G002 - Sukuma Wiki (Kenya): Businessplan for income
generating activity orphanage
Question
What kind of projects could we best set up in Kenya to enable the orphanage to generate
its own income?
Situation
In 2008 the Peacefull Orphanage was founded in Ukanda, near Dani, about 40 kilometres
south of Nairobi (Kenya). Sukuma Wiki is a Dutch foundation that helps the orphanage in
Ukunda become independent. Not only do we support them financially, but we also
advice them and help them to set things up in such a way that in five years time they will
be able to continue independently.
Sukuma Wiki raises funds and donors to financially support the orphanage, but
sometimes sends volunteers over to offer help and advice as well. Soon we will try to
raise funds to buy a piece of land and build our own building there, and perhaps invest in
activities to generate income. This, to us, seems a requirement for independence.
Moreover, to acquire (an) official recognition, the orphanage will have to accommodate at
least 20 children, and to provide for these children it obviously needs financial income of
its own.
In order to operate independently, Peacefull Orphanage needs to generate income to be
able to pay the bills. These involve costs for groceries, water, but also salaries,
textbooks, uniforms, etc. There are several orphanages in Kenya that help children by
means of a trade. This trade could be anything. Some orphanages keep chickens for the
eggs and meat, or cows for milk and eventually sell the meat. Other orphanages have
their own sewing shop to make and sell clothes (e.g. school uniforms), or a wood
workshop to make furniture on demand. A different idea is to build an apartment building
(financed by funds) and rent out the rooms, or to build holiday homes and rent them to
tourists.
Besides taking care of income and the possibility to become less dependent on one party,
such a project provides the children with many learning opportunities. They could learn a
trade, like seaming or making furniture. In any case, it clearly shows that anyone can
learn something, that they can take care of themselves and do not need to beg.
Taking up an income generating activity is the idea of the Dutch board. Thinking
strategically and long term planning is not easy for local manager Conny Ochiengo of the
orphanage in Kenya. She is predominantly occupied with solving the daily, weekly and
monthly problems. She is very enthusiastic about long term strategies and the desire to
have the orphanage operate independently. She would love it if the orphanage would
become independent and would generate its own income. It has been discussed, but
there are few concrete plans.
In this Worldschool assignment we ask students to develop a number of ideas for income
generating activities. This should enable us to pick the best option, based on realistic
future prospects that fit Kenya's local community and habits.
The business plan should clearly specify the products the children could make using 1 or
2 employees. If these products yield enough money to pay for the employees, as well as
production costs (raw materials, electricity, wear of equipment, etc). There should be
some money left for the orphanage. In addition, a consumer market is needed and the
sale and marketing of the product needs to be contemplated. E.g., when the orphanage
is producing eggs, a shop that wants to sell the eggs needs to be found, or a hotel that
wants to purchase them. Because Ukanda is close to Dani, where there are lots of resorts
and hotels for western tourists, there are bound to be ample opportunities. But how do
you go about transporting them?
After making a well founded choice for a product and a fitting project, a plan is needed to
implement the project. This includes a schedule, a division of labour, financial
underpinning and a marketing plan.
The money that is needed to start the project will be raised by Sukuma Wiki from known
or new funds. We would like to start a good plan right away. Students are not asked to
implement the plan themselves. There is a possibility to stay involved and to help
voluntarily after the completion of the assignment. However, this is not part of the
assignment.
Desired endproduct
We would like to receive a business plan containing:
- an overview of possibilities and experiences of other orphanages or local projects and a
discussion of opportunities and constraints of the activities for Peacefull Orphanage
-a grounded choice for one of the economical projects
a description of this project:
- what are we going to do / how are we going to do it / where are we going to do this?
- what raw materials or inputs are needed? Where do we get them from?
- what are the processes and which materials/machines are needed? Where do we get
them from?
- to what extend does the project offer possibilities for (officially recognized) schooling?
- how can children combine regular education and work?
- a division of labour (who is involved in the project and which responsibilities do they
have?)
Financial underpinning of the project:
- a calculation of the intended income
- a calculation of the costs when the project is running
- a calculation of the costs to develop the project
- a kind of risk analysis for the project: are there any financial bottlenecks?
