It’s the rainy season in Guatemala, when unexpected downpours leave the landscape vibrant and green. However, despite the abundant rainfall, sources of potable water remain scarce in rural communities. But outside the Pueblo a Pueblo office in Santiago Atitlan, along with the dripping of the rain, you can hear the clicking noises from a repurposed strainer -- an old fan grill overlapped with mesh. Pablo Eulogio, our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools Project Manager, is carefully sifting coffee grounds through the strainer. He then moves on to sifting clay. These are the first steps in the process of creating a water filter. In about a month, after all the mixing, molding, and drying of the coffee and clay has been completed, we will have a safe source of purified water to drink.
Pablo holding the completed water filter
Pablo began to work on these water filters with Pueblo a Pueblo a year ago, after spending some time with the organization Abundant Water in Laos. While there, he first learned to make these filters, and thanks to the generosity of Abundant Water, Pablo has brought this technology to Guatemala.
What makes these filters special is that the process is simple. “You don’t have to be an engineer to make them, so any community could access this technology and clean their drinking water,” Pablo explains. The accessibility of the filters is critical, especially in communities throughout rural Guatemala, where many people do not have secure sources of purified water.
What makes these filters special is that the process is simple. “You don’t have to be an engineer to make them, so any community could access this technology and clean their drinking water,” Pablo explains. The accessibility of the filters is critical, especially in communities throughout rural Guatemala, where many people do not have secure sources of purified water.
Pablo mixes the coffee grounds and clay together
“When we visit the schools, we see children drinking water directly from the tap. But when we tested this tap water, the results indicated traces of E. coli bacteria -- and the pathogenic strains can cause diarrhea and stomach cramps, among other intestinal illnesses,” Pablo adds. It’s a health risk that must be addressed.
So began the process of replicating Abundant Water’s filters in Guatemala. The principal ingredients are coffee grounds and clay -- materials that are readily available in rural parts of the country. Then the tools -- a sifter, rolling pin, and cylindrical molds -- were repurposed from everyday household items.
So began the process of replicating Abundant Water’s filters in Guatemala. The principal ingredients are coffee grounds and clay -- materials that are readily available in rural parts of the country. Then the tools -- a sifter, rolling pin, and cylindrical molds -- were repurposed from everyday household items.
Repurposed tools for the water filters, now covered in coffee grounds and clay
The coffee and clay work as a barrier in the filter, trapping the bacteria in the tap water. Then the power ingredient -- silver nitrate -- is added at the end of the process, killing the trapped bacteria. These elements work together to purify water, and our most recent lab tests show that this filtered water is clean and safe to drink.
With working filters, our WASH team is now trying to find a way to bring this technology to our beneficiary schools. “We want these filters available in common areas throughout the schools, so that students are drinking purified water during recess time, rather than from the tap,” Pablo explains. “The goal is that all communities have accessible drinking water”.
With working filters, our WASH team is now trying to find a way to bring this technology to our beneficiary schools. “We want these filters available in common areas throughout the schools, so that students are drinking purified water during recess time, rather than from the tap,” Pablo explains. “The goal is that all communities have accessible drinking water”.
Pablo and Jemima, our Project Assistant, are testing out the filtered water
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