|
>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: ECCOZONE S.A.
Field of Work - Water
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - We aim to provide healthy water to remote communities in South America with no access to potable water.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - Our equipment is based on ozone, no additives, chemicals or other materials needed. The equipment is practically maintenance free, operation is easy and automatic, and safeguards are simple and effective. It has been built for extreme conditions in remote locations where many times you have to reach the community by horse or donkey. We have 56 of these systems installed and working and other 30 ready to be installed but waiting for the rainy season to end.
Laboratory test are done on the treated water to show bacteria, e-coly and coliform free (see presentation). The purified water has neutralized many diseases in the most vulnerable sector of the communities, children and advanced age people. Other systems like Chlorination need chemicals that at times are impossible to be deliver to these communities, these chemicals are EPA prohibited because they react with organic materials and form cancer causing components. No virus, bacteria, fungus... etc. will survive the action of ozone. Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - We study the different alternative of ozone production and we developed equipment that is strong, safe, simple, friendly, inexpensive and effective that conditions. Because of the easy acquisition and low cost, many communities that have no safe water, can now, get their wish for a better and healthy life, In Ecuador, the Provincial Council chooses de communities each year. We installed equipment by groups to facilitate installation and maintenance service The only required item is electricity, the community builds the well and the government with the help of a foundation will provide the reservoir for the water to be treated including the pumps to extract the water from the well. Some governments prefer to get a turnkey solution by ECCOZONE S.A. once the community has built the well. A plastic tank will be use to keep the cost down. We are planning to develop a system using solar energy for even more remote communities without electricity.will work efficiently for a very long time in harsh
How do you plan to expand your innovation? - Currently we are finding ways to partner with NGO’s and civil society institutions such as churches in order to avoid the corruption issue in the public sector and still reach areas where water is one of the main health problems. In the future we would like to work with governments that show real commitment to this important issue and are ready to work without personal interest. As a matter of fact we have started to make contact with local governments in Colombia and churches in the United States.
An important factor of success of our systems is to have local people ready to deal with maintenance issues and any eventualities related to our equipments, that is why forming teams of local technicians and training local people is an integral part of our alternative. We plan to offer our technology to Foundations, churches, Non Government Organizations and Governments of countries where water is one of the main health problems. We will form teams of technicians in all the countries and regions where the project finds popularity to guarantee success. For example in the province of Manabi, Ecuador we have a team of 5 people that takes care of all the issues related to installations and maintenance, verifying operation to 100%. They have the equipment and monitors required to evaluate the equipment functionality and the water quality. One of the most important aspects of our mission is to install a product that will last and can be updated with little effort, which will have permanence and future. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - What type of partnerships to do need? No, we don't have formal partnerships, we are a company ECCOZONE S.A. and members are family only.
We developped the product with the down payment of each project. We would like to work with counterparts that guarantee the availability of funds for the complete implementation of our alternatives. At the moment our main vehicle of promotion is word of mouth thanks to the efficiency of our product Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - Our intention is to provide an affordable solution, which requires very low maintenance and is easy to implement in a wide manner and reach communities that are in need of healthy water and have traditionally been ignored by local governments and institutions. Our smallest solution provides healthy water for 20 families; other solutions are developed for bigger communities
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - We have built 3 systems for 1,000, 2,500 and 250,000 people with very good results. These systems where bid several thousand dollars more than our solution, making it possible for people to have water treated the right and healthy way in a very cost effective way for local governments.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - We have reports of doctors in remote medical centers of decreasing occurrences of gastric diseases and skin problems. Also teachers have notice less absences of school age children in their classrooms.
We estimate that the school absense has decreased 30%, the gastroinstestinal and skin disceaces 40%. The implementation of this project in a complete manner will increase these figures in 100% and morethan 500,000 families will beneffit only in Ecuador
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - People in remote locations, rural areas in third world countries that consume water with no treatment or inadequate treatment
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - So far we have worked with local governments which provide partial payment at the signing of the contract, with that money we build the equipment, install and order water tests to show results, once the results are achieved we get the final payment. We help finance the projects with our personal credit cards.
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? 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? We have double our gross income each year since 2003, doing business with private industries and some government, a list is attached. What is the potential demand for your innovation? - How do you estimate this demand?
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers): The potential demand consists on 100,000 families with an average of 5 family members in coastal Ecuador and 500,000 families in the Ecuadorian highlands as immediate target groups. We estimate that in a near future we can meet the demand of 600,000 families in the rest of rural Ecuador and 2’000.000 families in rural Colombia if funding is available. We employed 6 people for 1 year to build 86 small systems 2 medium and one large system, this is a manual construction. If we can industrialize production we can build 100 systems a day with 20 employees. Presently we have 6 technicians, they train a group in charge of the water plant on each community, these people learn everything about ozone, the system and how to take care of the operation and basic maintenance. As our project grows we increase the number of technicians, at the beginning (2003) there was only one. Each community contributes with volunteers to build the well and we can use plastic tanks as water reservoirs for treatment and distribution to the town. What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - The lack of political stability and corruption are the main barriers when working with public institutions.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - 30 years ago, we investigated the best alternative to treat water in oil fields in the Colombian jungle. we came to the conclusion that the ozone was the best and more practical alternative for a remote site; no transportation of materials needed after the initial installation and it complies with EPA and FDA. This system has been used in Europe for more than 100 years.
