Innovation for product and its delivery

As we begin to delve into particular ways social innovation can improve the quality of life for inhabitants living in the developing world, Rebecca Paul’s article on 6 Water- purifying devices for clean drinking water in the developing world summarizes current humanitarian design approaches to address this problem. Safe drinking water is a basic necessity for a healthy life, and without it, water-related diseases have caused a 3.6 million death toll each year.  To put things in perspective, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied due to diseases caused by poor water quality and sanitation.

A combination of designers, engineers and visionaries has created various products to improve the water quality in developing countries:

• ·      The Lifestraw by Vestergaard is a simple thick cigar shaped straw that purifies the inhaled water from pathogens including typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhea. Its uses have also been expanded in the developed world for outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and boating. It contains no chemicals, and has no shelf life. While this does not allow for a large quantity of filtering, the portability of the product makes it handy to carry around while performing tasks.
• ·      Ceramic water filters distributed in Cambodia since 2002 have resulted in a 50% drop in diaherra related illnesses. The technology is made from fired clay whose tiny pores in the ceramic material essentially remove all bacteria and protozoa. While it does allow for mass filtering, the downside is that it does not filter against smaller viruses or remove chemical contaminants.
• ·      The Life Sack is an invention that combines both water filtering as well as provide motility for fieldwork. The water filter in it uses a UV-A radiation technology that kills deadly microorganisms and bacteria in water. Meanwhile, the backpack shaped sack also works as a container to ship heavy items such as grains and other food staples. The combination of functionality and ergonomics makes this an impressive product.
• ·      The “Pure” water bottle with 2 minute water filtering uses a wind-up ultraviolet light system to remove 99.9% of impurities and is an example of a commonly used household object turned into innovative water-filtration invention.

This past summer, I volunteered with a social eco-business in Thailand help deliver a water filtration system to a Karen hill tribe primary school at the border of Burma and Thailand. The Rain Tree Foundation, whom adopts a Bio Sand Filter (BSF) in their served communities, sponsored the water filtration system. The BSF is a smaller adaptation of the traditional sand filter, and is filled with layers of specially selected sand and gravel. The sand removes suspended solids and pathogens from the contaminated water, while a community of bacteria grow at the thin top most layer of sand eat many of the pathogens in the water and improve the water treatment. During the trip to deliver the goods, I realized the often over-looked logistical factors associated with filtration delivery, including the long drive up to the hill tribe, the heavy physical weight of the equipment, the language barrier communication with the liaisons of the school program to promote the new filtration system, and most importantly, establishing the trust in a relationship with the local community.  Going forward, in addition to creating the products themselves, we can also begin thinking of effective methods for the distribution of these innovation products. How can we ensure that once the product is delivered, it is in fact used appropriately and effectively?