- a time line for the development of the project, and an indication of the different stages,
from development to complete operation, including key decision pints.
- a marketing plan to bring the product to customers
Contact
Claudia de Graauw, chairwoman of the Dutch Sukuma Wiki foundation, has already done
some work and has knowledge of the facts. She has spoken with and has visited other
orphanages in the area to see and hear about their business.
[email protected]
06 1741 2770
If Claudia cannot be reached please contact Eliane de Vilder
[email protected]
Mamma Conny Ogiengo is intermediary in Kenya
Mamma and manager of the orphanage
[email protected]
There is a time difference of 1-2 hours. She reads her e-mail once or twice a month, for
urgent matters the best things to do is to send her a text message and ask her to go to
the internet café, or call her (and ask if it is convenient).
G003 - Nepalimed (Nepal): Skills training modules for
income generating activities
Question
Develop a business plan and training module for simple income generating activities for
the microcredit groups.
Situation
The Nepalimed Holland Foundation has been active in Dhulikhel, 30 km east of the
capital Kathmandu, since 1998. The objective is to provide healthcare on the Roof of the
World, closely collaborating with DHOS (Dhulikhel Hospital), founded there in 1997.
Foundations in Switzerland, Austria, Tirol and Germany strive to reach the same goal.
The Nepalimed Holland Foundation is a private, non-profit institution, managed by the
inspiring dr. Ram Shresta, a Nepalese physician who has completed both his medical and
surgical training in Austria. A close relation exists between the hospital and Kathmandu
University. The medical education programme is fully coordinated by the hospital.
The population is poor. The principle of the hospital is that everybody, including the
poorest of people, has a right to healthcare. These people do not have to pay for
healthcare, and those who have more money pay more.
The Nepalimed Holland Foundation has two objectives:
- supporting the development of urology, a medical and surgical speciality
- healthcare in outposts, in the broadest sense
The outposts
There are now about 15 of these, varying from newly established policlinics to upgraded
health posts created by the government, and school classrooms offered by the local
community. A nurse and a health worker are permanently present. Once every week the
outpost is visited by a physician/specialist. Which specialist that is depends on the health
issues of the patients.
Activities of the outposts
- preventive healthcare for children under the age of 5
- school programmes, first aid, hygiene, treatment of infectious diseases, prevention of
acute arthritis, etc.
- toilet facilities
- ventilation of houses and smoke-free ovens
- water projects and hydro-power
- women's groups (there are currently 15 groups consisting of 10 women, and there are
plans to form 20 more of these groups): the microcredit groups. What is unique about
these groups is that besides microcredit and microcredit ‘skills' training they receive
health trainings as well, covering subjects such as pregnancy, giving birth, family
planning, hygiene and nutrition.
Microcredit groups
The women are selected by the community, and two women are responsible. There is
close contact with the outpost personnel. Once a month there is a session with the
training coordinator. They receive a loan against 4% interest, for four years, to be paid
every year. At this moment pig breeding is a lucrative business, but other activities are
being planned as well, such as brick-making and candle-making.
The outposts are all in rural areas, in poor and mountainous parts of the country, with a
climate characterized by long dry periods and heavy rainfall in the monsoon (July-Sep).
80% of the Nepalese population works in small-scale agriculture. Important crops are
rice, wheat, millet and vegetables. Most farming families also have some sheep, goats
and a cow for milk, yoghurt and manure (used as fuel and in rituals). Infrastructure and
use of machines and irrigation is limited. There are some economic opportunities in
small-scale production of alcohol, bricks, pashmina shawls and food.
Desired endproduct
Nepalimed would like to receive a business plan and skills training modules for income
generating activities for the outposts. The business plan does not need to be
complicated, but must clearly show what investments are needed, what work needs to be
done and which results can be expected from the activities. The skills training is an
elaboration on the chosen income generating activity, regarding activities, planning,
technologies and necessary machines and (financial) monitoring. The activity could be
something in agriculture (growing fruits or vegetables), or in the field of clothing (making
school-uniforms, or warm woollen clothes) or construction (making bricks).
