Bringing clean water to rural India

“Water is life; and Clean water means Health”

Ensuring survival and improved outcomes for every child with safe and secure drinking water for all.

Background

Most of the freshwater sources in India, like rivers, lakes, groundwater and wells are contaminated to some extent, because the water which was being used for drinking and cooking is being used for other activities like washing and bathing. Major rivers such as the Ganges (Ganga) are being polluted for years in the name of religion and other rituals, to the extent that cremation ceremonies of humans are done at the banks, polluting the river with human waste, plastic waste etc. The river which is so called as the ‘Purest’ is no longer as pure. There should be proper arrangement for storage, sewage, supply and purification of these water sources. Growing up in India, I have always carried purified water with me, whenever I leave home. If I haven’t, I have had to buy mineral water bottles and unknowingly added to the waste piles. I always wondered what it would be like for people in villages who don’t have access to any form of water purifiers.

Brief

When I was in Design school, I had participated in a Global Innovation Challenge back in 2012, sponsored by UMO UX India. The brief was to come up Sustainable Design solutions for any social issues around us. Growing up in urban cities, we were hardly exposed to any such issues. In all honesty, the prize money was enough to the excite me for this challenge. When I started, I had no idea how my views were going to change. This competition was an eye opener for me, I was a changed person when I completed the challenge and it was for good. While brainstorming and discussing with some friends in college, someone spoke about Water and I found it challenging and thought that there was so much scope for improvement in terms of design intervention. So I decided to start my journey with Water.

The best way to start was visiting a village around us. One of my friends suggested me to visit her village as she knew that there was a lot that could be done there. Hence, to know the prevailing conditions, I visited Ghodnadi, a river at a village named Shirur near Pune, Maharashtra. I was in shock when I saw that it was the only water source for drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning and it was in absolutely horrifying state. The water was not fit for consumption or usage at all. After having in depth conversations with a few villagers we realized that water purification and utilization of water was a far fetched dream for them.

Process

As a Researcher for this project, I had to plan an in-depth study in which I could gather all the information available about water related issues, sustainable & cost effective water purification systems, tackling water borne diseases, etc. I planned an intensive study around:

Gathering information related to what is being done already by the government and local authorities to tackle water purification & other sanitation related problems
What happens to the water after it is collected from the river and taken to the individual homes?
Are there any NGO’s or other individuals working towards this cause? If yes, can we connect and find out about their initiatives or refer to their research materials?
They say the best way to kill all the viruses & bacteria in the water, is by boiling it. Have the people tried boiling their water before consumption?

I had about 10 weeks to complete the research, design possible interventions and document all the data to submit to the Global Innovation Challenge.

Research Methodology

I was as oblivious as one can be, to knowing how inaccessible clean water is. Growing up in a city like Mumbai, where clean water flows in from the taps in your home you can really be clueless to how different the situation is a few hundred miles away. I had travelled previously although with great luxury, buying mineral water wherever I stopped on the way. So, this project was going to be a huge revelation for me. I wanted to get into the root of the matter, hence I thought of conducting quick secondary research and delve in much depth via field study during primary research. The course of action was planned immaculately considering the close deadline for the challenge.

Secondary Research

The first week of the project was assigned to look at the data around us and the goal was to see :

Water purification methods that are tried & tested and could be used effectively for this project.
Data that shows relevant information regarding water pollution in India and how it is being handled.
Government related schemes for sanitation, water and health of the citizens ( Back in 2012, most of the villagers did not even have access to a toilet in their homes or common toilets in the village. The women went to defecate in farms before sunrise and the men would defecate along the riverbanks)

Primary Research

To verify the information gathered over the first week, I planned my Primary research for the second week. The goal was to gather as much information as possible from the villagers to know what are challenges they face daily with the water crisis around them. This had to be done with:

Interviewing as many people you find on the riverbank. It started with women collecting pots of water, washing clothes, kids bathing in the river, men bathing their buffaloes and cows in the river. In a day’s span we met at least 30 people.
I also shadowed the women inside their homes, so as to check what they did with the water once they collected it from the source.
I talked with the local government body (Panchayat) so as to understand what initiatives have they already endeavoured to solve the water contamination of the river and help the villagers with purification of the water.

