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Phase: Evaluation

Driving climate action through resilient water Infrastructure through new water and climate financing options for local action

Building sustainable, resilient, repairable, water and sanitation infrastructure for the people at the last mile.

Photo of martin kiyeng
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How does your idea apply new technologies to make agriculture and water systems more resilient in the face of climate threats?

it’s the incorporation of the machine learning and predictive analytics providing insights on real-time information through a cloud system of water situations thus integrating both technical and human-centered design challenge from the use of sensors.we are providing a water contamination, recontaminant and finally water use detecting which is enabled via sophisticated algorithm and predictive analytics.To provudereal time information through a'' google map like" cloud information for decision

What early, lightweight experiment might you try out in your own community to find out if the idea will meet your expectations?

By using the lean approach in working out the system and making the solution out of the user.

We are excited to learn about ideas at diverse stages of development. At what stage would you currently classify your idea as? (multiple choice)

  • Research & Early Testing: I am exploring my idea, gathering the inspiration and information I need to test it with real users.

How do you plan to grow or scale this idea?

Currently i am working utilizing the innovation Hub here in Nairobi and working close collaboratively with Research institution and University.Having units in four pilot locations by the end of this year, with additional 50 units by November 2017.Commit with MFIs, NGOs and distributors to discuss the optimal roll out strategy based on rigorous testing and validation of a ' Micro payment model’enabled through GPS/GIS technology.Then scale-up and scale-out our solution.

What skills, input or guidance from the OpenIDEO community would be most helpful in building out or refining your idea?

Getting of tangible feedback and Understanding better how to implement programs to address equity, economics, or education and also gain perspective to identify common threads, new challenges, and new solutions.Not only solve problems but to analyse issues with the perspective of human centered design

This idea emerged from:

This has been from an underlying problem that my community is facing at home with access to water and clean water and its intergration to agriculture because of the people who majority are the bottom of the pyramid.More so to make the matter worse its the worsening situation drought crisis in my region in Kenya.There is need to develop climate resilient solution to tackle climate change solution at household level.Their is need for social,cultural and environmental cohesiveness.

Tell us about your work experience:

I have experience in design and research,worked for more than five years in Non-governmental organisation that is why i am attached to community issues now i am a team member of a social enterprise start-up successfully running for the last three years and now Eco-innovation emerging .

Attachments (1)

ECO-innovation commucation system.pptx

COMMUNICATTION MODULE

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Photo of Carolee Uits
Team

I am from the How To Introduce And Maintain Resilient, Sustainable Climate Change Agriculture & Water System Solutions Through Third World Villagers challenge article. Working with regional and local people to introduce technologies is what I do. Feel free to address comments to me since we probably have answers both ways.
I too am establishing an innovation hub in Bukoba, NW Tanzania (we are neighbors!) and are beginning to have drier weather intermittant with seasons of extreme flooding and winds. Our largest problem is during dry seasons - and the problem of women and girls searching for water after our rooftop rainwater is gone. I have been able to find a means to chlorinate the water ($50 US for a total of about 15,000 people each) but the problem is access to water. There are no wells to speak of and streams are intermittent.  Do you work with drilling? I'd love to find a way to get the water closer to the villages. The region is on Lake Victoria but the drop-off into the lake is often over a hundred feet of limestone cliffs, and so people seek streams. What is your solution? Since this challenge is about to end, please feel free to contact me by email after the challenge is over @ uitsca7@gmail.com. Thanks, God Bless/Asante! Carolee Uits

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Photo of martin kiyeng
Team

Currently as part of the product we are developing the SMS platform to communities in water scarce areas to locate and access the nearest water point and the nearest water point and if it has water.This makes it easier for a communities to easily access water in this region because they know the place through them accessing through the phone.More so other aspect its not just the access but more so notifying them on the water quantity and more so the water quality this will be enable by the sensor that are connected with water.You asked me on people who drill we are building this system for Ngo's,global actors,the government among others not forgetting the household in an effort to enhance the monitoring and evaluation which is a miss,In the last 20 years, 600,000–800,000 hand pumps have been installed in sub-Saharan Africa, of which some 30 percent are known to fail prematurely, representing a total failed investment of between $1.2 and $1.5 billion this is report according to world bank.We aim at bridging and closing the gap and losses.I will be sure to keep you posted.Thank you so much for the comment.

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Photo of Carolee Uits
Team

Martin, thanks for responding.
I like your SMS idea. While definitely not all people have cell phones, many, even in the villages do - although reception is often non-existent or very poor. The problem is also access. The roads are absolutely lousy in the dry seasons. Big potholes turn autos upside down or destroy shafts. A few people own bikes and use them as water transporters. With the mountains we are in, they are few in comparison to the need. This leaves walking - 3+ hours in the good seasons. So maybe, once we have the SMS it will help some. We have limestone under our feet throughout the region and so, there must be water deep down somewhere closer. What we are looking for is a cheaper and more accessible well-drilling process.