Contact
Intermediary in the Netherlands:
A.G. van Gooswilligen-Hoekstra,
Chairman of the Nepalimed Holland Foundation
E-mail: [email protected] Tel 0522-441500
Intermediary in Nepal: Biraj Karmacharya
M001 - Hope Alive Uganda (Uganda): Reducing
HIV/AIDS
Question
In what way can we improve and expand our current HIV/AIDS information campaign
directed at the people in Kisozi (both children and adults)?
Situation
Hope Alive Uganda is a registered organization both in Uganda as well as the Netherlands. In
Uganda, we provide educational programmes and income enhancing projects in the sectors
education, health, agriculture and empowerment. We mainly work in Kisozi, a small settlement not
far from Kamuli. However, we are starting to make our way towards Jinja, a larger settlement near
the origin of the Nile River. We have several projects, for instance an HIV/AIDS information and
medical centre, a sewing workshop for women, an educational programme for boys ranging from
the age of 16 to 20 teaching them about cattle raising (in this particular case, cows) and
agriculture. We also provide a microcredit programme for students and women, namely
cycling2school and cycling4work. In addition, we are also starting other activities such as setting
up a well and organizing Eyecamps. Hope Alive Uganda works closely together with: Cycling out of
poverty, Oxfam, Impulsis, NCDO, Wilde Ganzen, Simavi, ASN Foundation, Share4more, the 1%
Club, and many others. We love to work with volunteers and the collaboration with other groups of
students via Worldschool has been a great success! We are keen to work with volunteers since we
think it is essential to make people aware of the work that Hope Alive Uganda does in Uganda and
we firmly believe that volunteers can make all the difference. We are a small Dutch organization
but this allows us to have a very personal relationship with Uganda, and the materials provided by
the volunteers will actually be used directly in Uganda.
Since 1981, the world has been struggling with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) and the HIV virus as its cause. Hope Alive Uganda provides an educational
programme for the community and the youth in primary and secondary schools in Kisozi
and the vicinity. In Januari of 2011, we founded an AIDS information and medical centre
in collaboration with Oxfam Novib, the Anton Jurgens Foundation, NCDO and the 1%
Club. This educational programme will evolve into a structural programme and in 2011,
there will be eighteen workshops on offer. In groups of 6, a total of 60 people will be
educated. Adults of the community will also be able to participate in workshops and the
AIDS centre will provide the necessary materials which can be consulted as well as
professional advice. In addition, the social workers offer support to those who have AIDS
in Kisozi.
AIDS has struck hard in Kisozi and its vicinity. There is a need in this community for the
education on and the prevention of AIDS.
Desired endproduct
Hope Alive Uganda has experience in educating adolescents and has the materials to do this.
However, there is as of yet no educational programme for children ranging from the age of 6 to 10
and therefore this age group has not yet been involved in the workshops. In addition to this, Hope
Alive Uganda hopes to acquire a variety of materials in the AIDS centre, so these can be accessible
for the community.
Our questions:
1. We would like to offer an educational programme to children from the age of 6 to 10.
The workshops will consist of three classes. Hope Alive Uganda would like to have
teaching materials for this age group. It might be a good idea to involve subjects such as
music, drama, arts and crafts, or maybe games, such as the AIDS-cup game. In addition
to teaching materials for the students, we also need teaching materials for the teachers.
The question is: is it possible to teach the subject of AIDS in such a way that children of
this age will understand what it is and realize what the risks of this disease are?
And can we do it in a motivating, appealing and respectful way that takes the age of the
students into account?
What approach could you use to make AIDS a topic that can be discussed with young
students of this age group?
Are there any previous experiences?
Are there any other projects that can be used as an example?
Do not forget that many young children in Africa (in contrast to Dutch children of the
same age) have been confronted, directly or indirectly, with the consequences of the
AIDS epidemic. In many cases, it will not only be a theoretical exercise. To what extent
do you need to take cultural differences, such as male-female relations and notions about
sexuality, into account when you are designing educational programmes such as this
one?
2. In the AIDS centre, Hope Alive Uganda would like to provide informative materials to
the adults of the community, such as specific information on what AIDS is, how to
prevent it, the course of the disease, symptoms, etc.
