Water Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink
For centuries coastal communities have struggled with a sad, ironic dilemma: they are surrounded by water they can’t drink. The salt content of the ocean makes the water undrinkable, but a new invention called the Watercone could change that. When 1.8 million children die every year because they don't have access to clean water, this innovation has the potential to change lives.
Watch the video below to see how it works.
The Watercone will go into production and world wide distribution in summer of 2009. It is easy to use and will cost less than 26 dollars, their official website predicts that “Presuming a daily usage of the Watercone and a daily average yield of 1 liter, the Watercone has paid for itself in about 2 months and will work for free the next 5 years .... [V]endors could invest in a dozen Watercones and sell 15 liters of water a day and have their investment returned in no more than half a year.”
Although the Watercone may not be the global answer to clean water access, it is a small part of a larger solution. Other inventions such as Playpumps, Life Straw, and the water purifier dubbed the Slingshot (featured on the Colbert Report) are other products improving access to clean water around the world.
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I saw a display of
I saw a display of technologies similar to the Watercone in Minneapolis this summer. The exhibit was called Design for the Other 90%, and was located outside of the Walker Art Center. It showcased products and technologies designed to improve basic services for the world’s poor. Each “room” focused on a different area, such as providing fresh water, energy, shelter, or transportation.
One exhibit that stood out was on the Katrina Furniture Project, which created neighborhood furniture making facilities in New Orleans. The program used debris from the wreckage left by Hurricane Katrina to make furniture, simultaneously helping the community rebuild itself and the local economy.
The exhibition, Design for the Other 90%, is a project of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. The designs combine innovative ideas and uses of technology with simplicity and minimalism. The result is a wide array of low cost, relatively efficient products that can be marketed and implemented in Third World economies. Anyone interested in technology similar to the Watercone should definitely check out the website, other90.cooperhewitt.org.
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