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>View discussions about this entry Country: Nicaragua
Organization: Potters for Peace
Field of Work - Water
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 1999
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Project URL: http://www.pottersforpeace.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Utilizing a social franchise model put a dent in the Millennium Goal to “Halve the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water” through increasing the sustainable production and marketing of a low cost locally produced ceramic water filter.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - For 24 years I have been promoting this technology in several countries without success. Not because the filter did not work, but because by simply training potters how to produce the filter was not enough to make it a household word.
For the past 7 years by promoting local Social Franchises between local pottery producers and interested investors (Private and NGO's) Potters for Peace has been able to promote a low cost technology for reaching the Millennium Target goal for safe water. The model is directed at working with existing “ for profit” companies that are interested in fulfilling one of the greatest needs of today: Low cost potable water. Over the past 7 years 25 small scale locally owned filter production facilities have been established in 19 countries reaching 1.5 million end users. Depending on the country where it is produced you can buy a complete filter for eight to thirty dollars and it will provide 48-60 liters of potable water a day. Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - Private enterprises, churches, governmental agencies, NGO’s and donors review our web site for sustainable ways of making water potable at the household level . Posted guidelines help self evaluate the feasibility of this alternative. An e-mail dialog is initiated until most of the local required inputs are attained. The dialogue can lead to training or a technical assistance relationship which could include a feasibility study, in-house training, training in another production site or accompaniment over the internet with suggestions and technical
How do you plan to expand your innovation? - Through outreach on the internet and increased partnering with existing private enterprises, NGO’s , Universities, professional organizations and governmental agencies we have been able to expand the technology to 19 countries .
By partnering with universities we have been able to make the most of field / laboratory studies and on going research around the world. By sharing technical drawings, production videos, educational material, studies and anwer questions over the internet, we build a critical mass of producers while sharing information worldwide. By participating in international forums (2000 UNDP Johannesburg, Kyoto Water Forum, the Mexico Water Forum, local and international organizations have had the opportunity to actually see the filter work in real life. Though continuous research and development (R&D) shareholders take ownership of the program, improve it and share their findings with other producers. By generating more privately owned filter production facilities we prove that the technology is replicable and profitable. We still need to train more trainers to meet the growing demand for production facilities.. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - What type of partnerships to do need? The following is a list of the existing ceramic water filter facilities and our partners World Wide. Each partnership in each country is created individually, based on their needs and inputs.
Country/Production partners Guatemala AFA/Guatemala (www.ecofiltro.com ) Guatemala Foundacion San Mateo (www.ixtatan.org ) Honduras (filtrosandreus2006@yahoo.es) El Salvador CORDES fasmaro@yahoo.com Nicaragua FILTRON www.filtronnica.com) Nicaragua Aqua Filtro: martin_2907@hotmail.com> Nicaragua Rodolfo Varela" Cuba CITA boris@rhcita.co.cu Dominican .Republic IDEAC/ Oxfam (http://www.ideac.org.do/filtro Ghana: www. ceramicatamakloe.com West Darfur/Sudan : OXFAM/UK Sri Lanka: Red Cross: Omar Rahaman" Bali Peter Bleecke Cambodia RDI (www.rdic.org/waterceramicfiltration.htm ) Red Cross www.ide-international.org/Page.asp?NavID=210 Cambodia IDE: www.ide-international.org/Page.asp?NavID=210 Myanmar edwards@mandalay.net.mm Yemen : www.gtz.de (sammirab@yahoo.com) Kenya : chujioceramics@gmail.com Benin: Songhai Centre: centre_songhai@yahoo.fr Colombia: Oxfam/UK FVidal@oxfam.org.uk Tanzania (Tabora)Rainer und Gabi Bacher" USA, California :jonfwilliams@gmail.com Canada: www.potterswithoutborders.org Somaliland (German Red Cross) Nigeria (Princeton University) soboyejo@Princeton.EDU Partnering organizations: Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - To make a real dent in the UN Millennium Goals MDG 7 target 10) in each country that a production facility exists. See example of calculation per country, below.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - To date over 1.5 million people are using or have used the filter worldwide and this number is growing.