The languages used are Lusoga and English. Many adults in the community cannot read,
therefore posters, flipcharts, images, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, and
stickers, should be the most important source of information in combination with clear
language (short and brief sentences, etc).
Perform a thorough investigation on the disease AIDS.
What would be important information to the visitors of our information centre?
What would be absolutely critical information?
What is AIDS exactly?
How does the virus work?
How fast does it spread?
How does it get transmitted?
What are the symptoms once you are infected?
How do the tests to determine whether you have AIDS work?
How did AIDS develop?
What worldwide trends are there in the HIV/AIDS epidemic?
Why is there, 25 years after the discovery of the HIV virus, still no vaccination available?
What medication and treatments are presently in use and what are the benefits and
drawbacks?
Are there examples of successful information campaigns?
What strategies are recommended by UNAIDS to stop and turn the tide on the epidemic?
Is there hope of a possible cure in the future?
Etc, etc.
Also perform an investigation on the most efficient ways to support young children with
AIDS. Use arguments in your research from interviews with ‘hands-on' experts and
results from looking up example projects.
The materials you provide will be used in the workshops and in the HIV/AIDS information
centre. We hope to copy the material so we have multiple copies to distribute.
More information:
www.stopaidsnow.nl
www.unaids.org
www.greenfacts.org/en/aids
www.portal.unesco.org
www.artsenzondergrenzen.nl
www.who.int
www.nl.amref.org
Contact
Address and telephone number Intermediair in the Netherlands
Esther Haaisma
Director Hope Alive Uganda
[email protected] and/or [email protected]
Bremstraat 11
6666 XJ, Heteren
026-4721013 or 06-38928012
I am Hope Alive Uganda's founder and therefore very closely involved in the execution of
all projects of Hope Alive Uganda. You can easily contact me by email or mobile phone. I
very actively concern myself with the work of Hope Alive Uganda, so when you need to
reach somebody, I am very accessible.
Address Intermediair Uganda
Eddy Kiirya Mpoya
Director Hope Alive Uganda
[email protected] and/or [email protected]
PO Box 1466
Jinja
Uganda
Eddy's accessibility is dependent on whether or not Kisozi has electricity or an Internet
connection. Usually the connections are fine, but from time to time there is a period of
electrical breakdown and no email contact.
I am in constant contact with Eddy via telephone and the Internet, but when the power is
cut off in Kisozi, it will also affect me.
M004 - Hope Alive Uganda (Uganda): Can goats be used
as an energy source?
Question
Can you set up an extensive plan (use your own research as a source) that can explain
how to derive energy from biomass? You can use our Kisozi goat project as a motivation
for your plan. What's the best way to involve the Hope Alive Uganda goat project in
deriving energy from biomass in Kisozi?
Situation
Hope Alive Uganda is a registered organization both in Uganda as well as the
Netherlands. In Uganda, we provide educational programmes and income enhancing
projects in the sectors education, health, agriculture and empowerment. We mainly work
in Kisozi, a small settlement not far from Kamuli. However, we are starting to make our
way towards Jinja, a larger settlement near the origin of the Nile River. We have several
projects, for instance an HIV/AIDS information and medical centre, a sewing workshop
for women, an educational programme for boys ranging from the age of 16 to 20
teaching them about cattle raising (in this particular case, cows) and agriculture. We also
provide a microcredit programme for students and women, namely cycling2school and
cycling4work.
In addition, we also start other activities such as setting up a well and organizing
Eyecamps. Hope Alive Uganda works closely together with: Cycling out of poverty,
Oxfam, Impulsis, NCDO, Wilde Ganzen, Simavi, ASN Foundation, Share4more, the 1%
Club, and many others. We love to work with volunteers and the collaboration with
groups of students via Worldschool has been a great success! We are keen to work with
volunteers since we think it is essential to make people aware of the work that Hope
Alive Uganda does in Uganda and we firmly believe that volunteers can make all the
difference. We are a small Dutch organization but this allows us to have a very personal
relationship with Uganda, and the materials provided by the volunteers will actually be
used directly in Uganda.
