Design Thinking

Rebekah House
D100
1-1-08

    In these articles, I have studied three main inventions designed to supply poor, rural families with clean, drinkable water.  Each designer has been succesful in their own way.  However, none are successful in all situations.  Therefore, the approach that must be taken is situational, because of demography and geography.

    The Lifestraw, is a wonderful design, because it is small and lightweight, making it easy to ship in large quantities.  Therefore, helping a lot of people, instantly.  The Aquaduct was designed to assist people, often women and children, who have to travel miles, four to five hours a day to collect disease ridden water.  The Aguaduct is great because it allows the collection of enough water for the entire family, assists in travel time and effort, while illiminating deadly bacteria through a pedal powered water filtration system.  The Hippo Roller was designed for aid in the transporting of water.  Women who normally would be carrying five gallons of water on top of theirs heads can now push or pull twenty gallons.  Thus, alleviating physical trauma while also enabling the collection of larger quantities which can supply the entire family.

    I have studied a few other water relief designs, such as: the Bamboo Treadle Pump, ceramic water filter, drip irrigation system, MoneyMaker Hip Pump, the Q Drum, and my favorite, the Water Storage System.  Each design is created to suit an individual situation or demographic issue.  These designs range from a filtration system that  you drink through, to a hole that is dug into the ground, and is lined with plastic, (much like we construct fish ponds or garden pools) to irrigation systems.  These approaches were taken due to immediate needs in each area, such as: Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, and many more.  The widespread problem however, is lack of water.  Without water there is no need for a filtration system.  When dealing with countries that have extensive dry seasons, we must create a continuous supply of water.

    In looking over the pros and cons of these designs, I have noticed a correlation that cost and again lack of water are the greatest inhibitants.  The greatest possible outcome for the problem is to provide large numbers of people with continuous, local access to disease free water.

    My approach to this issue would be water well drilling.  Yes, it is expensive, but you are reaching entire villages rather than one person at a time.  The water could be tested, and at correct depths, it should not be contaminated.  Individuals are not going to be able to afford the thousands of dollars it will cost to have the wells drilled, but realistically they cannot afford the Aquaduct, the Hippo Roller, or even the Lifestraw.( There is an unrealistic mininum order requirement)  The fact is that the governments of these countries and ours are going to have to step up and create programs to make this happen. 

    In two directories, covering approximately four counties in North Carolina, there are fourteen different water well drilling businesses, seven in each directory.  My point is, this is a common thing, wells are drilled every day, and we know billions are spent every day,  on wars, oil, and other things we would not need if water was our immediate issue.

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