The difficult situation in Colombia in the 1980’s forced us to migrate to Ecuador in search of a better place to raise the kids. There I worked with several communities in different projects related to sustainable development. Some colleges of mine were trying to introduce a project for rural communities in sustainable energy sources, they called me and asked me my opinion, I though that healthy water could be as important or more as having energy and both projects could go hand and hand. Where energy was already there all they needed was inexpensive equipment to purify it. They I suggested this project to the Manabi Provincial Council, they accepted the challenge. Now they are ready to implement the next 231 systems this year. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Gabriel Augusto Jaramillo Mejia
Born in Ginebra, Valle, Colombia 1945 Business Administration Graduate Studies in Industrial Engineer and Accounting Specialty in Resource Evaluation and Project Structure and Management Study Ozone for 30 years evaluating all the production techniques and alternatives especially for harsh operating conditions in tropical countries. Has installed ozone plants on several fish packing plants in Manta, Ecuador, to treat wastewater, process water and ambients. Also worked with hospitals and doctors to create an ozone medical system that is in many private clinics, doctor’s offices and specially hospitals. Worked with operation smile as volunteers to keep these operations infection free. Contact Information:
Gabriel Jaramillo
President ECCOZONE S.A. (Individual Society) Discussions about this entry |
Healthy Water for ALL, From cane homes to caverns
|
|
Los trabajos realizados por ECCOZONE en ecuador, en la provincia de manabi, son de gran beneficio para las personas de comunidades que siempre han sufrido por las malas condisiones del agua de uso diario, las consecuensias del consumo son muy desagradables por que su impacto destructivo es a nivel de la salud de las personas, siendo los mas afectados los niños, produciendo infecciones estomacales ..Se pueden ver los cambios asombrosos al tratar el agua con ozono, estas pobres personas ya no padecen de estas afectaciones! ES GENIAL ESTE TRABAJO QUE SE REALIZA EN ECUADOR POR ECCOZONE!
Los felicito! ojala se instaure este metodo de purificacion de agua con ozono en muchas, o todas, ciudades de manabi y porque no de todo el ecuador.
¡Felicitaciones Gabriel Jaramillo y Olga Lucia Botero!
This proyect cough my attention, it looks simple, viable and inexpensive. This is just what governments need to be able to give healthy water to the most forgotten communities, the bulnerable kids that live in rural areas and maybe will never get to be adults. Or think about the advance age people that maybe will never have the chance to have grand children.
I have lived in south america for many years and I would be very enthusiastic to help in whatever way possible to make sure projects like this get a chance.
He tenido la oportunidad de conocer de cerca la tarea que ha realizado Gabriel Jaramillo con su Empresa Eccozone S.A. en poblaciones del Ecuador y en verdad es asombroso lo efectivo, facil y econòmico que resulta manejar estos equipos para acueductos de poblaciones del tercer mundo.
Siendo Colombiano el Ingeniero Jaramillo, serìa muy bueno que pudiera venir a Colombia con unos recursos que le permitan poner un acueducto modelo en una poblaciòn, para que asì el mismo gobierno pueda acompañar muchos màs proyectos hasta cubrir las zonas màs desprotegidas del territorio Colombiano.
Entre ellos y de los màs desprotegidos, estan " los llanos Orientales ", Departamentos del Meta, Guaviare, Guaynia, Casanare, Arauca y Vichada con cerca de tres millones de habitantes.
Cerca a esta ùltima existen poblaciones como Puerto Gaitan, donde existen 16 resguardos Indigenas con miles de personas que apenas estan integrandose a la civilizaciòn, ! en pleno siglo XXI ...! necesitados especialmente de conservar lo mejor de su idiosincracia pero con ayuda de los blancos para protegerse de los contaminantes que les llegan a traves de las mismas cuencas de los rìos, por efecto de las ciudades y la civilizaciòn deteriorante actual.
Felicito a Changemakers por producir estas oportunidades de ayuda mundial y felicito tambièn a Eccozone S.A. porque su invento puede contribuir a cambiar el destino humano respecto al agua.
Atentamente,
Margarita Botero Zuloaga.
Desde Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia, Sur America.
I read with much interest your project, mainly because you offer an easy and effective solution to the problemas that some isolated communities face in terms of having access to potable water.
In the department of Chocó, in Colombia, for example, this type of project can be very useful.
In chocó there has been a recent crisis of health among the children because of malnutrition and other diseases related to their lack of access to drinking water. This region has not had aqueduct for decades, not only because it is a very isolated area, with deep jungle, but also because local governmentes and their corruption have allocated the budget in personal interests.
Your proposal could be very useful for this region.
For how long can a community count with this equipment?