Groundswell Development Project (GDP) is a non-profit organization whose aim is to transform the lives of those living in low-income communities through constructing affordable community-managed water points, while developing local capacity. GDP is non-political and non-sectarian in its mission.
The two main objectives of GDP are: to teach families how to manually drill and maintain their own sustainable boreholes so they can affordably pass the skills on to others in the community; and to promote behavioral changes essential to realizing the full benefits of maintaining an improved water source.
GDP utilizes manual percussive well drilling as a cheap, replicable and sustainable alternative to other drilling methods commonly used when establishing improved water points. Manual drilling bypasses the pitfalls and high costs of the typical mechanized drilling model, by training locals how to construct, maintain and repair their own water points without the need of support from an outside specialist or specialized machinery once the water point needs rehabilitation. Additionally, it exclusively utilizes local materials, eliminating a supply chain model failure and supports community business enterprise. Most importantly though, it empowers individuals to have dominion over their water resources and thereby the health and economic potential of their communities without reliance on the government.