It’s a familiar story.
A community somewhere in rural Malawi has no clean water. The result: long walks, recurring illnesses, and needless deaths. After years of waiting, a borehole is finally drilled—usually with NGO support. Celebration! Excitement! Gratitude! Things are finally getting better, the community says.
But after a short while—sometimes just a few months—the borehole runs dry and is often forgotten. Women once again walk long distances to fetch water that may not be safe. The community returns to waiting for a superhero.
This is a familiar story across Malawi—one that begins with hope, but at least a third of the time, ends in disappointment.
Grand Chikweza knows this story well. He owns a drilling company and has been drilling boreholes for over a decade. While he’s used to the dust, the heat, and the long hours, it’s all worth it when he gets to celebrate with a community as the familiar sound of water gushing from the ground meets his ears.
But on 25 April 2024 in Lilongwe, it wasn’t the sound of water that excited Grand. This time, it was the voices around a table—talking seriously about the state of groundwater drilling in Malawi and how it can be improved. Grand is not just a business owner; he is the President of the newly established Drillers Association of Malawi (DAM), and he had important points to share.
This roundtable marked a shift—from the silent struggles faced by drillers in the field to open conversations with stakeholders who were finally ready to listen.
Bringing together participants from BASEflow, DAM, the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, and WESNET, the meeting aimed to explore how to collaborate with DAM to promote responsible groundwater use and raise the standards of borehole drilling in Malawi.
As ideas were laid on the table, it became clear this wasn’t just about reviewing a strategy—it required everyone to confront uncomfortable truths about drilling in Malawi.
“There are no standard operating procedures for drillers. Everything is passed down informally. We all learn on the job.”
As Grand spoke, the room fell silent. Everyone recognized the story he was telling—the one that continues to plague rural communities. A story that could no longer be ignored. Everyone understood what Grand meant: inconsistent quality, high failure rates, and boreholes drying up within two years—a 30% failure rate, according to research.
Drillers are often portrayed as the sole villains in this story—something Grand believes is unfair.
“It’s easy to point fingers, especially at the drillers. But the problem is bigger than any one actor. Some companies are licensed but don’t even own drilling machines. There are no trained geophysical surveyors to help with site selection. Contracts are weak, and drillers are paid only for wet holes. It’s not just us. The whole system needs attention.”
What stood out at the meeting wasn’t just the list of challenges—it was the willingness to fix them. DAM members were ready to step into a leadership role, moving beyond functioning as individual operators toward collective action and accountability, sparking ideas for practical collaboration.
“As an association, we can weed out bad practices and support those who want to do things the right way. We’re already uniting drillers from the north, center, and south. We’re having hard conversations and learning from each other,” Grand said.
As the meeting drew to a close, a few key resolutions emerged: BASEflow confirmed its support for drillers through technical training and advocacy, while DAM executives agreed on the need for open communication with regulatory bodies to improve coordination.
But another resolution—subtle and unspoken—also took shape. One that couldn’t be easily measured in the moment but quietly crystallized with each point of common ground discovered. That resolution was a feeling. The feeling of finally being seen and heard. The feeling of being viewed not as part of the problem, but as part of the solution. The feeling of being acknowledged as a true partner.
While the optimism was contagious, a hint of quiet caution lingered. The road ahead wasn’t going to be easy. Certain bad habits have become entrenched in the way borehole drilling is done, and it will take more than training, standards, or contracts to unlearn them.
As Grand said, the whole system needs attention—and change is overdue. And oftentimes, change happens at the pace of trust.
If this meeting achieved anything, it was this: it brought us out of our silos, sat us down at the same table as equals, and reminded us that we all want to tell a different story about rural water supply in Malawi.
And like all stories, change needs a beginning. Together, we just might write one with a better ending.