We’re a diverse group connected by one shared vision: a future where everyone has access to safe drinking water. We all felt that many solutions move too slowly or feel too distant from the people who need them most. That’s why we focus on approaches communities can start now—practical, locally owned, and scalable.
We believe the landscape is key. When land is healthy, it retains water, cools the air, supports vegetation, and buffers extremes. Restoring the loBut restoration also needs momentum. Inspired by the Paani Foundation’s success in India, we created the Global Water Cup: a motivating, friendly competition that helps communities adopt proven nature-based methods, take action together, and track progress transparently. The goal is simple: water stays in the land, life returns, and safe drinking water is within everyone’s reach.cal water cycle can unlock clean water, climate resilience, and thriving ecosystems.
The Global Water Cup is organised as a registered non-profit association under German law (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) and is based in Frankfurt am Main. Our charitable purpose and rules of governance are officially defined in our statutes (Satzung), which you can download here.
As a registered non-profit association, we are required to report to the German tax authorities (Finanzamt) and demonstrate that all funds are used in accordance with our statutes and charitable purpose.
We are building this association as the foundation for a future charitable foundation with the same purpose. The e.V. allows us to start implementing projects, build structures, and operate transparently today—while preparing the long-term setup for a foundation tomorrow. This means we operate selflessly, use all funds exclusively for our statutory mission, and do not distribute profits or grant unjustified benefits.
To make our work verifiable beyond words you can track Progress and Impact via our Partner Explorer.land.
I’m Robert, 34, born in Moscow and raised in the Taunus near Frankfurt. I spent the first 15 years of my career in large-scale co-operation, where I learned how to build reliable operations, bring people together and what good leadership really means: enabling people to do their best work.
As I got older and especially as more children entered my circle, one question became impossible to ignore: how do we act sustainably, and how do we do it fast enough? Like many people, I knew the “why,” but the “how” often got buried under everyday responsibilities and constant fire-fighting.
That’s why the Global Water Cup resonated with me immediately. It’s a movement focused on the one element that connects everything: water. Water retention landscapes can deliver impressive results with simple, proven Methods and with Atmosbox producing drinking water from air, we can strengthen community impact with innovation and resources.
For me, it was clear from the start: I want to be part of this movement and create a future with enough drinking water for everybody.
Our home base is Frankfurt am Main. A truly international city at the heart of Europe, known for connecting people, ideas, and cultures. From here, we coordinate our work, build partnerships, and grow the Global Water Cup into a movement with global reach.
Our culture is shaped by open communication and a strong learning mindset. We encourage respectful discussion and honest feedback, because the best ideas often emerge from debate, reflection, and shared responsibility. We aim to create an environment where people can develop their skills, take ownership, and grow into leadership, while contributing to work that has visible, real-world impact.
While Frankfurt is our central hub, we collaborate globally and remotely with partners and local teams. That combination: clear coordination at the center and strong local ownership on the ground—helps us move fast, stay connected, and deliver meaningful progress across regions.