Data Analysis & Synthesis

After spending 2 weeks on gathering and verifying the data, it was time to analyse what the situation was and how it could be improved with our insights and design intervention. The problems identified were:

The villagers were living a humble life, succumbing due to poverty and health hazards could be extremely fatal. They had limited means of income and less resources, so investing in hi-tech and expensive filtering systems is not something they could dream of. They knew boiling water before consumption is the best possible way to kill 99.9% bacteria & viruses but many homes used firewood to cook and did not have gas stoves. Hence, they could not spend hours boiling water and needed a faster & more effective method to purify water.
They were not aware about the effective water purifying systems that could replace boiling and also be fuel efficient.
Also the water contained stones, dead insects, gravel and other innumerable bacteria and viruses invisible to the eye. Some women were seen using worn-out sari cloths/ strainers to filter the visible dirt from the water before filling in their pots. There was a sense of fear among the villagers for their health or family’s health, but it was not at a level that would make them move mountains and voice out their concerns to the government bodies.

Design Development

The research led me to many directions to water purification that are cost effective and can be used to filter as many bacteria & viruses as possible from the water. I wanted to design something that was portable, easy to handle, sturdy and could be used safely by a child as well. The design solution I presented for the competition was something that renders water from rivers and transforms them into drinking water that is safe to consume. I called it “ Amrut ”- The elixir of life. I wished people tasted the drink of purity; Water, the way God had created it. Of course, it was no easy feat. There were many technicalities involved. The mechanism had to be already tried and tested. The form of the product was inspired from the word “Flow”. Like, how water flows when being poured or how sand flows in an hour glass. “Amrut” had been designed for purifying water in containers with a capacity of 5 to 7 litres. Since the product did not require electricity to operate and was made of the most economical materials, the rural communities would be really benefited.

Water had to be poured in from the mouth, while the dish rested on the rim of the container. The water passed through the first layer of mesh where all the heavy particles were filtered out. The water then flowed into the second layer of mesh which was finer than the first mesh. Here the particles which had seeped in from the first mesh were blocked from flowing further. The water then flowed into the next compartment made of the carbon mesh placed between two layers of the finest quality of nylon mesh. The activated carbon mesh attracted all the dirt and purified the water to much extent. The water flowed out from the mesh slowly into the main container. Alum had been provided as an additional aid at the bottom of the product so that it came in direct contact with the water and catered to the treatment. The quantity of alum being used was very small and that had to be maintained because if it stayed in water for a longer time it had a tendency to change the taste of water. Alum is being used as a purifier since decades. Alum when in contact with the water created a layer around the dirt making it heavier and forcing it to the bottom of the container. The last and the final step would be to remove “Amrut” from the container of water and rinsed in with clean water before the next use.

Water has to be poured from the mouth, while the dish rests on the rim of the container. The water passes through the first layer of mesh where all the heavy particles are filtered out. The water then flows into the second layer of mesh which is finer than the first mesh. Here the particles which have seeped in from the first mesh are blocked from flowing further. The water then flows into the next compartment made of the carbon mesh placed between two layers of the finest quality of nylon mesh. The activated carbon mesh attracts all the dirt and purifies the water to much extent. The water flows out from the mesh slowly into the main container.Alum has been provided as an additional aid at the bottom of the product so that it comes in direct contact with the water and caters to the treatment. The quantity of alum being used is very small and this should be maintained because if it stays for a longer time in water it has a tendency to change the taste of water . Alum is being used as a purifier since decades. Alum when in contact with the water creates a layer around the dirt making it heavier and forcing it to the bottom of the container. The last and the final step would be to remove “Amrut” from the container.

Impact & Future

Since the project was short, the prototype could be built and tested for its feasibility. I envisioned that the product could be an essential tool for all rural households across the globe that are surviving a water crisis. Fortunately, 10 years after this idea was conceived, today there are many tools that use similar mechanism and technology and are a part of a survival kit for many rural homes. I am proud that this research was the beginning and start to a wide area of opportunities for larger companies and institutions to be a part of. Lifestraw, Brita, etc are examples of such revolutionary products. I am thankful to all the families who helped me with conducting research at the village and also to all the people who participated in the research. I was one of the few finalists for the UMO Global Innovation Challenge in 2012 and won a whopping amount that was donated fully to the betterment of the villagers lives.