This remind me of our first exercise to be able to live with only 5 gallons of water per day. Watch the great presentation about it and what this organization is doing to promote the access to water as a fundamental right. They talk about the inequality of distribution and the problems of accesibility around the world and you can also suggest how you can impact these issues.
http://www.onedrop.org/en/drop-experience.aspx
By Stella
We all experienced how difficult to get hot water in Chile. I found this video online talks about Solar Water heater in China. And compared with an electric heater, a solar heater in Dezhou, which starts at about US$190, pays for itself in five and a half years.
>-Diane
Chance that a person worldwide lacks adequate drinking water due to socioeconomic conditions: 1 in 6
Estimated portion of all freshwater drawn from U.S. sources each year that is used to cool power plants: 1/2
Percentage of Fortune 1000 companies that say a water shortage would be “severe” or “catastrophic” to their business: 40
Percentage that say they have made preparations for such a shortage: 17
-Penny
I found something interesting….
Clever recycling – solar hot water system made from beer bottles
International blogging sites are all abuzz with this Chinese farmer’s design of this homemade solar hot water system made from beer bottles.
“I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower comfortably,” says Ma Yanjun, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi province, according toAnanova.
His design is constructed from 66 beer bottles attached to a board. The bottles are interconnected with hosepipes to allow water to flow through them. When left in the sun, the water in the bottles will warm up to a sufficient temperature for showering. The system is reported to provide enough water for a family of three to enjoy hot showers.
http://www.thegreenpages.com.au/index.asp?page_id=1167
- Jessica
Through my research I found this organization called “A Single Drop” that offer simple creative solutions to promote social action specifically around water issues.
A Single Drop
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7krj4IqRdZk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
Enjoy, Ramon
I researched this product last year and found it to be pretty interesting, and maybe we can borrow some ideas for our projects.
This is a cool device that uses the energy of kids to pump, and store water. You can learn more about it at the PlayPump website.
Quick Explanation- By spinning the merry-go-round kids draw water up from deep underground into a storage tank above ground. Then with a simple tap water can be access easily.
The idea reminds me of some of the inventions the families implemented to create running water, by elevating buckets overhead and using gravity to pull the water down. I think its an interesting idea to make a difficult task -pumping water- into something fun, so it doesn’t seem like work.
On the “Business Side”, I think we can also learn a bit from the way PlayPump went from concept to implementation- and how they paired their product with businesses and sponsors. The PlayPump has added benefits to the communities that receive the pump (advertising space on the tank, etc..) It seems like they have a multi-tiered system of implementation, perhaps we can use the same type organization.
-Stephanie
IDEO's Human Centered Design Toolkit
“The Human Centered Design (HCD) Toolkit was developed with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help organizations working in the global south better understand the needs of their customers and design innovative solutions for and with their constituents. The HCD Toolkit is a codification of the IDEO process and is specially-designed for NGOs and social enterprises working with communities of need in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.”
Check out IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit that comes in several PDFs that you can download.
Read Alissa Walker’s article for Fast Company to learn about the HCD Toolkit’s background.
Posted by Will
Great tool for letting someone show you their world through their own eyes plus a good way to respect privacy.
from taylor goes to chile blog
[Ill start with my dictionary, "How to Survive in the Chilean Jungle", by John Brennan- an encyclodepia of Chilean slang complete with photo demonstrations and diagrams. This book translates all the R-rated english curse words, but more entertainingly it defines the "Chileanismos" or the slang terms that are only understood here in Chile. A few of my favorites include "perro muertro", which translates to the act of dinning and dashing and "A lo gringo", which means you´ve forgotten to put on underpants. Why Chileans would relate the Gringos with forgotten underpants is beyond me. This brings me to the word "Weon" (pronounced WAY-OWN), which Brennan describes as, "Chile´s prized addition to the Spanish language". When you call someone a "weon", youre calling them an idiot, but its used more like the words "dude" or "man". I couldn´t even count how many times its used in simple conversation, but literally every sentance begins and ends with "weon" and for girls "weona". ]