Global MapAid or simply “MapAid” is a social enterprise, a UK and US registered not-for-profit, working in Africa with local and international organisations, to help them improve the lives of small farmers.

Today, one particular are of focus is water for small farm irrigation. We collaborate with other partners to create mapping systems that can improve decisions for where water may be found, and stored, and used. Small farmers, who often have less than half a hectare can literally double or triple their food supply when irrigation water is taken care of with a shallow well, that is placed where water can be found – as a result of effective investigation and mapping.

The origins of MapAid were in identifying and mapping local solutions across the world, to help prevent disasters. Our maps benefit policymakers, donors, non-government organisations, and corporate social responsibility organisations, by focusing efforts where most needed. Additionally, some of our maps are designed for use by vulnerable people.

We were founded at Stanford University in 2003, and are registered in the USA and the UK with a relatively large group of unpaid volunteers and associates across the world. Our erstwhile Patron was Desmond Tutu.

Want to become a volunteer?

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At present, we are working in Ethiopia and Malawi. Climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the Covid pandemic have all conspired to make life more difficult for the whole world, but especially small farmers in Africa, whose food supply depends on increasingly erratic rainfall on their small farms.