Enactus is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action. The student chapter of Enactus at the University of Regensburg in Germany implemented a Wood Mold BioSand Filter project in Kajiado County, Kenya. Their project is called HydroSolution.
After doing some testing in Germany on various kinds of BSFs (like plastic and steel), the HydroSolution team decided that concrete BSFs were most appropriate for their target community. They had doubts about the ability to find a skilled welder near their community and cost was also a concern. After conducting some online research, they discovered that the Wood Mold could be a viable option for their project. The team made a sample Wood Mold in Germany before going to Kenya to train their partners.
HydroSolution built two Wood Molds, which over six months produced 24 BSFs that have been installed in several schools. Before the BSFs were installed, the students at the schools did not have any access to clean water while they were at school. Now, groups of students collect water in the morning so that everyone has clean water throughout the school day.
HydroSolution has done regular water quality testing throughout their project and found that the BSFs are removing 90-95% of turbidity and 80-90% of e.coli. The team also collected data from one of the schools where 9 of the BSFs were installed; since the filters were installed, absences due to waterborne illnesses have decreased by 80%!
On their latest trip to Kenya in August 2017, the team built a small production facility so the community can continue to make BioSand Filters. They also installed a borehole in the community to provide easier access to water. They plan to continue to monitor the water quality from the BioSand Filters and hope the project will continue to achieve positive results for students in the area.
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