The brief was to create a physical object that can be used as an educational aid and demonstrates concepts of sustainable water and energy usage that can be scaled to allow local implementation in Kameswaram, India. The issue in Kameswaram and India is a whole is a major with their municipal system. It lacks key filtration stages that filter the water to consumable standards which is the host of a wide range of issues for the locals.
Processes below are all missing which are crucial for the complete filtration of this polluted water
-Vertical filtration
-Pre chlorination
-Chemical coagulation
-Flocculation
-Fluoridation
Cholera, diarrhoea, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio are all illnesses linked with the drinking and saniational use of contaminated water.
The community primarily get their water through water pumps in the heart of the village. After our discussion with community leader Shamaya we believe there is only two main pumps to cater for the entire community. Water is supplied to these pumps from neighbouring, bigger towns. This water is not the greatest as the water is coming from polluted wells or lakes
The Plan
We set out to design a flat-pack educational tool for the community, enabling them to explore various methods of water filtration. Additionally, this tool serves as a platform for learning additional skills such as gardening, as well as more advanced techniques like harnessing solar power energy
Prior to my research I was left with four possible concepts that can be seen above. they feature different ways of filtration such as rainwater harvesting and UV filtration along with features of educating the community in plumbing, water harvesting, gardening and crop work, solar energy and basic electronics
Concept sketch models
After input from the community leader Shamaya she informed us that the concept combining rainwater harvesting and UV filtration along with solar powered water pumps was the ideal education tool for the community
After the flatpack cube is assembled they must now begin to build the features that attach to it such as the solar controller to work the water pump and wire all of these together. After this they must complete the plumbing from the water source to the pump and finally into the pvc rain water collector on the roof
Once the solar panels have been unveiled to sunlight the water pump will begin to push water through the built in filtration system. It will then gather in the PVC tube where it then flows down the polycarbonate perspex roof and into a simulated rainwater harvesting tank. This tank can be used to pump water back through the system or can bottled up and be used for solar disinfection
The idea behind this Product is to be a educational tool to send over to vulnerable communities such as Kameswaram where they can learn how to use the power of the sun to pump water around their homes and school and also teacg them innovative ways they can filter their water therefore mitigating impacts of dirty drinking water. This is a table top small scale version of a typical house roof in India so once they learn the principles behind the concept they can scale up and fit it to their homes and schools
