by Kate Claisse

One afternoon in June a group of us had a very interesting and informative visit to Dando International, a company based in Littlehampton which have been designing, manufacturing and selling water well drilling rigs longer than any other drilling rig manufacturer.  After a brief outline on the history of the company – from 1867 to the present day, we were given a presentation about one of their current projects – the manufacture and supply of a drilling rig to Burkina Faso.  Yes we did all say – where’s Burkino Faso?  It is a small landlocked country in West Africa with a population of just over 16 million people, and it is estimated that less than 59% have access to an acceptable level of water supply.  Only 11% have access to adequate sanitation facilities.  Since January 2010 the water well drilling rig supplied by Dando has drilled 240 boreholes, an average of just over 3 completed bores per week.  As a result thousands in the country are benefiting from access to clean water.

After a welcome cuppa and cake, we had a guided tour of the warehouse and marveled at the very impressive huge brightly coloured rigs, which were onsite awaiting dispatch to locations around the world.

Many thanks to Gina Fitch-Roy for organizing what was a very enjoyable and interesting outing.