Affordable Safe Drinking Water

In Cambodia, nearly two-thirds of the rural population is without access to a safe water source. Unclean water poses a special threat to small children as water-borne disease is a major contributor to Cambodia's under-five mortality rate of 83 per 1,000 live births, one of the highest rates in Asia. Water-borne illnesses also result in lost labor productivity for households, and missed school days for children.

To combat this probem, IDE introduced and scaled up manufacture of the "Rabbit" brand Ceramic Water Purifier (CWP), a low-cost household filter originally designed in Central America and popularized by Ron Rivera of Potters for Peace. The CWP is produced using local clay mixed with rice husk, which is formed into a pot shape using a press mold. The rice husk burns away during firing, leaving a porous filter element. A colloidal silver solution is then applied to the surfaces of the fired clay as a bactericide, after which it is set for use in a plastic receptacle tank with a lid and a spigot. The filter element holds approximately 10 litres, allowing a family to produce 30 litres of water per day with three fillings, or more if required

IDE undertook extensive tests of CWP performance and worked with a local pottery cooperative to establish production facilitiesand distribution channels. IDE also established the "Rabbit" brand for the CWP and conducted a nationwide multichannel social marketing plan for the filter.

In 2009, IDE is spinning off the ceramic filter project to create Hydrologic, a commercially-driven social enterprise that aims to become the premier distributor of effective and affordable safe water and household sanitation products throughout SE Asia.

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