The Wello Water Wheel Story : Cynthia Koenig at TEDxGateway

Cynthia talks about the often underestimated problem of water weight and how this problem is preventing millions of women from educating and empowering themselves. She points about the fact that ‘water is heavy’ using real life examples in Rajasnthan, India. Not only is water heavy but also time consuming and limiting women of important opportunities. She talks about her invention “wello” where she & her team have reinvented the wheel. She brings the water wheel on stage, explaining the design and features in this product, allowing the audience to see this easy to use, yet immensely life changing water wheel.

more on YouTube site…

Wello Water Site.

Cynthia’s Profile   on UnreasonableNetwork -(really, a good site)

Other drums solutions 

• The Q Drum
• The hippo Roller
• Aquaport (status unknown after 2010) video

Related articles

• US student offers water drum solution for rural India

• Wello’s WaterWheel – Rolling Towards Healthier Communities (learningaboutsocialenterprise.wordpress.com)
• Social Entrepreneurs That Innovate Around Women And Clean Water (siliconvalleywatcher.com)
• Q-Drum re-invents the wheel by adding water to solve a water transport crisis for the world’s poor.

Construction Technology How-to video’s for Watsan Devices Published on YouTube

An organization out of Germany called EMS has produced and posted on YouTube  a great set of educational videos surrounding the building of  of storage tanks, pumps, solar heater, wells, latrines and many other relate watsan devises.  It is apparent that it comes from their first hand experience:  “More than 10,000 wells have been drilled in South America since introduction of the EMAS concept “assistance to self-help”. EMAS stands for “Escuela Movil Aguas Y Saneamiento Basico” (Mobile school for drinkable water and sanitation) Their home site site is also in Spanish and German

The videos are designed to be understood by watching without use of audio commentary. There are bylines in Spanish and English to introduce a topic and  to indicate time lapsed but that is it.  Music is overlayed with the sounds of sawing  troweling and pumping. They are filmed  in a great style such that one quickly catches on to  concepts.  Obviously, don’t expect to master the skills presented just by watching. There is bound to be some trial and error. The following  list of videos  as of Jan 4 2009. IT looks like it will grow. The videos titled General – introducing the EMAS technologies – part 1 (view below) & part 2 is a great place to start, to see a sampling of what it is all about.

• General – EMAS training center in Puerto Perez, Bolivia
• General – introducing the EMAS technologies – part 1 & part 2
• General – making pipe fittings, air chambers, etc – part 1 & part 2
• Hydroelectricity – small hydroelectric plants – part 1 & part 2
• Irrigation – using a windmill, a pedal powered pump, and drip irrigation
• Irrigation – using a windmill, a pedal powered pump, and drip irrigation – part 1 & part 2
• Kitchen – making a kitchen sink
• Latrines – the EMAS VIP latrine – part 1- part 3
• Pumps – EMAS handpump used in well near the home – part 1 & part 2
• Pumps – EMAS high pressure handpump – part 1- part 5
• Pumps – EMAS high quantity handpump – part 1 – part 5
• Pumps – EMAS hydraulic ram – part 1 & part 2
• Pumps – EMAS pedal-powered pump – part 1 & part 2
• Pumps – standard EMAS handpump using fittings – part 1 – part 3
• Pumps – standard EMAS handpump using pipes – part 1 – part 4
• Pumps – windmill powering EMAS pump – part 1- part 6
• Rainwater harvesting – different rainwater tanks – part 1 – part 3
• Solar heating – hot shower using bottles
• Solar heating – solar water heater – part 1 & part 2
• Solar heating – using the sun to heat a room
• Solar heating – using the sun to heat a room – part 1 – part 5
• Spring catchment – combined with long-distance pumping
• Spring catchment – using PVC tubes
• Storage tanks – Ferrocement tank using inner form – parts 1-3
• Storage tanks – ferrocement tank
• Storage tanks – small ferrocement tank and sink
• Storage tanks – underground cistern in sandy soil – part 1 & part 2
• Water heating – theory of solar water heater – parts 1 -6
• Water treatment – subsurface wetland with greenhouse
• Water treatment – subsurface wetland with greenhouse – part 1 & part 2
• Well drilling – required materials – part 1- part 3
• Well drilling – sludging with temporary casing – part 1- part 3
• Well drilling – standard EMAS method – part 1 & part 2
• Well drilling – suction variant to standard EMAS method – part 1 & part 2
• Wells – improving a existing shallow hand-dug well

They are “Published in cooperation with http://www.akvo.org.“

WHO Technical Notes for Emergencies prepared by WEDC

from WEDC The Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) at Loughborough University

“Please be advised that the latest version of the WHO Technical Notes for Emergencies prepared by WEDC…”

http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/knowledge/notes_emergencies.html

Titles include:

Please click below to view pdfs of the World Health Organization Technical Notes for Emergencies.

