Starter Kit. Idea 423 of 500. Cluster 21
Water-purification franchises for the districts where the wells are failing
The mechanism, from the book
The sun shines on every roof and the island imports its fuel.
The first step
Go to a district where people say the wells have turned salty or unsafe, and ask 20 households what they spend on bottled water and how far they carry it. Price a small purification unit and a refill counter at a shop, and ask the shopkeeper whether they would run it for a share of sales. The proof is a host site and a list of families who would buy refills weekly.
- Who pays first
- Families who already buy bottled water or boil well water every day, and would pay less per litre at a refill counter nearby.
- What leaves today
- Bottled water and illness from bad wells drain household money; a local refill franchise turns a daily expense into a village business.
Ask first
- the area Medical Officer of Health. Ask how well water in the area has been tested.
- Sri Lanka Standards Institution. Ask what standard purified drinking water must meet.
Check before you spend
That the purified water meets the drinking water standard, a plan for regular testing, and the shop's written agreement on sharing sales.
Find out these three numbers
- What do households spend on bottled water?
- How many families would buy refills weekly?
- What does a small purification unit cost?
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.