From Chicken Coops to Carbon Credits: How Spouts is Scaling Clean Water Access Across Africa
Featuring Daniel Yin, CEO of Spouts
Episode 1 of Ground Truth by CarbonHQ. Listen now on Spotify & Apple Podcast.
What do a chicken farm, ceramic water filters, and carbon markets have in common? For Daniel Yin and the team at Spouts, they’ve all been part of a decade-long journey to bring safe drinking water to millions of people across East Africa.
In the very first episode of the Ground Truth podcast, our founder Allen Fan sat down with Daniel, a longtime friend and early supporter of CarbonHQ, to explore how Spouts evolved from humble beginnings into one of Africa’s most impactful social enterprises.
Daniel’s story starts far from Uganda. Raised in Ohio and working in corporate America, he hit a turning point and began looking for a way to make a more direct impact. A five-minute phone call with Spouts’ co-founder changed everything. Days later, he packed his bags and moved across the world.
Spouts itself started in a 200-square-meter chicken coop—half production space, half chicken pen—where the team spent three years refining their ceramic filter design. Their mission was ambitious: to ensure every African has access to safe, clean drinking water. That vision has carried them through more than a decade of growth, now operating across Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya, with close to 200 staff and over 300,000 filters distributed to date.
In 2017, carbon finance wasn’t part of the plan. But after researching the potential, Daniel and the team decided to invest in project registration. It took years of paperwork and patience, but that decision turned out to be a defining one. Carbon revenue now helps Spouts reach the most vulnerable households—those earning less than $1 a day—while supporting a sustainable, high-integrity model.
“We don’t have the cheapest business model—and we’re proud of that,” Daniel shared. “We invest in community partnerships, call centers, and long-term support. The work starts when the filter is distributed, not ends.”
Last year’s turbulence in the carbon markets didn’t spare Spouts, but they doubled down on transparency, co-benefits, and high-quality implementation. The result? Stronger partnerships, new investments, and even more momentum heading into 2025.
Spouts is now the largest ceramic water filter manufacturer in Africa and is on track to become the largest in the world by the end of this year, producing 70,000 filters a month—enough to reach 400,000 people every 30 days. They’ve also distributed filters to over a third of Rwanda’s early childhood development centers and aim to reach every child in the country with safe water access.
Asked what he’d say to the carbon market today, Daniel kept it simple: “Onwards and upwards.” After a difficult year, he sees a chance to rebuild trust—and to do it with purpose.
To learn more about Spouts or explore partnership opportunities, visit www.spouts.org or connect with Daniel on LinkedIn. And if you’re looking for carbon credits with real impact behind them, get in touch—we’ll gladly make the introduction.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcast.