Supporting Safe Drinking Water for the Lama Lama Community
In a transformative step toward enhancing community health and wellbeing, the Yaru Foundation has pledged a $40,000 donation to Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB) to fund a critical project for the Lama Lama community of Port Stewart in Far North Queensland. The project, focused on providing clean, safe, and reliable drinking water, will be delivered in collaboration with the Yintjingga Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) and the Lama Lama Land Trust (LLLT).
For the Lama Lama people, who have lived on their ancestral lands for generations, access to a reliable water source has long been a pressing challenge. Seasonal changes cause fluctuations in water availability, and contamination with heavy metals in surface water makes it unsafe to drink. As a result, the community’s ability to thrive on their land has been hindered. During the dry season, the population can increase from 50 to nearly 100 people, compounding the demand for clean drinking water.
Elaine Liddy, Cultural Officer of Yintjingga Aboriginal Corporation, captured the community’s desire for better infrastructure, saying,
“We want to have a better, healthy, growing community… And the main thing is our water source, it has to be better, with good water, like in the city.”
The project, led by EWB and its pro-bono partners Arup and the Centre for Appropriate Technology, is designed to address this need by building a rainwater capture, storage, and filtration system. By collecting rainwater during the wet season from a central building’s rooftop, the community will have a reliable drinking water supply stored in a high-volume ground-level tank. This water will then be filtered and delivered through a solar-powered pump, ensuring constant access to safe water, even during periods without electricity.
The Yaru Foundation’s donation will cover the material costs for the system’s pump, solar power supply, and filtration unit—core components that make this project viable in such a remote and challenging location.
This initiative builds on over a decade of collaboration between EWB and the Lama Lama community, and it is more than just an engineering solution. It includes community-driven training in water quality testing and system maintenance to ensure long-term sustainability. Through this project, the Yaru Foundation and EWB are helping the Lama Lama people secure not just water, but a healthier future on Country.
Tessa Martin, Director of the Yaru Foundation, emphasized the importance of supporting initiatives like the Lama Lama water project, saying,
“Investing in projects that deliver essential resources, like safe drinking water, goes beyond infrastructure. For the Yaru Foundation it’s about empowering communities to thrive on their land. By supporting this project, we’re not only addressing immediate needs but contributing to a sustainable future for the Lama Lama people and their connection to Country.”