From Honduras to India - How I got here and what I'm doing
Many of you
have asked about what has brought to me India. The answer, as it often is in my
life, is water. Specifically, water and sanitation improvements for developing
countries.
AguaClara (http://aguaclara.cornell.edu/)
Since
college I have been involved with AguaClara which is a program at Cornell
University that works on developing sustainable, gravity powered solutions for
small communities in developing countries. When I was at Cornell in 2006 the
AguaClara technologies focused on potable surface water treatment plants. These
plants utilized flocculation, sedimentation and disinfection to treat drinking
water. The plants used only two chemicals, local materials and no electricity.
The plant in Ojojona and the plant in Tamara that I worked on can be seen
below:
AguaClara Plant in Ojojona, Honduras (Originally had horizontal and vertical flocculation tanks. Horizontal portion is no longer in use) |
AguaClara Plant in Tamara, Honduras (Covered tanks, has since had improved dosing equipment and a filter added) |
Since that time AguaClara has built over 14 plants of all sizes. You can find a summary of the timeline here: http://aguaclara.cornell.edu/about/timeline/ . The AguaClara technology and plants in Honduras have been reworked and refined. Last year I got to visit a plant that was just built in Moroceli, see below.
This plant
has an automatic chemical dosing capability with variable flow and a filter.
The backwash for the filter is gravity powered as well. It is
amazing what 10 years and a lot of effort by bright students and amazing
faculty can produce. In a world where we worship technology and electronics
AguaClara has taken what can require complex controls and provided solutions
with plastic pipes, gravity and ingenuity.
AguaClara LLC (www.aguaclarallc.com)
From the
program at Cornell has sprouted AguaClara, LLC a social enterprise and certified B-corporation. This
company was founded by Maysoon Sharif who graduate from Cornell with a Master of Engineering in 2011. This company was started to take the technologies developed at Cornell
and help get them implemented in the real world by applying for grants, working
with other NGOs and developing training programs and operation manuals. AguaClara
LLC has focused on implementing its technologies in India. In 2015 they
installed six enclosed stacked rapid filters in the eastern state of Jharkhand
(http://www.aguaclarallc.com/projects/).
This project also included a chemical dose controller that I will discuss
further in another blog post.
Rapid Stacked Sand Filter in Jharkhand, India |
Currently,
AguaClara LLC is working with Gram Vikas to pilot a new and updated version of
the CDC. This new version has been built in the lab at Cornell University with
funds from the Tata-Cornell Initiative (see below). At this time, I am helping
source the materials for the CDC and fabricate the first pilot in India.
Tata-Cornell Initiative (https://tci.cornell.edu/)
Excerpt from their website: “The Tata-Cornell Institute for
Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) is a long-term research initiative focused on
solving problems of poverty, malnutrition, and rural development in India.
We were established in 2013 with a generous gift from the Tata
Trusts to conduct cross-disciplinary research, and to bring together the
technical capacity of Cornell graduate student researchers with the
on-the-ground know-how of academic and non-governmental partner organizations
in India. We also provide thought-leadership and engage multiple stakeholders
at Cornell, in India, and across the globe on food policy and the
agriculture-nutrition nexus.”
Project Background - Water and Development
In large areas of India, the population is
rural and very poor. There are no bathroom or bathing facilities. The closest
water source is often used for these activities as well as for washing and
drinking. Open defecation is practiced as it in many areas of the world. This
setup leaves people “exposed to bacterial diseases like diarrheas, dysenteries
and typhoid as well as parasitic worms. Unconfined human waste is also a
breeding ground for insect vectors like cockroaches and flies which can
increase the spread of excreted pathogens and eye infections.”
“In
conservative societies, where women’s modesty is of great importance and
significance, open defecation presents a huge moral dilemma for many village
women and adolescent girls. The absence of privacy for dealing with natural bodily
functions and having to expose oneself in the open, especially during
menstruation affects women’s dignity and sense of self-worth. Women face
harassment while practicing open defecation; in many areas, they are few
options for privacy.“
Additionally,
water needs to be carried to houses and in many areas the walk is long, the
work hard and it detracts from other activities such as schooling and work.
This often falls to the children and women.
Providing
water and sanitation facilities promotes health, development and economic
growth among other things. It is the single most important factor in
eliminating poverty and spurring growth.
(Note: Quotes from book: Water Supply and Sanitation Services for the Rural Poor)
Current Project in India
Currently
AguaClara is partnering with Gram Vikas to bring AguaClara technology to India.
The communities where the CDC will be installed are communities where Gram
Vikas is working. Gram Vikas (see below for more info) is currently working to
provide rural communities with a borehole water well, review of other water
supply options, and an elevated water tank. They are currently piloting a
project in 2 villages in the state of Odisha (previously Orissa) in the eastern
side of India. I had the opportunity to visit the villages and they are
described briefly in my other blog post.
Photo of Water Board Members (females) and Gram Vikas Worker (male) at village near Deojhar |
Photo of Water Board Members and Gram Vikas Worker (left) at village near Deojhar |
The two villages
serve about 800 people total. On completion, all 800 people will have access to
a bathroom, bathing area and clean drinking water for use in their houses.
AguaClara
technology will be used in this project as it will provide the disinfection for
the water supply. The chemical dose controller (CDC) will be installed above
the tanks that are being constructed. These CDCs will have the ability to automatically
adjust the chemical flow according to changes in raw water flow rate to maintain
a constant dose.
Gram Vikas (http://www.gramvikas.org/)
Gram Vikas
has been working to overcome these issues and bring water and sanitation
improvements to the rural poor since 1971. It started after a cyclone
devastated the state of Orissa. Their mission statement is:
They have 5 core
values that are listed and shown below:
These 5 core
values ensure that the programs that enter into the villages are not just
pieces of equipment and technology. They work with the villagers for cost
sharing and to promote social and gender equality as well as sustainability. An
NGO such as Gram Vikas understands that many times providing a solution to one
issue involves a deeper look into the community as a whole. Providing a
location with a bathroom can solve some issues for some households but does not
provide a holistic solution for a community. The community must itself be 100%
invested and learn and grow as the project is constructed.
Gram Vikas
works with the community on not just the infrastructure of the project but also
on education, health, livelihood and food security. Gram Vikas also works to begin
a saving account for the villages started from village funds that helps with the
operation and maintenance of the systems. This empowers the communities to
maintain the provided infrastructure and take ownership of the system once it
has been installed.
To learn
more about Gram Vikas you can also check out the book Water Supply and
Sanitation Services for the Rural Poor – The Gram Vikas Experience (link to
amazon: http://www.amazon.in/Water-Supply-Sanitation-Services-Rural/dp/1853396540)
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