Clean Water In Africa

Our customers are providing fresh, clean drinking water for one million people in Africa.

The milestone comes just three years after The Co-operative partnered with the One Foundation*, which provides innovative PlayPump® water systems in Africa, to bring life-saving water to some of the poorest and most remote communities in the world.

Whilst most people in the UK take water for granted, a staggering one billion people in the world don’t have access to clean water and two million people die every year from water-related diseases.

Since the beginning of the partnership, a percentage of the sales from The Co-operative’s own-brand range of mineral water - Fairbourne Springs - has gone directly towards installing the unique roundabout pumps in South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland. The provision of the pumps has transformed the lives of whole communities, especially for many women and children, who may have previously spent hours each day walking to collect water.

Sales have been boosted by The Co-operative Group’s acquisition of Somerfield last year, as the consumer-owned retailer has continued its commitment to ethical trading, extending its reach to the enlarged estate.

Co-operative and Somerfield customers have now raised enough money to fund some 400 pumps in Africa, where new installations are being approved every week. The amount of clean drinking water this will provide equates to 140 Olympic-sized swimming pools - and means that one million people will have access to clean, safe water.

The innovative PlayPump water systems are powered by roundabouts, which children play on and pump water up to a storage tank for use by the whole community. The PlayPumps are so popular with the youngsters that there is never a shortage of “volunteers”, and the highly-efficient pumps also produce excess water for irrigation purposes.

Watch a short film on YouTube, featuring Tom Mills, The Co-operative’s soft drinks buyer, speaking to children and villagers in Swaziland about the difference the provision of a PlayPump has made to them.

Sean Toal, Commercial Director - Food Retail at The Co-operative, commented: “Co-operative and Somerfield customers have really got behind this initiative. To provide clean and safe water for so many is an incredible achievement, which has literally been life-changing for the people concerned.”