Practical solutions for the common good.
Recycling Coffee Grounds to make innovative water filters in the Developing World.
Who would have thought your daily cup of coffee could help bring clean drinking water to the developing World? Abundant Water, a local product, is making a difference Abundant Water (AW) is an Australian NGO, started in 2008 by Sunny Forsyth, an Australian engineer and the current CEO. Developing a groundbreaking manufacturing process using spent coffee grounds AW began in Laos by training local potters to create low-cost, low-tech easy-to-build clay water filters, to bring clean water to low-income schools and households. Sustainable and scalable AW intends for all its projects to be sustainable and scalable so that local communities develop the capacity to maintain the filter systems and spread them to neighbouring communities. To achieve this AW has developed its social business program by training and supporting local vendors to sell and install ceramic water filters in their communities. This model empowers local people and disadvantaged communities in developing countries, spreading the knowledge of the filter technology creating sustainable and scalable projects. AW works every day to support and improve the vendor network.
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CAFE CULTURE MAGAZINE
Access to safe drinking water in the developing World Access to safe drinking water is a major challenge in many developing countries. Drinking water often comes from unprotected water sources that harbor harmful pathogens and risk contamination. Those in rural communities are disproportionately affected, with women tasked with the burden of water collection. On average women in rural communities can spend up to 5 hours travelling to collect water, this not only greatly reduces their time but puts them in harms way to a variety of physical risks, including asthma, tuberculosis and pregnancy complications. The need for the AW project continues and the success of this approach demonstrates what could be possible across the globe. Through this current initiative we are looking to bring clean drinking water to Laos. It is estimated a mere 25% of health facilities have access to safe drinking water in Laos. Water pollution and contamination remain among the most serious of public concerns as many improved or so-called ‘safe’ water sources are often contaminated during the supply process. Most household water supply is tainted with E Coli and few households treat the water before consuming it. As a result, diarrhoeal disease continues to affect communities and limit their livelihoods despite better access to improved water supplies.
