WfM operates in a rural region with high unemployment. The project has multiple aims. The basic aim is to provide clean water as the base for further development and health.  The techniques to achieve this are labor intensive  and create manufacturing units as well as items for trade. Paid work is created for the women’s groups who are the core of the project as well as for the workers, craftspeople and sales personnel involved in this.  Income is generated at the local level. The import of „plug-and-play“ technologies with which it is also possible to generate clean water is avoided by WfM as much as possible.

In areas that suffer from lack of clean water women and children often spend significant amounts of time seeking water of dubious quality. The children often miss school and there is little time for gardening, which is essential for nutritional needs. Clean water that is generated in the home reduces the time spent searching for water. It also greatly minimizes infectious diseases and their consequences on family and community members.  WfM’s goal is to greatly improve the quality of life of the area by providing clean water and paid work.

High unemployment and lack of clean water are often the causes of massive migration to cities. On the other hand, refugees from war torn regions have been resettled into rural areas, including at present the areas in which WfM operates. WfM projects therefore contribute to maintaining local populations on site rather than becoming migrants themselves.