Let’s examine the current model of providing water to the poor, which faces many challenges:
- Outdated hand pumps that break quickly
- No maintenance due to a focus on installation rather than upkeep
- Minimal to no water filtering (bacteria, toxins, heavy metals)
- Emphasis on short-term solutions, providing water but not necessarily clean water
- Lack of a comprehensive strategy, just patching issues from one place to another
- No change in the situation – perpetual dependence
BONDH-E-SHAMS (The Solar Water Project) – www.bondheshams.org
BES uses rapidly deployable water filtration boxes that can serve a community of up to 5,000 to 10,000 people. They can be set up in under 10 minutes on-site over any existing water source. They provide full filtration tailored to that water source. Expected lifespan is 25+ years.
BES is now developing scalable water plants nationwide that will sell bottled water to the population and use the profits to fund water boxes for villages that cannot afford them. Investors are charities working in that area, receiving a target return of 10% annually on their investment. BES uses this investment to build water plants, creating a source of recurring income.
The charities benefit by not having to use funds for water and receiving a 10% return for their other work. BES gains capital to build the water plants. People in the region help those in need by purchasing water bottles from BES. Profits from the water plants support operations and fund water boxes for villages that cannot afford them. Essentially, charities and locals can now resolve this issue permanently. This becomes a scalable solution because if it works at a city level, it can be expanded to a regional level, utilizing existing resources.
