Safe water harvester
Developer: Suzie Water Harvesting Company Ltd
Innovation name: Safe water harvester
Tagline: Taking moisture from the air to create clean drinking water
Location: Headquarters in Kampala, Uganda. Mainly working in northern Uganda.
The safe water harvester condenses and filters water vapour in the air to provide safe drinking water
The challenge
In underserved, water scarce areas, such as northern Uganda, collection and purification of water is a time and labour consuming task that often falls to adolescent girls, putting them at risk and preventing them from attending school.
The solution
The safe water harvester is a device that draws in water vapour from the air, and then condenses and filters it to create safe and convenient drinking water. The device can run from mains power or from solar power, and can be placed at strategic locations, such as schools or health centres, to help ensure as many people as possible benefit. It can be made in different sizes, for example a 30-litre household version or a 100-litre school version.
The impact
Since its start in 2021, Suzie Water Harvesting has installed 12 safe water harvesters, mainly the larger versions. This means that over 200 people have benefited, and will continue to benefit, from easy access to drinking water.
The next steps
Suzie Water Harvesting will continue to work on refining its larger units that are suitable for institutions such as schools and health centres. The plan to develop a model that can provide around 200 litres a day.
The team also wants to work with electronics specialists to design add-ons for the device, such as an option to make the unit a ‘pay-to-use’ device and an option that allows remote monitoring of water flow and humidity and remote switch off in the event of problems.
While Suzie Water Harvesting’s focus for now is northern Uganda, in the longer term the enterprise wants to expand to other water scarce areas in Uganda and beyond.
Additional resources
https://twitter.com/waterharvesters
News coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=filphx4ujOE