IMPACT
A garden doesn't just feed a family. It changes the direction of a community.
Since 2020, the Wash Project has partnered with communities across rural Mali to build gardens that produce food, generate income, and restore ecological health to the land — one village at a time.
Gardens built
9
Gardens built
Gardens built since 2020
7
Partner Villages
Throughout southern Mali
1,260+
Members
Number of women who have partnered with The Wash Project (not including their families)
100%
Income increase
Average income increase per gardener, year one
3→12
Food production
Months of food production per year
"Before the garden, we spent four hours a day searching for water. Our income was 200 to 250 francs a day. Now I work in the garden. We eat well. I earn 500 to 1,000 francs a day, and water is one hour away."
Kadiatou Doumbia — garden member, M'Pana
"This gave employment to every woman in the village. Now we focus on growing. We eat what we produce and sell the rest. This proves the importance of what the project has done for us."
Rokia Traore — garden member, M'Pana
"During the dry season, we had no profitable activity — nothing to do but wait, hands crossed. This garden will play an important role in changing our lives. Now we grow vegetables to eat and sell. That has never been possible before."
Salimatou Coulibaly — garden member
RAINWATER HARVESTING INFRASTRUCTURE
The M'Pana bridge
Some villagers have described our bridge initiative as the single greatest change of their lifetime. The M'Pana bridge is crossed thousands of times each month — connecting the village to the essential services such as health clinics, schools, and markets. Designed to slow and hold rainwater rather than let it rush past, the bridge channels the rainy season's abundance back into the earth, recharging the water table that sustains the garden through nine months of dry season.
It's core to our philosophy: If we take water from the ground, we have a responsibility to put it back.
Gardens built
4
Bridges built
Water harvesting bridges that connect to essential services
10,000+
Crossings per month
Our bridges are constantly used in each of the 5 communities where we've built one.
60→0
Safer communities
Days per year where the streams were impassable due to flooding
M'PANA HEALTH CLINIC
The Ripple Effect — Beyond the Garden
"Before, our clinic had no reliable access to clean water. We left our patients to go find it elsewhere. Every absence has a cost. Since the tap was installed, the quality of care has changed completely."
Daniel Aperem Sagara
NURSE, M'PANA CLINIC
"For a maternity ward, water is everything. We struggled enormously to have what we needed for deliveries. Now, with clean water on site, everything works. The quality of our service has greatly improved."
Salimatou Samake
HEAD OF MATERNITY, M'PANA CLINIC
EVERYTHING BUILT SINCE 2020
Gardens Are Just the Beginning
A garden is where every partnership begins. Everything beyond it — bridges, clinics, schools — is built on community need and the generosity of people like you.
WHERE WE WORK
Each garden is a commitment to our shared future.
(Click on each icon to learn more about it!)