Let’s examine the current model of providing water to the poor, which presents several challenges:
- Outdated hand pumps that break quickly
- No maintenance due to a focus on installation rather than upkeep
- Minimal water filtering (bacteria, toxins, heavy metals)
- Emphasis on short-term solutions, providing water but not necessarily clean water
- No comprehensive strategy to address the issue, just patching from one place to another
- No change in the situation – continuous dependence
BONDH-E-SHAMS (The Solar Water Project) – www.bondheshams.org
BES uses easily deployable water filtration boxes that can serve a community of 5,000 to 10,000 people. They can be set up in under 10 minutes on-site and over any existing water source. They provide full filtration tailored to that water source. Expected lifespan is over 25 years.
BES is creating scalable water plants nationwide that will sell bottled water to the population and use the profit to fund water boxes for villages that cannot afford them. Investors are charities in that area, who will receive a 10% return in a year for their investment. BES will use that investment to build water plants, creating a source of recurring income.
Charities benefit by not having to use funds for water and receiving a 10% return for their other work. BES gains capital to build water plants. People in the region help others by purchasing water bottles from BES. The profit supports operations and funds water for villages that cannot afford it. This allows charities and people in the area to solve the problem permanently. This is a scalable solution because if it works at the city level, it can be expanded regionally using existing resources.
