£150 Water Well with Plaque UK: What's Included?

Can you really build a complete water well with a personalised plaque in Pakistan for just £150? Yes — and this page breaks down exactly how. If you've shopped around UK Muslim charities, you'll have seen prices ranging from around £200 to £750 for a hand pump well. The natural question is: at £150, what is HNCO leaving out?

The honest answer: nothing essential. £150 funds a complete hand pump well, your personalised plaque, independent water-quality testing and full progress documentation — because we run lean and pass the savings on. Here is the full itemised breakdown.

Every £150 donation funds one complete hand pump water well in rural Pakistan with the following deliverables included as standard:

Physical infrastructure

• Hand pump well drilled to the local water table (typically 60–100 feet, depending on geology)
• PVC casing and gravel packing to keep the borehole clean
• India Mark II hand pump — the global standard used by UNICEF and major NGOs, designed for 10–15 years of village use
• Concrete platform around the pump to prevent erosion and standing water
• Basic maintenance training for the village so the pump keeps running

Your personalised plaque

• Stainless-steel plaque, weather-protected for long outdoor life
• Engraved with your chosen dedication — a name, family or memorial inscription
• Permanently mounted on the pump body (not just held up for a photo)

Independent water-quality testing

• Sample collected by our field officer once water flows
• Lab analysis for bacteria, pH and key chemical contaminants
• Written certificate confirming the water is safe to drink

Documentation and verification

• 2–4 short progress videos covering site selection, drilling, installation and plaque mounting
• 20–30 high-resolution photos across the build, including close-ups of your plaque
• Completion certificate (PDF) with project reference, location and lab results — useful for your records and Zakat tracking
• Detailed location report — village name, district, province, nearest city and community profile

Total project cost: £150. Admin fees on your donation: £0. Read more on our 100% donation policy and see how every pound is allocated on our how donations are spent guide.

It isn't because we cut quality — every well uses the India Mark II pump that competitors also use. The £150 figure comes from how we operate. Four structural choices keep the cost down:

1. Direct community partnerships

We work directly with the Pakistani communities we serve. There are no intermediary aggregator NGOs taking a cut, which removes a layer of overhead that many international charities carry by design.

2. Bulk equipment purchasing

Because we run a continuous water-well programme, we buy hand pumps and casing in bulk at wholesale rates rather than ordering small batches at retail.

3. A 100% donation policy

Our UK operation runs lean — volunteers and minimal core staff handle administration so that 100% of your £150 reaches the project. Larger UK charities have meaningful (and legitimate) staff and marketing costs that have to be funded somewhere; we've chosen a different model.

4. A focused country programme

We specialise in Pakistan. One supply chain, one logistics network, one country team — so each well costs less to coordinate than it would if we were running parallel programmes across five or ten countries.

We're not saying other charities are overpriced — they often have wider international remits and larger paid teams. We're saying we've chosen a leaner model and pass the saving to donors. Compare options across price and impact on our hand pump vs solar water pump explainer.

£150 in the UK barely covers a weekly food shop. £150 in rural Pakistan goes a great deal further:

• Skilled drilling labour costs a fraction of UK day rates
• An India Mark II pump bought wholesale in Pakistan costs significantly less than the same pump retail in the UK
• Concrete, casing and aggregate are sourced locally at local prices

The pump and well you receive at £150 are functionally identical to those installed by charities charging more — the difference is overhead, not infrastructure. For more on the engineering and choices behind the build, read our hand pump cost explainer.

We're upfront about scope. £150 builds one hand pump well with the deliverables above. Some donors choose to add scope — and we'll always quote those upfront if asked:

• Overhead storage tank — useful where families travel a distance to draw water
• Multiple draw-off taps for higher-traffic locations like a school or mosque
• Solar conversion (full solar pump set-up) — see the solar option below

Email or WhatsApp us before donating if you'd like a tailored quote — we'll only ever charge what the works actually cost.

HNCO offers two main water-well options. Most donors choose the £150 hand pump; larger gifts and group donations often go to the £1,800 solar well.

