In 2016, textile company Dibella from Bocholt (Germany) established the GoodTextiles Foundation with the aim of making textile value chains more sustainable. The foundation raises funds and implements support projects to help people at all stages of the textile industry.
The foundation has recently worked on the improvement of drinking water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa in a joint project with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA). Funding is being provided for three villages in Togo that have no direct access to drinking water, according to a needs assessment by CmiA’s local partner, the cotton company Nouvelle Socie´te´ Cotonnie`re du Togo (NSCT). The project partners built wells, trained people in the use of water and the program also included disease prevention, hygiene and health care. Many village communities lack access to clean drinking water. People draw contaminated water from more distant rivers or waterholes and carry the heavy load back to their village. The three villages will now receive funding to construct a well operated by hand pumps in each village and thus create their own water supply. Once the wells have been handed over to the village communities, water committees will take over their management and maintenance, as well as responsibility for further hygiene training for the residents.
