The Land Smiles Back

The Land Smiles Back is an award-winning short film that shows how the Samburu community in Westgate Conservancy, northern Kenya, restore their land using ancient hydro-technology. The film, co-produced by Justdiggit, The Safari Collection, and the Samburu community, won first place at the 2025 Water Film Prize out of 131 submissions from 45 different countries.

The Land Smiles Back tells the story of a community whose lives and livelihoods have always been closely connected to water and the rhythm of the rains. For generations, Samburu men have dug singing wells, while women fetched water, singing and praying for rainfall as part of daily life. Between 2020 and 2023, Kenya experienced its worst drought in 40 years. During this period, rains failed, wells dried up, and both livestock and wildlife were severely affected, threatening pastoral livelihoods and food security.

Combating desertification

Through traditional water harvesting techniques, such as Earth Smiles, the community has been able to restore moisture to the soil and bring the land back to life. So far, they have dug more than 80,000 Earth Smiles on the Conservancy. On top of that, the community have established grass seed banks, managed by local women, which support pastoral livelihoods and increase forage availability for wildlife and livestock. This improves biodiversity and combats desertification, while at the same time strengthening the communities’ economy and climate resilience. Training sessions and collaborative digging events within the community created a united effort towards sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration.

The land smiles back when indigenous knowledge is put into practice. By passing this knowledge from one generation to the next, the Samburu community is restoring their landscape and creating a foundation for a greener future.

The Water Film Prize

‘The Land Smiles Back’ won first place, out of 131 submissions from 45 different countries, at the 2025 Water Film Prize. This short film festival is organised by ‘Let’s Talk About Water’ in partnership with the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, the Global Network of Water Museums, Water As Leverage, CeReGAS, and the 1st Latin-American Water Forum.