While surface water will last for awhile because of the clay deposits, the pans do not last long and digging works for only a short while ( a village may have 6,000-15,000 people relying on them)

Each year, there are one or two well-drilling volunteer teams drilling 2-3 wells each year - in an area the size of Ohio in the USA. The costs, when I enquire are around $20,000 USD and more - each.
If this information further assists you, good. I look forward to other solutions. Right now, I do stop-gap chlorination of the totally unsafe water that many places can keep going year-long. We strain the mud with fabric - not optimal and still not tasty - but at least 3-5 babies might live to age 5 this way.
Thanks Martin for your willingness to keep the correspondence and future information flowing.
Carolee

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Photo of martin kiyeng
Team

Carolee
Really appreciate your response,on using our machine learning water use and reuse our objective is to improve the performance of water supply, for the benefit of both the water supplier and the user.Eco innovation seek to generate the data-driven operational visibility required to make the most effective improvements to the water supply networks and service.We also seeks to help the citizens to make the most of the intermittent supply they receive, by communicating information on supply schedule and by gaining feedback on the quality of supply received.This incorporate water control for example agriculture water supply.We are mostly open on utilization of available resources considering the local context before designing and launching a safe water intervention. We adhere to the inherent concerns of clean water treatment practice especially time and effort taken for proper use of the treatment in household, cultural and use issues. But we are much aware partnerships are required for initial installation and early operational costs in until the value of the service has been proven sufficiently to attract long-term and self-sustaining local utility partnership.Our solution seek to go beyond water treatment that is water quality, quantity target, water supply and protecting public health(via a sophisticated predictive algorithm in detecting recontamination and contamination ). This demonstrate out a need to identify the validity of a broader menu focusing on building social cohesion and resilient.

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Photo of Carolee Uits
Team

Martin!
Yes, water is such an issue! I work with village leaders who in turn pull their entire communities together to implement solutions to their greatest needs.
In response to how to make the best use of water while it exists, we have tried many things. None of this includes digging wells (the water is too deep for most drilling projects – which are expensive, few and far between.
1. We encourage damming water up. The smallest stream can be the way the water comes. The dam can be very simple but effective for at least more of the year. Men also go to wherever there IS water and bring back fish alive – so that they can spawn and end up giving more protein to the diets of people (or selling them but this is hard since ponds become over-fished quickly). A good rain can fill up large containers which can last for some time and save women/girls (mostly) from water searches and lost time at school, or in dong other activities.
2. We encourage roof-top water harvesting. Since people are increasingly using corrugated metal roofs, we help create simple gutters of the tin to gather the rainfall and bring them down to the side of the house into barrels – or if there is enough wealth, to a large water storage made of cement. Etc. There are some excellent models (and plans) especially on the web related to water storage efforts in India
3. For safe water, we were using a kidney dialysis filter converted for water – but found these are too expensive. Now we use a small amount of water +salt with an electric shock from a motorcycle battery (12 volt) to make chlorine (full strength was used in the ebola breakout). 4 drops of that per gallon makes safe water. This costs us $50 per whole village – and even, if someone makes lot of it, in small towns. If there are extra units, this can be used even for even small and larger cities!. Introduction is being done by 3 hours of teaching of women (or men) where they also learn WASH and applications for using the water/ chlorine for bathroom and sanitation use, drinking water, and sterilization of hospitals etc. This thus helps us focus on the issues of recontamination. Since we work with health workers, they can continue to work with people in the future to re-teach and ensure proper water-handling for ensuring safety in water use related to drinking, cooking, washing dishes, etc. etc. plus water storage and necessary use of soap and water for cleanliness in bathroom, cooking, and eating habits

This is a basis for businesses, but we have found that this process can ensure that the women can establish their own distribution systems through their places of worship, schools etc. so that EVERYONE has a fresh and abundant supply of this water purification. We also teach how to remove turbidity (dirt) from the water so that the taste greatly improves. This added process also removes cysts and parasites plus stopping ALL waterborne diseases. In our area, before the introduction of safe water, 3 of 5 live-birth children died by the time they were 5 from waterborne diseases. Now in areas with clean water, medical clinics etc. are reporting NO deaths from this cause (IF) families use safe water.!!! This is in rural Tanzania – and culture has actually helped us since there is the desire to protect family and a sense of local responsibility to each other.

I hope this helps. Feel free to write back to my email at uitsvca7@gmail.com
God Bless You - Carolee Uits  Growing Communities "for resilient sustainability!"

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