How To Get Water To Urban Slums

Transcription

1 Access to Safe Water for the Bottom of Pyramid: Strategies for Disseminating Technology Research Benefits Second Half Yearly Progress Report Submitted to Abercrombie House, Eaglesham Road, East Kilbride, G75 8EA Submitted by Society for Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA) B-32, TARA Crescent Road, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi , India

2 Background New and emerging technologies such as nanotechnology have the potential to revolutionize the way we address poverty alleviation and access to water. The challenge lies in taking these technologies from the laboratory to the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). In an initiative supported by The Department for International Development (DFID), UK, the Development Alternatives (DA) Group seeks to address this challenge. Phase 1 of the study provided a good understanding of the issues that prevent these technologies from benefiting the masses especially with respect to providing access to safe drinking water. In Phase 2, current phase, the focus is on an action research that will seek to demonstrate these delivery models and packaging studies among the BoP section with the aim of ensuring that a minimum of 1000 HH can access safe water through the intervention. In this context the project envisions: Technology Packaging of existing nanosilver based products for BoP markets. Developing innovative communication tools for awareness, behavior change and demand generation. Piloting unique and innovative partnerships and service delivery models (2-3) and test their potential for scale up. Developing a package of practices incorporating inputs for risk management for nanotechnology based products to enable development of risk management policies and strategies in all developing countries. Progress to Date The focus of this reporting period was on rolling out the pilot service delivery model in Delhi. The key activities undertaken in this period are described below. Market Study In order to ascertain the most suitable technology and approach to ensure access to safe water to urban slums in the National Capital Region (NCR), a market study was undertaken. The study was carried out in Madanpur Khadar Area where a large concentration of BoP population resides. The survey included Field Research to understand the market dynamics, socio-cultural environment, habitat conditions, water related issues etc. Figure 1 : Map showing study area Qualitative Consumer research was also conducted to get feedback on general water related usage and attitudes, prevailing water impurities in the area, methods for water 1

3 purification adopted in the households and reactions of the stakeholders towards selected nano-technology based water filteration units. Based on the studies, Tata Swach was recommended for pilot testing in Madanpur Khadar area. Some of the critical factors as perceived by users include a sturdy filter with the presence of a storage unit and filters that do not require electricity to be used. Other factors that contribute to the concept of an effective water filter are the rate of filtration, easy of installing the filter, a sturdy knob with a familiar design. Aesthetics and good looks becomes an add on to the appeal. Community Mobilization A well thought communication strategy was framed to strengthen the awareness for clean drinking water in the community. The communication strategy will advocate the following messages: Importance of clean drinking water and its benefits on health Ways to clean water at household level Importance of hygiene and sanitation in household and nearby community Oral, visual, printed and outdoor medium are being used to communicate effectively with the users. As safe water has a direct impact on health and well being of a family, this was decided to be the key message assuming that people will be concerned about their water once they understand this linkage. Hence all the communication material developed for community mobilisers focused on family well-being with a message that Clean water is key to good health and thus family happiness. A manual with basic information on water, ways of treating water at household level and basics of sanitation was shared with community mobilisers. This manual was provided to community mobilisers so that they refer to it while working with the community. The manual is prepared in both English and Hindi language. Posters focusing on ways of treating water and on safe storage of water at household level are stuck at prominent locations in the community. Mobilisers also used Flip Charts to create awareness about 2

4 safe water while working closely with the community. These flip charts provide pictorial representation of the key messages promoted. Roll out of the First Pilot Figure 2 : Snapshots from the field Based on the market study, the approach has been designed. This is currently being rolled out in Madanpur Khadar Area. Given the overall product deliverables across all factors, Service capabilities and Probability of product continuity it is recommended that the TATA Swach Smart filter should be pilot tested in Madanpur Khadar area. With the choice of the product, the business model should ideally be mapped to the actual go-tomarket model of TATA Chemicals. Given that the pilot has to be a market based model and TATA Chemicals presently has the existing distribution and market models it is recommended that the model for pilot should be closely aligned to the same. However, given our understanding of the local conditions a slightly modified model of the existing distributor model is recommended to be taken forward. 3

