We need your help! Since this fundraising campaign started 3 weeks ago, our project has started taking shape! Khampang, the village man who will be running the project in Phongsali Province, has already distributed most of his
pilot filters, and needs our help more than ever to grow his business and bring safe drinking water to more people in his community.
As you may already know, we are raising money to help a local villager named Khamphang set up his business selling Abundant Water clay pottery filters to his community at heavily subsidized rates. His community is isolated, and requires self-sustaining
development projects that can be managed by local residents.
Khampang was part of a pilot project in which he sold a small number of Abundant Water filters in his village. We found a huge demand for additional filters and are now working to help Khampang expand his business and bring safe water to his small community.
Khampang meeting with Nukham, one of the co-creators of the filter.
Every $30 donated covers the cost of providing one subsidized filter to Khampang which he will then sell to families in his community at an affordable cost. Once Khampang begins to turn a profit, the goal is for his business to be self-sustaining and no
longer require outside financial assistance. Khampang’s community will be able to enjoy safe drinking water for years to come, and it will all be run by the community members themselves.
Why sell the filters – shouldn’t they be donated for free?
There are two main reasons our approach includes selling the filters. First, we know that training local community members to run their own business helps to build capacity in Laos and contributes to village economies.
Second, research shows that when families buy the filters, as opposed to have them donated for free, they use them more frequently, take care of them, and gain a sense of pride in having clean water. We aim to empower the people we work with in everything
we do.
Why does Phongsali Province need water filters?
1 in 5 households in Laos lack access to safe drinking water. This causes problems such as diarrhea,
which is the 2nd leading cause of death in Lao children. It also disrupts their education when they miss school from being sick, and costs their families time and money.
For more than seven years, Abundant Water has been providing clay pottery water filters, made from local materials, to children and their families in remote villages in Laos. The impacts have included:
- Less incidence of illness
- More time in school
- 50% reduction in time spent collecting firewood to boil water
- Greater positive impact on girls who usually do the work to collect water
- Reduced impact on the environment through not collecting firewood to boil water
- More time for income-generating activities
To date, we have impacted the lives of more than 7000 people. And, while we are creating partnerships with a number of organisations, and have even recently been nominated for a UN Award for the great work we’ve been doing, this work cannot
continue without the generous donations from people like you.
SHARE THE LOVE
We are so close to reaching our goal! Tell your friends and give them the oppotunity to improve the lives of Khampang's community.
Share with your friends – tweet, blog, share on Facebook, because EVERYONE should have easy access to safe drinking water.