We will try to meet the Millennium Goals for each country that a production facility is present.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - - Number of new trainings and production facilities
- Number of sustainable factories that keep producing each year. - Increase in sales to the general public, public institutions and NGO’s - Increase in daily filter production per facility -Over 40 field , laboratory and impact Studies carried out by MIT, University or Colorado, Princeton, Tulane, University of Virginia, University, University of Colorado, Princeton, Tulane, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Wisconsin, John Hopkins School of Public Health, Harvard, Oxford, University of Cambridge, Bristol, USAID, UNICEF, Red Cross , And more, have studied the effectiveness of the filter which leads to improved at the community level.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - 1) The organizations (shareholders) that participate in the Social Franchise
2) The organizations and their employees that produce and market the ceramic water filter 3) The local populations (end user) that use the filter to make their drinking water potable . 4) The nations that have a healthier population: How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - PFP is a grassroots organization; our North American members donate pottery they make themselves which in turn is sold at local street fairs throughout the US. We take this opportunity to offer the general public information on PFP objectives and work.
These funds make up our yearly budget. PFP also receives small donations from foundations, churches and donors to carry out our technical assistance and training work. All investments for local filter production facilities (equipment etc) must be provided by the local partner.. This includes PFP transportation to the site, room and board during the 3 week training. If local partners can pay a training fee this is charged on a sliding scale. Studies and research on the technology are all financed by partnering Universities. Provide information on your finances and organization: - Current Annual budget (2007 fiscal year)?
Annual budget for the past 1-2 years (2006 and 2005)? Annual revenue generated? What are your current sources and/or streams of revenue? Do you currently have sources of earned income (examples?); If not, why? 2006 Income $94,005 / 2006 Expenses $72,732 2007 Income $111,216 / 2007 Expenses - $104,113 2008 Proposed budget-income $106,000 2007 / Proposed Expenses $104,000 Income is generated by donors (30%), grants (30%) and fund raiser sales (40%) What is the potential demand for your innovation? - How do you estimate this demand?
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers): Example: To meet the MDG, Nigeria must provide 1,866 new people a day with safe water for the next 8 years. Estimating a family of 5 using one filter, 375 families a day must be served. If we could produce this amount of filters (very do able) and get them to the people who need them we could put a dent in those requirement in a sustainable way. Staff: one full time staff, one ½ time staff, sporadic volunteers, sporadic What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - Since most of the partners are already sustainable pottery producers they are also interested in making the filter production a lucrative form of income generation. The principle barrier is the high costs of promotion and marketing of the product that if added to the costing of the filtering unit can distance the filter from the people it was designed to serve.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - 2000 - PFP under demands for a low cost, effective and mass produced filter for use with the Hurricane Mitch disaster victims, changes the original hand made filter design (invented by Guatemala chemist : Fernando Mazariegos) to a semi-industrial hydraulic method , standardizing its shape and size. The initial idea for the transfer of technology to other countries utilizing a Social Franchise system starts to evolve.
