One Sip, One Day · with charity: water
Every sip gives a day of clean water.
Every 25ml measure of Desi Daru sold funds a day of clean drinking water for one person in rural India. Every bottle, a whole month. This is the whole story: why water, how it works, and what your rounds have already done.
- 15 litres is what one person needs each day to drink, cook and wash
- 1 measure of Desi Daru, 25ml, funds one day of clean water
- 1 bottle is 28 measures, so a bottle funds a whole month
Why clean water
India has 18% of the world's people and 4% of its fresh water.
Across the villages our story comes from, water is the first job of the day. Somebody, usually a woman or a girl, walks to fetch it, and what she carries home is often unsafe to drink. The hours spent walking are hours not spent at school or at work. The water that is found makes people ill.
Clean water close to home changes all of that at once: health, time, education and income. It is one of the simplest, best proven things anyone can fund. That is why we chose it.
40%of India's population could be without access to drinking water by 2030 on current trends.
NITI Aayog
$7returned in health and productivity for every $1 invested in rural drinking water.
WHO (Hutton, 2015)
Our impact so far
Desi Daru drinkers have given 920,000 days of clean water so far.
That is a year of clean water for more than 2,500 people.
- 32,857bottles' worth of clean water so far, a month each
- 13.8 millionlitres of clean water funded so far
- 920,000days of clean water for one person
The maths, in the open: one person needs 15 litres of clean water a day. Every 25ml measure funds a day, so a bottle of 28 measures funds a month. Figures confirmed by charity: water.
How it works
From your glass to a village tap.
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You pour
Every 25ml measure of Desi Daru sold, at home, in a bar or from a shop shelf, is counted towards clean water.
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We fund
We give to charity: water, who fund rainwater harvesting and well projects in rural India through trusted local partners who build and maintain them.
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It is proven
Every completed project is verified with photographs and GPS coordinates, so you can see exactly where the water flows.
Where the water comes from
Catch the rain, keep it clean, make it last.
In the dry districts of India the rain comes for a few weeks a year, and the groundwater is often too salty or too deep to drink. The answer is older than any of us: catch the rain when it falls. Our first project with charity: water is a rainwater harvesting system, built and looked after by their local partners.
A modern rainwater tank, known in Rajasthan as a taanka, is a sealed, covered underground cistern fed by a cemented catchment. It holds around 21,000 litres, enough to carry a family through the dry months, and because it is covered and filtered the water stays cool and clean.
- 1Catch
Rain runs off a roof or a cemented catchment, shaped like a shallow funnel, towards a single inlet.
- 2Filter
A mesh and a silt trap stop leaves, dust and insects before the water goes underground.
- 3Store
The sealed tank keeps the water dark and cool, so it stays clean for months without power or chemicals.
- 4Draw
A hand pump or a covered opening lets the family draw what they need, a few steps from the door.
Our first project
Where we are, honestly.
Water projects take time to build well. Here is the progress of the first one your sips have funded.
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May 2025
Partnership agreed
Desi Daru and charity: water agree One Sip, One Day: every measure sold funds a day of clean water.
Done -
July 2025
First project funded
Our first grant closes and the funds go to charity: water's local partner to build a rainwater harvesting system.
Done -
2026
Under construction
The system is being built as part of a wider programme in rural India. The local team, not the funder, decides where the need is greatest, so the exact village is confirmed on completion.
In progress -
Late 2026 to early 2027
Completion and proof
charity: water expects completion between August 2026 and March 2027. The GPS location and photographs will then be published here.
Coming up
Try it
Count the days your round gives.
Pick a drink, or a whole bottle, and see the days of clean water it funds.
Every 25ml measure is one day. Twenty eight measures make a bottle, and a bottle makes a month.
In the field
The faces behind the figures.
A cup of clean water at the door
Clean water at home
First sip from a new source
Looking down into a new well
Water you can trust
Before and after a project
Photographs courtesy of charity: water, from their work in India.
Questions
The small print, in plain words.
Is it really every bottle?
Yes. Every 25ml measure of Desi Daru sold, whether at home, in a bar or from a shop shelf, is counted, and a 70cl bottle is 28 measures. We fund charity: water in line with what is sold.
How do you know the water arrives?
charity: water publishes every completed project with photographs and GPS coordinates, and 100% of public donations go to projects. Our first project's location will be shown on this page once it is complete and verified.
Where in India?
Rural districts where groundwater is scarce or unsafe, chosen by charity: water's local partners according to need. The exact village is confirmed on completion rather than before, so that need, not marketing, decides where the water goes.
Why rainwater harvesting?
In arid regions the rain falls for a few weeks and the ground beneath is often too salty to drink. A covered tank fed by the monsoon gives a family clean water through the dry season, without power or chemicals, and it can be built and repaired locally.
Why charity: water?
The 100% model and the proof. Every penny of public donations goes to projects, operating costs are covered by separate private donors, and every project is published with its location. That is the standard we wanted our promise held to.
Can I give directly?
Of course. charity: water takes donations at charitywater.org, and every pound funds water projects. Or simply pour a Desi Daru: one sip, one day.
Pour with purpose.
Every bottle of Desi Daru is a month of clean water for someone in rural India. Thank you for being part of it.