£150 Hand Pump Well — most popular

• Serves a small village, typically 50–100 people / 10–15 families
• Manual pumping — simple, low maintenance, repairable in-village
• Lifespan around 10–15 years with basic upkeep
• Ideal for first-time donors, memorials, Ramadan and Muharram giving

£1,800 Solar Water Well — high impact

• Serves 200+ people, often a school, mosque or larger village
• Solar-powered submersible pump — higher daily yield, no fuel cost
• Lifespan typically 15–20 years; very low ongoing maintenance
• Ideal for corporate sponsors, family pooled gifts and wedding donations

See full detail on the solar option on our solar water pump page, or compare directly on hand pump vs solar.

One-time payment

Pay £150 in a single transaction by debit/credit card or Apple/Google Pay. Construction is typically scheduled within 2–3 weeks of payment clearing.

Group donation

Pool the cost — three siblings at £50 each, ten colleagues at £15, a class fundraiser. The plaque can carry a family or group dedication ("From the Ahmed Family", "Year 7 Form B").

Memorial donation

A large share of HNCO wells are dedicated in memory of a parent or loved one. Your plaque can read, for example, "In loving memory of [name]" — see donating a water pump in someone's name for more guidance.

Gift Aid

If you're a UK taxpayer, ticking Gift Aid at checkout adds 25% to your donation at no extra cost to you — turning £150 into £187.50 toward our water programme. Read more on water pump Gift Aid.

Zakat-eligible giving

Water wells in poor rural Pakistan are eligible for Zakat. To calculate what you owe, use our Zakat calculator, then read whether your gift can come from Zakat funds on water pump Zakat.

• Day 1 — confirmation email with your unique project reference and a short form to capture your plaque dedication.
• Within 1 week — your project is allocated to a Pakistan field team and a village is selected based on water-need assessment.
• Within 2–3 weeks — site selection, drilling, hand pump installation and plaque mounting are completed; progress videos and photos are filmed throughout.
• Shortly after completion — you receive 20–30 photos, the four progress videos, the water-quality test certificate and your full completion report by email.
• Ongoing — your well becomes Sadaqah Jariyah, with reward continuing for as long as people draw water from it.

For the full scope of what your completion pack contains, see water pump completion reports.

Is £150 the total cost or are there hidden fees?

£150 is the complete cost. No admin charges, no processing fees on top, no surprise add-ons. Card processing fees are absorbed by HNCO.

Can I donate less than £150 toward a shared well?

Yes. Smaller contributions are pooled into a community water fund. Once the £150 threshold is reached, a well is built and you'll receive the same documentation. The plaque on a pooled well typically carries a group dedication.

Can I donate more than £150?

Yes. Surplus funds either top up a maintenance reserve for your well or go directly to the next community well — your choice at checkout.

Is £150 eligible for Zakat?

Yes — water wells serving poor rural communities in Pakistan are Zakat-eligible. Calculate your Zakat first using our Zakat calculator.

Can I claim Gift Aid on £150?

If you're a UK taxpayer, yes. HMRC adds 25% (£37.50) at no cost to you, taking the working budget for the project to £187.50.

Can I donate £150 in memory of a loved one?

Absolutely — a large share of our wells are memorial gifts. Your plaque can carry an "In loving memory of …" dedication.

Will the £150 price increase?

We aim to hold the £150 price for as long as Pakistan input costs allow. If we ever need to adjust, we'll give clear notice in advance.

• Low entry point, high impact — accessible to most UK donors, with the same Sadaqah Jariyah reward as a more expensive well.
• Scales easily — donate £150 every Ramadan and you've funded ten wells in a decade.
• Fully transparent — itemised cost breakdown, progress videos and a completion report tie every pound to a real outcome.
• Personal — your name, your family's name or your loved one's name is permanently engraved on the pump that serves the village.

Choose £150 (Hand Pump) on the donation panel to begin. If you'd like to compare options first, see our well with name plaque page or the full water donation hub.