Unsafe drinking water is the second leading contributor to the spread of disease in Kenya, with 32% of the population relying on unsanitised water sources, such as ponds, shallow wells, and rivers, for drinking. Sanitation is particularly problematic in rural areas and urban slums, where people are often unable to connect to piped water infrastructure. To get clean water for drinking and cooking, most Kenyans boil water to purify it. However, they often use woody biomass as the main energy source - which is resulting in the severe loss of humid primary forest in the country.
As these filters do not require any energy inputs or consumables, they both increase access to safe drinking water and reduce the consumption of woody fuels previously required to treat drinking water. This generates the dual environmental benefits of avoiding land degradation, by reducing deforestation and preventing greenhouse gas emissions from being released whilst burning biomass. Significant social benefits include the reduction of water-borne diseases and improvement of health amongst the Kenyan population.
benefit from the water purifiers, improving the livelihoods of communities
distributed and in use by households
are employed by the project, 50% of which are women
on average annually
