How We Work
How we fundraise & create impact
We organise events and campaigns and work with the Scotch Whisky industry to raise funds and awareness for clean water projects.
Our impact is delivered through local partner organisations which have been carefully selected. We partner with organisations after gaining a through understanding of how they work: their approach, planning, implementation and maintenance of projects.
Our Promise
Feedback Madagascar
Our first delivery partner on the ground is Feedback Madagascar.
Lachlan, one of the founders of The Maclean Foundation, came across Feedback Madagascar in 2018 when he stayed in a women’s centre the charity had built in the remote village of Ambohimahamasina. Several months later, he and his two brothers, Ewan and Jamie, decided to row across the Atlantic in aid of Feedback Madagascar’s water projects, providing 3,000 people with clean water through the building of 11 boreholes.
Since 2023, the Maclean brothers have been to Madagascar twice to visit the 18 water projects they have since funded. They’ve spent several months working alongside Feedback’s borehole team, understanding every stage of their work – from the planning and preparation to the installation and maintenance of projects.
Feedback Madagascar works with communities living on the edges of one of the island’s last remaining rainforest corridors—the COFAV (Corridor Forestier d’Analanjirofo-Vatomandry) in southeastern Madagascar. Their work is grounded in a participatory, holistic approach to both conservation and development, which includes clean water, education, healthcare, environmental restoration and protection, human rights activism, and building livelihoods.
Madagascar is one of the most unique and biologically diverse places on the planet. The country also has the 4th lowest levels of clean water, sanitation and hygiene in the world.
Request is made by a representative on behalf of the village:
Requests are prioritised based on the need of the village: how many people live there, demographics, the current water source and any environmental factors
Feedback Madagascar decide on the best water solution for that community by carrying out two studies:
Geophysical study: decides possible borehole locations
Social study: understanding local customs, onboarding the community in the build/maintenance, deciding whose land will be offered up
Local customs:
In Madagascar, there are often local customs which are specific to each village and ceremonies must bookend the project before the drilling starts and on completion
Build process:
The drilling team (typically 4 people) travel to the village to start the build process
Builds take 1-2 weeks for boreholes, 2-4 weeks for larger projects
The community is involved in the process
Maintenance and water testing:
Communities are given the necessary tools and training to solve the most common problems
Feedback Madagascar are on standby for large technical issues (e.g. caused by natural disasters)
Water testing takes places every 12 months to ensure the continued cleanliness of the water
Impact report:
An impact report to show how the borehole has affected peoples’ lives is produced to share with donors.