Hope Alive Uganda has started a goat project for orphaned children. These orphans are
given a little goat to breed and so they can sell the offspring and the milk obtained from
the mother goat. In doing this they earn money to go to school, buy teaching materials
and a school uniform. The first female kid (baby goat) will be returned to Hope Alive
Uganda, so they can give the animal to another orphan in need of a goat. By doing this,
they are already giving the generation of first-born female goats new homes.
In Kisozi, there are regular power shortages. When this happens, it can be days before
the power comes back on. The clinic, schools, shops and the families of Kisozi are
obviously greatly affected by this. However, since it is impossible to place expensive solar
panels everywhere, they are searching for an alternative energy source. That way the
families can continue to cook, lamps can continue to work and the shops won't be left in
the dark and therefore without customers.
Desired endproduct
It is a possibility to derive energy from biomass. Theoretically, it therefore should be possible to
derive this kind of energy from goat manure.
Research the method needed to derive energy from biomass and involve the goat project of Hope
Alive Uganda.
In what way can the goat project contribute to generating energy from biomass and how can this
be applied to the situation in Kisozi?
What can simple biogas installations potentially look like?
How much fuel and fire wood can be saved by using such small installations?
What is the local energy demand and how can you calculate this?
Are there different systems and/or motivations?
What is the minimal input requirement that the biomass needs to generate in order for the
appliances to work?
Will the lavatories be connected to the energy network?
In what way can the gas be supplied to the lights and stoves?
Can biomass generate electricity?
Are there any other experiments like these in the world and what are the experiences?
What mixture of biomass is most effective?
Make an extensive plan/model/outline for schools, shops, the clinic, and families that also includes
building plans (or possibly a working prototype). What system would be most suitable for the local
environment and why? Excluding technical solutions, there are also social and cultural aspects to
be considered in this plan. You need to consider management, maintenance, type of organization
(public utility?), investments cost, financing, education and training, etc. And finally, you also need
to take into account what kind of waste management does this system require and what is the
most efficient way to deal with that? Can the remains, for instance, be recycled to provide a form
of compost to the local agriculture?
In short: What would a decentralized energy supplier powered by biomass look like in Kisozi?
More information:
http://www.betuco.be/Nederlands/biogaz_doc.htm
www.greenfacts.org
www.practicalaction.org
http://www.energy4all.org/
Contact
Address and telephone number Intermediair in the Netherlands
Esther Haaisma
Director Hope Alive Uganda
[email protected] and/or [email protected]
Bremstraat 11
6666 XJ, Heteren
026-4721013 or 06-38928012
I am Hope Alive Uganda's founder and therefore very closely involved in the execution of all
projects of Hope Alive Uganda. I am easily contacted by email or mobile phone. I very actively
concern myself with the work of Hope Alive Uganda, so when you need to reach someone, I am
very accessible.
Address Intermediair Uganda
Eddy Kiirya Mpoya
Director Hope Alive Uganda
[email protected] and/or [email protected]
PO Box 1466
Jinja
Uganda
Eddy's accessibility is dependent on whether or not Kisozi has electricity or internet connection.
Usually the connections are fine, but from time to time there is a period of electrical breakdown
and no email contact.
I am in constant contact with Eddy via telephone and the internet, but when the power is cut off in
Kisozi, it will also affect me.
M015 - Helping hand Moldavia (Moldova): A
compostsystem for a school
Question
How can we, in an environmentally friendly and safe way, set up a simple compost
system for the large amounts of kitchen and garden waste a school produces?
Situation
About our foundation
Helping Hand Moldavia aims to help disadvantaged people all over Moldova in their
personal development - especially in the areas of education and health care. Through our
activities our foundation offers people in Moldova the means to break their poverty spiral.
We achieve this by focusing on both direct help and long term projects, thereby ensuring
continuity. The starting-point always is the stimulation of people's self-supportiveness.
We are working together with the Moldovan education organization Step by Step (Pas cu
Pas, www.pascupas.md) which is supported by UNICEF amongst others. This organization
is primarily directed at nursery and elementary education nationwide, but also puts us in
contact with schools for secondary education. The international Step by Step organization
has been established in The Netherlands in 1999 (for more information go to
www.issa.nl).