2001- Daniele Latange / MIT with USAID funding carries out a 200 page study on the effectiveness of the filter. To date forty more studies have been carried out by 15 Universities in the US, UK, Canada and local.. 2002- Partners trained in Honduras, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Cuba 2003 The Practica/Foundation (Holland) supports international promotional efforts: participation in World Water Forum, Kyoto. Partners trained in Mexico, Nepal, Guatemala, Ghana 2004- Cambodian Red Cross/ IDE awarded the World Bank Marketplace grant to produce the filter. 2005- CT Filtron/Ghana awarded the local World Bank Marketplace Grant. 2006: Academy of Science selects filter for “Mobilizing Science-based Enterprises” http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11997, 2007: The Smithsonian Institution selects filter for “Design For The Other 90% “. UNICEF funds an extensive study on the filter. Urs Heirling publishes: ‘Why is so Hard to Bring Safe Water to the Poor and so Profitable to Sell it to the Rich? Recognizing the technology as a significant cost/effective solution. The WHO publishes : http://www.who.int/household_water/advocacy/combating_disease/en/index.html 2008- The CDC publishes Technology Updates on the filter. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Ron Rivera
Sociologist, potter and appropriate technology enthusiast. Learned how to make the original hand made ceramic filter from Guatemalan inventor Fernando Mazariegos in 1984. Since then he turned the hand made model into a semi- Industrially manufactured Ceramic Weapon of Mass Bacterial destruction through Potters for Peace and its partners it is now being produced in 19 countries. He is 59 and hopes to help establish at least 100 such locally owned self sustaining factories by 2020. Contact Information:
Ron Rivera
International coordinator Potters for Peace (NGO) Discussions about this entry
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Ceramic Weapons of Mass Bacterial Destruction: produced locally to help make water potable at the household level, worldwide.
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Ron, I am so glad to see that you will be at the UNICEF meeting in New York on May the first. I have wanted to meet you for along time now.
I hope you are the top innovation in the changmakers competition you have worked hard for many years and have achieved so much, and helped so many with your Filter.
Look forward to seeing you.
Cordially,
Charles Veach
Sr. Director
World Health Alliance International.
"Purifying the world one drop at a time"
For sure, the US Embassy in Moldova has lost it’s interest in implementing this project.
We are very interested in partnering with a local established pottery producer in Republic of Moldova. Good luck!
Petru Botnaru
Good work, the idea is an ancient concept that can still be effective.
Best
Edwin
Hi Ron,
It seems like your initiative is both sustainable and has had a significant impact on communities globally. I am very interested in the web-based mechanism by which you provide feasibility support, technical assistance, and other information. Could you elaborate on this aspect of Potters for Peace?
Thanks!
Samit Shah
Samit…good to hear from you.
To offer you an example of how we offer Technical Assistance over the internet:
Yesterday morning we got an e-mail from a new group in Peru who learned to make the filters over the internet (without in-house training from PFP) but had problems with filtration rates. We asked for precise explanations and pictures of the problem, they sent them and we were able to identify what the problem was and offered alternatives to resolving it in a matter of minutes.
We share equipment diagrams, photos, videos, studies, production manuals, hygiene promotional material, Flip charts, Posters and Power Point Presentations in Spanish and English, share supplier addresses , filter instructional material in English, French, Spanish, Swahili , Portuguese and Arabic.
We offer draft project presentations to our partners so they can use as a model to then send out to potential funders of their project, we offer referrals to others when the topic requires more input or expertise and can help set up visits to the existing filter workshops.
We can even send some possible filter t-shirt designs and posters.
The bottom line is, if there are more sustainable filter production facilities producing more filters, promoting their use and selling them with hygiene education, there will be more families with potable water and maybe we could meet the US MDG for potable water, worldwide.
We share the information with private enterprise, Universities, churches, research institutes, local and international NGO’s , other filter producers, UN and World Bank, Appropriate Technology enthusiasts around the world and even the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Peace
Ron
PS… I forgot to mention, we offer all the above for FREE and accept donations and periodic consultancy work to fund our work.
Ron Rivera
International Coordinator
Ceramic Water Filter Program
Potters For Peace www.pottersforpeace.org
Managua, Nicaragua
tel: 505 277 3807
pottersforpeace@yahoo.com
PFP is a Member of The
Hi Ron,
Interesting title..
I've noticed that your signature innovation is the Ceramic Weapons of Mass Bacterial Destruction: produced locally to help make water potable at the household level, worldwide.
Relate to the comment from Brian of Water Washer, I'd like to ask whether you have the laboratory analysis result regarding the coliform concentration of the water.
