The Maclean Boys Made a Million!
This is what collaboration looks like: Feedback Madagascar, the Maclean brothers, and thousands of donors joining forces to raise £1 million for clean water in Madagascar.
While the Maclean Brothers were rowing across the Pacific, their supporters were donating. Every mile, every stroke, helping transform lives in Madagascar. Their incredible stamina and the generosity of thousands of donors have combined to raise an extraordinary £1 million for clean water projects.
This achievement is about much more than numbers. It's about people. It's about forests. It's about building a foundation for long-term change across Madagascar.
A mission to match the challenge
The Maclean Brothers charity partner Feedback Madagascar works with local communities to protect 500,000 acres of unique forest while supporting the 500,000 people who live around them. This mission is ambitious, but through collaboration with partners such as Mary's Meals, Adsum, Eagle, Shivia, Aeonian Foundations, TASC, and The Maclean Foundation, it is becoming a reality
The Maclean brothers have been fundraising for Feedback Madagascar for many years and through initiatives like Whisky for Water, the Atlantic Row, and the creation of the Maclean Foundation, they had already funded clean, safe water for 5,000 people, pre Pacific Row
We helped the brothers establish the Maclean Foundation, working with them to create the identity, packaging and storytelling for their limited-release whisky bottlings. The Maclean Foundation combines the brothers' spirit of adventure with their father, Charlie Maclean's vast whisky experience, turning great whisky paired with purposeful adventure into a powerful vehicle for positive change.
The launch event alone raised nearly £26,000, enough to fund four boreholes and bring clean water to more than 800 people in Madagascar. For us, it was about proving how creativity and craft can directly transform lives.
Now, with the Pacific Row, they’ve helped secure enough funding to reach another 40,000 people. Together, this brings Feedback Madagascar’s total impact to over 140,000 people drinking clean water every day.
why £1 MILLION MATTERS
The Pacific Row target was set at the level required to bring clean water to an entire municipality: Ambohimahamasina, a place the Maclean Brothers' have visited and know well.
The Pacific Row funded projects will be implemented over the course of three-year years and could make Ambohimahamasina the first municipality in Madagascar with 100% access to clean water. Over 40,000 people's lives transformed and in many cases saved.
The programme will combine a range of technologies, infrastructure, and management system tailored to this remote and diverse era.
Clean water: a catalyst for change
Access to clean water transforms entire communities:
Education: Supports Feedback Madagascar's School Feeding Programme that serves over 100,000 children each day
Health: Improves sanitation, hygiene, and safe births in clinics and health centres.
Livelihoods: Powers projects across agriculture, livestock rearing, and small-scale industries.
Conservation: Nourishes the charities reforestation projects like TreeMad, regenerating the unique and vital forest habitats of the island
Equality: Reduces the time women and girls spend fetching water, opening opportunities for education and leadership.
Because clean water projects are seen by communities as bringing immediate and collective benefits, they fuel motivation and engagement for further partnership and activities across conservation and development with the charity..
a collective achievement
This milestone would not have been possible without the Maclean Brothers' determination, the generosity of donors worldwide, and the commitment of the team and the partner communities in Madagascar. It shows the power of creative collaborations: by pairing adventurous fundraising with design-led storytelling, The Maclean brothers have been able to inspire thousands to support their cause.
The journey doesn't end there. Feedback Madagascar's new five-year strategy will continue to expand access to clean water and build on this success, with Ambohimahamasina serving as a beacon of what is possible..
Every stroke across the Pacific has brought Madagascar one step closer to a future where every child, family and community has access to clean, safe water.
We're honoured to have been a small help to the boys' heroic efforts to raise £1m for this incredible project over the years.
Join the mission for Clean Water
If you'd like to support Feedback Madagascar's life-changing projects, you can donate using the button below. Every contribution helps transform lives and shapes the path towards a thriving Madagascar.