5 Figure 3: Recommended Business Model for Pilot Testing in Madanpur Khadar This model is recommended for the area because: 1. No Requirement of working capital 2. Linkage with existing distributor of TATA 3. Local delivery by distributors 4. Direct Activation and Training by TATA Chemical 5. Access to Toll free and Free serving by TATA Swach Rakshak. 6. Access to a Local Lead Experience User acquaintance and right next door 7. Local retailer to buy any replacement filters unit/bulbs. The model introduces participation of TATA Swach Lead Experience User (LEU) and Local Retailer for purchasing of Replacement Filter/ Bulb. Involvement of local housewife (also an experienced user of TATA Swach) of the area as LEU will enhance the knowledge of local people, influence their purchasing power and also benefit LEU with additional source of Income. Local retailer for purchasing of Replacement Filter/Bulb shall serve as an ideal agent for distribution because of their existing relationship with client, easy accessibility, low/no working capital requirement, low space requirements to stock the units, higher margins as compared to other products. Second Pilot Prototype Along side, the team is also working on designing the second pilot. This pilot is based in Bihar focusing on the Arsenic affected regions. Bihar is one of the worst affected states of arsenic contamination in ground water. According to Central Ground Water Board, out of 37 districts of Bihar, 15 districts have been reported with groundwater arsenic content greater than the desirable limit of 0.05 mg/l. With concern to the above issues in Bihar, nano-technology based arsenic removal filtration system has been opted. Nano-technology has been reported to outperform the old technology. For fluoride and arsenic removal nano-material performs 25 times better 4

6 over activated alumina and for arsenic removal they are 10 times better than commercial ferric hydroxide. Considering these benefits, the nano-technology based water filter called AMRIT, developed by Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT, M) has been selected. IIT M has been recognized as one of the globally renowned practitioners working extensively in providing nanotechnology based surface water solutions. Figure 4 : AMRIT Arsenic Filter by Indian Institute of Technology, Madras AMRIT has been developed by Professor T. Pradeep and his colleagues. The technology has undergone exhaustive lab validation at IITM and they are now preparing for NSF Certification for the technology. AMRIT is a storage type facility. It uses nanoscale iron oxyhydroxide, prepared with a particle size less than 3 nm. The choice of iron based compounds is based on the fact that they are commonly found in water. Apart from the arsenic removal, the filter also aids in effective removal of turbidity and iron from water, due to incorporation of porous terafil cartridge developed by CSIR. IIT has developed both community and household level filter cartridges. These will be packaged in containers and used in the pilot. The basis for installation of these filters is their technical performance as they can handle input load of 1 ppm of arsenic (equally well for both forms of arsenic, As3+ and As5+) and bring the output below the detection limit (<1 ppb),their affordability (arsenic removal at 2 paisa/liter can be achieved on large scale dissemination), easy maintenance (required once a week), appreciable working life cycle of 1 year without any component replacement and reasonably good filtration rate of 50 ml/min for household filters and 1-2L/min for community filter. Moreover, as per IITM the filter material does not pose any environmental risk and in order to ensure environmental safe disposal of arsenic laden material of the filter IIT M shall be providing incentives to local communities for returning the replaced parts. A local partner has been identified to reach out to the communities. The sites shortlisted for the roll out are in the districts of Supaul, West Champaran and Khagariya. 5

7 Research Paper On the knowledge dissemination end, a draft research paper has been prepared. The research paper gives an overview of the Nanotechnology and its application with emphasis on the potential safety, health and environment hazards associated with Nanotechnology and the strategies to mitigate the risk of these hazards. The paper recommends disclosure/labeling as promising methods to mitigate the risk of the nano-technology or nano-material as they create awareness about the contents of the product and safe handling in case of use of hazardous material. Emphasis has also been laid on the regulatory standards for nano-material. In India, currently there are no such standards, however, they are expected to come to force in near future such as Draft for regulating Nanotechnology by Bureau of Indian Standards and Regulatory Guideline for approving Nanotechnology Based Drugs by National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER). The next two quarters the team will focus on the following activities. Roll Out Pilot 1 The key activities are: Next Steps Identification of LEUs and TATA Swach Dealer. Organizing Training for LEU s, executives, promoters and supervisors. Implementation of Sales and Promotion activity which includes Kiosk Activity, Merchandising and Sales Activity and Order Fulfillment. Monitoring, Evaluation and Completion of Report. Roll out Pilot 2 Prior to roll out of the Pilot 2, lab validation studies shall be conducted to assess the suitability and develop the risk management strategies for the prototype water filtration units. The suitable sites for installation of Household and Community based filtration units shall be finalized followed by its implementation, monitoring and feedback studies. Knowledge Dissemination The draft paper will be finalized and shared with experts for their comments. Simultaneously, efforts will be made to explore opportunities for publishing it. 6