The technical schools in Moldova help us with the production of materials for the nursery
and primary education. In this way they improve their own situation as well.
We help the schools in various ways: by providing school furniture, materials, computers
and knowledge. We also support learning and work projects. For more information,
please see our website www.helpinghandmoldavia.nl.
We think that cooperation with young Dutch people benefits their development as well as
the development of the Moldovan children. After all, all over the world young people are
the future. They can learn from each other and stimulate each other.
Introduction to the assignment
The technical school in Chinisau is a special trade school for wood workers such as
carpenters, furniture makers and wood cutters. This technical school has approximately
400 students of which 300 live on the premises.
The students that live in the hostels prepare their own breakfasts and dinners. Lunch (a
warm meal) is prepared in the school kitchen. On the school grounds there are several
trees; during fall there is much leaf litter. All the waste including Vegetable-Garden-Fruit
(VFG) waste is collected and the school has to pay for this.
However, when the VGF waste can be processed into compost on the school grounds, the
school may save on the litter collection costs and the compost can be used for the
(kitchen) garden and the flowerpots.
Composting is the transformation of loppings, leafs, vegetable and fruit litter into a stable
end product. Because compost consists of pure plant material, it contains all the
nutrients a plant naturally needs. During composting the same natural process takes
place as when plant material decays within or on the soil.
Micro-organisms and fungi slowly break down plant material and form a stable humus.
The environment of the school and the residential buildings; al lot of high trees
the kitchen
Desired endproduct
We would like to develop a good compost system without expensive investments.
We would like for you to base your advice on the expertise in this field available in The
Netherlands. There are undoubtedly practice experts and institutes such as Wageningen
University where this kind of information is available.
What kind of compost systems exist, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the
different systems and which one would provide the best solution for our situation?
What are the quality criteria for compost and how do you make sure that the composting
process goes optimally and how do you check that?
What are the do's and don'ts?
How do you know whether the materials have composted sufficiently (matured) and how
do you determine that? So that using this compost in the (kitchen) garden will not have
detrimental effects on the soil fertility. What is good management of (kitchen) gardens
anyway?
What can you say about the amount of compost (as regards to dry matter, volume) that
can be obtained from a certain amount of biomass? How much of that can you use per
garden plot? Would the potential surplus be saleable?
During the entire process of fermenting there is the risk of infection through bacteria and
fungi. How do you make sure that germs (but also seeds) are killed? We do not want
people doing the composting to get sick. We also want to avoid too high concentrations
of poisonous or inflammable substances during the fermentation process (such as H2S,
NH3, CH4). How can we control and prevent this?
Finally: there are possibilities to generate energy from the composting of VGF waste. At
Wageningen University research is done on the production of biogas, which is sustainable
energy, from biomass. At what amounts of biomass does this become interesting? Is it
something that is achievable for our school? For further information please go to:
www.energieprojecten.nl/pr_orgaworld.htm
Finally, there are some issues that probably have to be taken into account:
There is a lot of leaf fall during autumn.
There are hot summers and there are cold summers.
We would rather not have a system that requires adding adjuvants during the process.
For these kinds of substances there hardly is any money.
Links that are probably useful:
http://www.de12ambachten.nl/
www.arbocatalogus.net/afval/composteren
www.compost.be
Contact
Henk van Veldhoven, chairman of Helping Hand Moldavia
Retired teacher of furniture making at ROC Leiden
Supervises leather/workprojects on the technical schools in Moldova among other things
Is also sent out by PUM www.pum.nl (Dutch Senior Experts) to other countries to
transfer his knowledge
[email protected] tel. 071 - 561 83 77
2nd contactperson
Elly Spiekerman, secretary of Helping Hand Moldavia
[email protected] 071 - 521 49 32
Information technical School in Moldova:
Scoala Professional nr. 4
Director: Victor Ostasov (provider of the assignment)
[email protected]
Communication has to take place through a interpreter, but is difficult. The language
used is Romanian.
M016 - Dewi Saraswati (India): Water purification for
kids
Question
Which water purification system would be optimal for Dewi Saraswati's children's village?