I have no chance yet to meet Peter Bleecke buut will try to arrange it next week.
regards,
yuyun
Hi and thank you for your response:
You can see some of the testing at :
http://s189535770.onlinehome.us/pottersforpeace/?page_id=25
and if you e-mail me I could send you another document with the breakdown of the bacteria and amount spiked at the laboratory for the testing. Feel free to write the authors of the studies.
Peace
Ron Rivera
International Coordinator
Ceramic Water Filter Program
Potters For Peace www.pottersforpeace.org
Managua, Nicaragua
tel: 505 277 3807
pottersforpeace@yahoo.com
Member :http://www.who.int/household_water/en/
Hi Ron,
Very interesting...I didn't pick up from the video the method your products use to kill or eliminate pathogens...can you let me know? Are you aware of http://www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html and its low cost potential for such efforts? Also, have you read about the Water Straw... http://www.gizmag.com/go/4418/
Thank you,
Brian
Brian
Good to hear from you. To answer your question:. The ceramic filter has two lines of defense the first being the pore size of the filtering elements that are from 6 micros down to 1 micron or less. The bacteria cannot go through them. The second line of defense is the colloidal silver in the walls of the filter that inactivate the electric charges of the bacteria. If you write me I can send you the official CDC write up on the Filter and an 80 page mathematical model prepared by the University of Colorado on how the filter works. More studies are found on our web site.
The CS that mentioned at http://www.silver-colloids.com/Reports/reports.html is really directed toward human consumption. The CS we use is of industrial quality and is much stronger but the silver stays in the pores and is not released into the filtered water.
As for the Life Straw, it’s an amazing breakthrough, I hope it can me produced and distributed world wide at a low low price ASAP so I can go back to being a potter again (smile).
Peace
Ron Rivera
International Coordinator
Ceramic Water Filter Program
Potters For Peace www.pottersforpeace.org
Managua, Nicaragua
tel: 505 277 3807
pottersforpeace@yahoo.com
PFP is a Member of The International Network to Promote H
Hi Ron--
Have you looked through the various "competitors?" I know there is at least one other participant who is promoting the benefits of silver-colloids and there are multiple folks who are working on different designs for pottery filtration units...some of those designs are very attractive.
Sorry, don't think you get to go back and "just be a potter" (ha).
Thanks for all your contributions and best wishes.
Brian
Hello Ron,
Creative title! Its great that you have so many partners and as especially trying to reach out to Universities. I like the fact that you are working to make your technology available in an open-source format so that others can start up similar production.
It seems as though you have a very small staff for all the work that you are doing. Is there anyway that you could train and employ locals to assist you with achieving your goals?
Thanks for updating your bio section.
Dana Frasz
Changemakers
Greetings and thank you for your comments. In fact, when establishing filter production facilities PFP recommends that the local partners contract employees (when possible) of other filter factories in other countries to participate also. This has happened in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Unfortunately getting entrance Visas have been impossible in the case of Ecuadorians to Nicaragua and Indians to Ghana.
We have also been lucky to be able to have interchanges between the Kenya factory owner and the Nicaragua factory, a Partner from Nigeria visited the factory in Ghana, The Bali and Sri Lankan partner visited the Cambodian factories, the Colombian partner visited the factory in Nicaragua, so did the partner from the Dominican Republic and the partner from Cuba.
To date the equipment to produce the filter (molds and presses) can be ordered from private workshops in Holland, Cambodia, Ghana, Nicaragua, and Kenya and soon in Benin. Or you can download the plans and have a professional mechanic make one for you locally.
As for more trainers we are presently a team of 6 trainers, most are volunteers and the local partners in each country pays them (on a sliding scale) for the 3-4 week training , besides also paying for lodging ,meals, translator when necessary and r/t flight to the partners country.
I hope I have answered your questions.
Peace
Ron Rivera
International Coordinator
Ceramic Water Filter Program
Potters For Peace www.pottersforpeace.org
Managua, Nicaragua
tel: 505 277 3807
pottersforpeace@yahoo.com