A fledgling Scottish charity has provided clean water for life to 1,847 Madagascans – and it’s only a year old.
The Maclean Foundation (TMF) was founded in August last year by Lachlan, Ewan, and Jamie Maclean, and their father, Charlie Maclean MBE.
In its first year of operation, the charity has raised funds to build six clean water boreholes in Madagascar, where almost 70% of people live in poverty, through “whisky and adventure”. These boreholes have provided a lifetime supply of clean water to more than 1,800 people, primarily school children.
Before the charity launched, the Maclean brothers, who are from Edinburgh, become the first brothers to row any ocean, and the youngest and fastest trio to row across the Atlantic Ocean in January 2020. Through that adventure, the brothers raised more than £100,000 for trusted partner Feedback Madagascar, helping to build 11 boreholes in Madagascar. This means in total the Macleans have funded 17 bore holes, providing clean water to life for more than 4,800 people, primarily serving primary schools – and a seventh bore hole built this month will bring that total well over 5,000.
TMF’s first charity whisky, an Ardnamurchan 2017 aged in American oak first-fill barrels and selected by Charlie, sold out in six weeks and provided 700 people with clean water for life. Meanwhile, the brothers helped the charity get off to a flying start through a lengthy cross-country row, run and cycle between 120 malt whisky distilleries around Scotland.
Now, the trio are set to break more world records and break ground on more bore holes through the Rare Whisky 101 Pacific Row, as they aim to become the first team to row non-stop and unsupported across the Pacific Ocean. In doing so, they hope to further their impact by raising more than £1M for charity, which would lift tens of thousands of people out of water poverty.
An eye-opening trip to the African island nation in spring 2023 was when plans for TMF began to take shape. Youngest brother Lachlan (26), who has moved from Glasgow to the seaside hamlet of Nedd in the North of Scotland to train for the row with his brother Jamie, said: “In Madagascar, we had not only seen but experienced the horrible impact waterborne diseases can have. There is no reason why some people are born with access to clean water, and others aren’t. The more we talked and reflected on our own privilege and the stark contrast between life growing up in Scotland and a childhood in Madagascar, the more we realised this was what we had to do.
“It costs £6,000 to build and maintain a clean water borehole that can serve 200 people for up to 100 years. Since 2009, our partner Feedback Madagascar has drilled and installed over 300 boreholes in the region – through our work, we’ll continue to add to that total.”
Madagascar is home to 30 million people. 70% live on less than $1 a day.
Oldest brother Ewan, who lives in Bristol, where he works as an engineer for Dyson, but commutes to Nedd for intense training as much as possible, added: “It’s been amazing to work with Feedback Madagascar and our dad to make a real difference to people’s lives. That’s the reason we’re rowing the Pacific Ocean.”
While the boys focus on the fastest human-powered crossing of the full Pacific – a 14,000km journey from Lima in Peru to Sydney in Australia – Edinburgh-based Charlie is focused on more charity whisky launches, which will take place throughout the next 12 months.
Jamie Spencer OBE, founder of Feedback Madagascar, said: “People rarely think how life would change if we didn’t have access to clean water. But it’s a human right. Clean water is vital for health, education, agriculture, forests, and people’s livelihoods. It’s a human right that sadly far too many people in the world live without.
“Clean water is the most fundamental building block for lifting people out of poverty.
“Since launching our charity almost 30 years ago, we are proud of the tremendous impact we have made on the region. With the support of The Maclean Foundation, we know we are ready for our fourth decade to be our biggest yet.”
You can follow the Maclean brothers’ journey and be kept up to date about future whisky releases here.