Situation
Dewi Saraswati Nederland assists Dewi Saraswati India, an Indian development
organization established in 1996 to promote a better future for disadvantaged children in
South India, in particular the area to the south west of Chennai. The organization's work
revolves around a children's village, in which both orphans and children of parents who
lack the means to care for them, can grow up in a loving environment, with adequate
food and educational opportunities. In addition to the children's village, Dewi Saraswati
also directs special attention to women's groups and to the Irular, a (former tribal) ethnic
group that lives near the village. The women's group promote development through
entrepreneurial activity, while assistance to the Irular focuses on the children in the
Irular community.
Background
It is simple: humans can survive for a maximum of three days without water. However,
lack of clean drinking water leads to diseases like diarrhea and typhoid fever, causing the
death of 1.6 million children under the age of five each year. In short, dirty water and a
lack of sanitary provisions kills a child every 15 seconds. As a result, access to clean
water is of extreme importance for all communities.
Many people assume that the world contains sufficient drinking water as three quarters
of the Earth's surface is covered with water. However, most of this water is salty and
therefore undrinkable. In addition, only a small percentage of the drinking water is
actually accessible: 0.5 percent of the water on Earth can be used as drinking water.
Clean water is rare and the supply is decreasing rapidly, with water consumption
doubling every twenty years (twice the rate of population growth). Rich countries use the
most water, with intensive agriculture accounting for 65%, and industry for another
25%, of the world's water consumption. Households come in third, at 10%.
Access to water is inequitably distributed. One and a half million people, primarily in
developing countries, lack access to clean drinking water. According to UN predictions,
the demand for water in 2025 will outstrip supply by 56%. Almost a third of the world's
population, approximately 2.7 billion people, will suffer from extreme water shortages in
the coming 25 years.
The mission is, therefore, clear: water must be used more responsibly and access to it
must be more equitably distributed. Moreover, all opportunities to convert undrinkable to
drinkable water must be exploited to provide greater access to clean water.
Unfortunately, the public water supply in India is unreliable. Well water is unpurified,
leading to the deaths of approximately 1000 children per day due to diarrhea from
unclean drinking water (Sources: Water, Mensenrecht of Handelswaar; Milieudefensie en
Het Blauwe Goud; NCRV).
Approximately 200 children live in the village at Kilavedu. Current water purification
systems are insufficient to provide clean water to this number of children. One part of the
system works on electricity, which periodically falls out, and another part is difficult to
maintain and is therefore unreliable. The children also lack basic education about clean
drinking water and it is not a priority in the village.
Desired endproduct
1) Provide comprehensive comparative research on various methods for developing
small-scale and sustainable water purification systems. Research should be based
on expertise in The Netherlands, as well as on positive experiences in developing
countries.
2) Please consider which system would fit optimally given local conditions and explain
why. What conditions must be in place for a successful introduction of the
system?
3) Include a prototype/test/demonstration of (principles of) the water purification
system
4) Create a handbook for the development, use, and maintenance of the system.
Explanation
1) The system must meet the following criteria:

Does not depend on electricity, although sustainably created electricity could be
considered in the future;



Can be created locally, from available materials, such as refuse and natural
resources;
Is inexpensive to make;
Is easy to use, sustainable, and can be maintained by the community itself.
2) The handbook must meet the following criteria:




It must be simple and easy to understand for non-native English speakers;
It must be clearly and accessibly illustrated;
It should include basic information on the importance of clean drinking water;
Note: consult existing handbooks that have been developed for similar
development situations.
Useful literature, links and contacts
For background and inspiration, watch Het blauwe goud, a series examining the
worldwide challenge of clean drinking water. The program uses eight Dutch development
projects to show various sustainable methods used to confront this problem.
(http://hetblauwegoud.ncrv.nl/uitzendinggemist),
See also:
http://www.dewi-saraswati.org/
http://www.dewi-saraswati.nl/
Contact Person
Huub Oldeman, Chair of Dewi Saraswati Nederland, partner of the local Indian
development organization
[email protected]
Tel: + 31 648951942
If Huub is unavailable, please try:
Annet van Eerten
[email protected]