losing time and labour, work that falls heaviest on women and children, and leaving households exposed when seasonal sources fail.
Our response
Build complete, solar-powered water systems with the community, then hand them over to local committees to own and maintain.
Solar-powered systems
Boreholes, storage, pipelines and public water points, powered by solar to cut fuel dependence.
Community ownership
Communities engaged from planning to implementation, with water committees and security structures to sustain the systems.
Formal handover
Completed systems handed to the Menge Woreda Administration and local committees, who take on operation and maintenance.
Our impact
From the May 2026 inauguration in Menge Woreda.
What we learnt
Handover is the goal.
Infrastructure lasts when communities and local authorities own and maintain it.
Design for sustainability.
Solar power and community water committees reduce fuel dependence and protect the systems over time.
Water frees time.
Reliable water close to home cuts the hours women and children spend collecting it, improving health and opportunity.
Support rural water access.
Partnership, co-funding and operator enquiries start here.