__NOTOC__{{Language-box|english_link= Traditional hand-dug wells | french_link= Coming soon | spanish_link= Coming soon | hindi_link= Coming soon | malayalam_link= Coming soon | tamil_link= Coming soon | swahili_link=coming soon | korean_link= Coming soon | chinese_link=传统人工钻井 | indonesian_link= Coming soon | japanese_link= Coming soon }} [[Image:traditional hand dug well.png|right|80px]]
[[Image:StoneLiningHandDugWell.jpg|thumb|right|200px| Placing a stone lining in a hand dug well. Chiapas, Mexico. Photo: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/aamv/366661815/ The Maya Village Project.]]]
These are shallow wells which draw water from a natural aquifer or man-made aquifer, e.g. near [[sand dam]]s or around [[ponds]], but which are not located inside a riverbed. It can include wells that are far from a river, or wells that receive water from shallow aquifers hydraulically connected to the river. Sometimes the holes dug are very large, allowing people and sometimes animals who are able to walk into the well to where the water is located. <br>
===Costs===
Hand-dug wells can provide a viable alternative to unhygienic, unprotected sources while avoiding the capital and maintenance costs associated with sophisticated drilling programmes or reticulated pumped systems. A range of lining types and water lifting technologies can be chosen to match the financial and management capacity of the participants in the water supply process. ===Field experiences===The following projects are utilizing hand dug well techniques. <br>{{RSR_table|1image=project 1365.jpg |1link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/1365/ |1project#=1365 |1project name=Facilities Ibbagamuwa school Sri Lanka ||2image=project 1349.jpg |2link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/1349/ |2project#=1349 |2project name=Safe water <br>for Wajir ||3image=project 822.png |3link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/822/ |3project#=822 |3project name=Urban WASH II <br>in Monrovia ||4image=project 894.png |4link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/894/ |4project#=894 |4project name=Senjeh Well <br>Restoration ||5image=project 896.png |5link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/896/ |5project#=896 |5project name=Gboto Well <br>Restoration |}}{|style="border: 2px solid #e0e0e0; width: 60%; text-align: justify; background-color: #e9f5fd;" cellpadding="2"|- style="vertical-align: top"|[[Image:akvorsr logo_lite.png|center|60px|link=http://akvo.org/products/rsr/]]|- style="vertical-align: bottom"|[[Image:project 922.png |thumb|center|140px|<font size="2"><center>[http://rsr.akvo.org/project/922/ RSR Project 922]<br>WaterAid Rural <br>WASH Project</center></font>|link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/922/ ]]|[[Image:project 933.png |thumb|center|140px|<font size="2"><center>[http://rsr.akvo.org/project/933/ RSR Project 933]<br>Accelerating Sanitation and Water for All 1</center></font>|link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/933/ ]] |[[Image:project 1330.png |thumb|center|140px|<font size="2"><center>[http://rsr.akvo.org/project/1330/ RSR Project 1330]<br>WASH services & capacity building Liberia</center></font>|link=http://rsr.akvo.org/project/1330/ ]] |} <br>
===Manuals, videos and links===
* [http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/well-revival-effort-sees-many-other-benefits Well revival effort sees many other benefits] A community drive to revive wells in Mokhla talab near Udaipur results in water security for longer periods of time as well as making leaders out of women.
* [http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/experiments-community-wells Experiments with 'community wells'] Mobilized farmers in Dhule, Maharashtra, show how communities can use groundwater as a common resource in an organised and collective manner.
* [http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/resources/details/256 Hand dug shallow wells (Skat)]. Includes construction information plus covers lining options. Also a good section on environmental, social, and cultural considerations. Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation in Technology and Management.
* [http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/implementation/hand-dug-wells Hand Dug Wells] section of the Rural Water Supply Network website
* [http://www.consallen.com/welldigging/ Consallen]. An excellent guide to a relatively safe method of digging hand dug wells by the highly experienced British Drilling Company.
* [http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5567E/x5567e06.htm#5.%large%diameter%wells Large Diameter Wells]. An excellent but slightly outdated summary of hand dug wells by Koegel, made available by the UN FAO.
* [http://www.clean-water-for-laymen.com/hand-dug-wells.html Hand Dug Wells and Other Manual Methods to Dig a Well Have Been in Existence for Thousands of Years]. Compares different methods of digging a well, includes hand-dug method.