1. Cleaning and disinfecting wells
2. Cleaning and disinfecting boreholes
3. Cleaning and disinfecting water storage tanks and tankers
4. Rehabilitating small-scale piped water distribution systems
5. Emergency treatment of drinking water at the point of use
6. Rehabilitating water treatment works after an emergency
7. Solid waste management in emergencies
8. Disposal of dead bodies
9. How much water is needed
10. Hygiene promotion in emergencies
11. Measuring chlorine levels in water supplies
12. Delivering safe water by tanker
13. Planning for excreta disposal in emergencies
14. Technical options for excreta disposal
15. Cleaning wells after seawater flooding

Rainwater Harvesting – Sri Lanka

Notes : the following excepts  are from  the online editon of the Daily News in Sri  Lankana sept 19 2009  Written by Dr Tanuja ARIYANANDA who is is Director, Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum, President, International Rainwater Catchments System Association

Development through rainwater harvesting

Sustainable social and economic development for resettlements in North and East through rainwater harvesting:

Sri Lanka’s three decades of conflict leaves the Northern and Eastern Provinces most affected, with infrastructure and institutions non-functional, homesteads in disrepair, livelihoods destroyed and most people unsettled and many traumatized. Now since the war is over and people and the land is free from the clutches of the terrorist, the battle is now on to rebuild infrastructure and houses, resuscitate the institutions, resettle and rehabilitate the affected and displaced people and help them redevelop their livelihoods.
Roof water harvesting system

It is only through social and economic development in these areas and people we can hope to bring ethnic harmony, trust and mutual respect among all communities to build a united Sri Lanka.

Any development activity cannot be done without water, which is not only a basic need of living beings, but also important for food production, sustenance of biodiversity, ecology and overall health of the environment.

The pressure in the available of water resource is ever increasing due to the rising population, pollution and climate change variability. Therefore, provision of water will be the greatest challenge for development activities in the North and East.

Water resources are limited in the North, Eastern, North Central and North Western Provinces.

Construction of Rainwater Harvesting Tanks lankarainwater.org

Ground water is the only source of water in many of these areas and has also been over exploited. In many areas in the North, North Central and Eastern province and the water contains a high degree of fluoride in ground. Excessive use of agro chemicals and lack of sanitary facilities led to further pollution of ground water and high levels of nitrate and faecal Coliform are the evidence of poor quality ground water.

…

Potentiality of rainwater harvesting

In a crisis situation like this, the best option is to use the preserved rainwater for domestic and non domestic use.

Rainwater harvesting is accepted as a feasible water supply option in many countries and even in Sri Lanka, potentiality in rainwater harvesting is well documented in the National Rainwater Harvesting Policy.

Domestic rainwater (roof water) harvesting technology introduced in other areas with similar climatic condition offer reasonably good services to beneficiaries. Average annual rainfall experienced in the target areas range from 750 mm in Mannar to 900 mm in Anuradhapura district. The rainfall pattern in Sri Lanka is bi-modal and depends on the two monsoon seasons. The driest months of the year range from June- September in Anuradhapura district and May to September in Mannar district ( four to five months).

An average roof area of 50 m2 in Mannar district will provide the households with at least 40 litres of water per day with an 8,000 litre tank during the driest period from July to September. This will serve households with five people the minimum water requirement of the person which is eight litre per day for drinking and cooking. A tank of 8,000 litres will serve households with 40 litres per day for six to seven months.

Run off rainwater from the ground can also be collected and preserved in the home garden for agriculture purposes and to recharge the groundwater table. For example a two-acre land in an area, which receives annual rainfall of 1000mm, has the potential to store minimum 12,900 m3 of water annually through surface run off. A traditional ‘paththa’, a garden pond of 100 m3 volume can be filled very easily in an hour’s intense rain, and the water collected can be used for agriculture purposes effectively by using water conservation irrigation methods such as drip irrigation and pot irrigation, while the excess can be guided to recharge the groundwater table. A project implemented by the Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum in

see map

Kotavehera D.S of Kurunegala District has shown increased availability of water for drinking and crop production through introduction of rainwater harvesting technologies. It has also brought many other social and economic benefits to households. It has reduce the daily average household time (mostly women’s) spend to fetching water from one hour and 20 minutes to average 12 minutes. Average annual income from home gardening has increased from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 13,000.

…

full article:http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/09/19/fea01.asp

Resources and readings from Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum

• What is Rain Water Harvesting?
  

  RWH Tanks at Inspector Eatham Housing Project lankarainwater.org

• Construction Method for a 5 cubic metre Ferro-cement Pumpkin Shaped Aboveground RWH Tank
• Construction Method for a 5 cubic metre Brick Domed Underground RWH Tank
• Operation and Maintenance

Readings:

• EC Project Reports
• Other Useful Resources