I’m thrilled to advise that our crowdfunding campaign for Water Filtration Systems in Rajasthan, India, will be going ahead – courtesy of our generous supporters.

Thank you to all of our supporters!

While we’ve reached our $30,000 target, we are still accepting donations for the project up until midnight 28 November 2017.

Because our target has been reached, all research costs are now covered, as well as production of 1000 kits. Meaning, every dollar contributed from now on goes purely into putting another water filtration system into a family home in Rajasthan. 

At a hard-cost of $25 per unit, every little bit of support continues to make a valuable impact.

Thank you once again for your support and I look forward to updating you along our journey as myself and my team implement this exciting project.

Dr Cris Birzer and team.

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680 million people around the world do not have access to fresh drinking water and approximately 1.5 million people, predominantly children, die from drinking contaminated water each year [AusAid, 2012].

To address this global challenge, researchers from the University of Adelaide have developed a self-assembled water purification kit which costs less than $30 AUD to produce up to 10 litres of drinking water per hour. We need your help today. 

Unbelievably, water purification can be achieved with clever design and the most basic materials;  a glass tube,  metalized plastic and sunlight, turning dirty river water, stagnant rainwater and ground water into pathogen-free drinkable water. The purification process reduces harmful E.coli from 1 million units to below 1 and removes other pathogenic contaminants.

These clever water purification kits have been designed for use in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, but they also provide an appropriate solution for many other communities around the world.

However, some parts of the world have contaminants specific to their environment and surrounds for which the kit does not yet remove. For countries such as India, where non-drinkable water contains high levels of heavy-metal contamination, further research is required to develop a customised solution.

With your help, we can develop and deliver customised water purification kits that meet the needs of various environments around the world; but we need to do our research first.

Our researchers are crowdfunding to raise $30,000.  This will ensure we can send a team of researchers to South Australia’s sister state Rajasthan, in India to undertake pathogen, heavy-metal and toxin assessments in specific regions and at specific times of year.  Our team will engage with communities and conduct assessments on local water quality, manufacturing capabilities, and supply-chain limitations, before returning to Adelaide to develop and implement a customised solution with and for the population. Clean drinking water is not just a need, it is a human right and your support is needed to make this happen.

We will then produce kits in Rajasthan, distributed to community through local partners. Further to this, we will provide the blueprints and technical production to continue production and manufacturing for the local market.

Our target for the Rajasthan water quality pilot study is $30,000. This includes the production and distribution of water purification kits. 1 water filtration kit can help 25 people.

A donation of $30 will provide one water purification kit to a family in Rajasthan, which can convert up to 10 litres of contaminated water into fresh drinking and cooking water per hour.

Please take action today; support innovation and help us provide clean drinking water for all.  All donations over $2 are income tax deductible (in Australia).

Rajasthan is a region of 79.79 million of people and is the sister state of South Australia.

Water management significantly limits Rajasthan’s development and is a critical requirement for future growth. Rajasthan comprises approximately ten percent of India’s land mass, and five percent of its population, yet has just one per cent of the country’s water resources.

Over two-thirds of Rajasthan is identified as desert, yet it remains a major producer of agricultural crops. With deep experience in water reform, management, conservation and re-use, the South Australian public and private sectors are already working closely with Rajasthan to develop options to improve water management and allocation.

This project will support these initiatives, looking at accessibility of water for personal consumption.

The Project Team:

Dr Cris Birzer

Dr Cris Birzer is a chartered professional engineer, focused on technology design and implementation in the humanitarian and development sectors. His role in the project is to help design and coordinate the technology and its implementation.

Dr Georgina Drew

An anthropologist by training and profession, Dr Georgina Drew has over twelve years of experience working on the relationship between culture and water resource management in various parts of India, including Rajasthan. Her role in the project will be to help make sure that the water filtration devices will be implemented in ways that are culturally appropriate and gender inclusive.

Dr Stephen Kidd

Dr Stephen Kidd is a microbiologist, specialising in identifying and characterising harmful bacteria that persist in environments. He will facilitate the evaluation of the technology and its relevant operation.