Monday, August 17, 2009 – Friday, August 21, 2009
Due to the success of our first two weeks of themed Twitter “Social Enterprises of the Day,” we have decided to continue down this path. Last week, in honor of World Water Week, we chose to highlight the work of great social enterprises working in water because access to clean drinking water, combined with the practice of hygiene and sanitation, is perhaps the single greatest preventative health catalyst in the world. There are literally hundreds of these great organizations, so our list is by no means exhaustive, and we will retouch on this theme in the future.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Social Enterprise of the Day – Saaf Water
SaafWater is leading the way in clean, efficient, and safe water purification solutions for rural areas in Pakistan. Using a network of SaafWater ladies who go door-to-door in their neighborhood, SaafWater distributes a simple Daily Capsule – a chlorine solution that can treat one family’s daily supply of drinking water. To purify their water, a family adds one SaafWater Daily Capsule to their water container. After just 30 minutes the water is then free from bacteriological contamination and safe to drink.
SaafWater ladies are individual, independent franchisees who buy the product at wholesale prices and sell them at a mark-up. They work with households to ensure that the family has a suitable container for safe water storage, and she measures the container and supplies a customized daily dose of chlorine solution tailored to that container – this is the SaafWater Daily Capsule. The only requirement to be a SaafWater lady is basic numeracy and literacy, and a willingness to learn. The Karachi-based organization provides its franchisees with full training, a uniform, and SaafWater Daily Capsules at a highly subsidized rate.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Social Enterprise of the Day – Arghyam
The mission of Arghyam is “safe, sustainable water for all.” And that is just what they are providing. With an emphasis on equity and sustainability, Arghyam is a public charitable foundation working in teh water sector since 2005 and setup with an endowment from Rohini Nilekani, the wife of Nandan Nikekani (former CEO of Infosys and present Chairman of the new Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Arghyam believes that the key to addressing the issues of the poor and the vulnerable in accessing water for their basic daily needs is in better water management which requires effective governance. Arghyam’s efforts are guided by key principles that include the recognition of water as a basic need and right, decentralization, community participation and ownership, an integrated approach to managing water from source to sink, an emphasis on “subsidiarity” (managing water locally) and the effective use of technology as an enabler.
Arghyam works through a combination of project grants to grass roots organizations, knowledge building and sharing through the India Water Portal, promoting new models of water science, technology and system design, participatory action research, and advocacy.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Social Enterprise of the Day – WaterCredit
WaterCredit applies principles of microfinance to the water and sanitation sector. It represents the creation of a new space at the intersection of water and sanitation and microfinance. By making small loans to individuals and communities in developing countries who do not have access to traditional credit markets, WaterCredit empowers people to address their own water needs. The repaid loans go back into a revolving fund, and are then re-loaned to the next individual or community.
Up until now, virtually all water and sanitation programs in developing countries have been grant-financed. Now, rather than people relying solely on grants to enable access to clean water, WaterCredit enables people to address their water needs on their own timetables. This way, people don’t need to wait for grant money, decreasing the chance of getting sick and dying from the unsafe water they’re drinking—not to mention the hours they have to spend every day collecting it.
Beginning with pilot projects in 2004 in the urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and in rural Tamil Nadu in India, in 2005, the WaterCredit Initiative was expanded to Kenya, where the focus has been on community-level loans for wells and infrastructure. The community of Boya in western Kenya took out a WaterCredit loan of US$21,000 to finance a new water tank and pipes. Now that they’ve seen how the program works, they are making plans to triple the size of the project!
In 2009, WaterCredit has expanded into East Africa.
Follow WaterCredit on Twitter at @watercredit
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Social Enterprise of the Day – The Pursuit of Water
What is your water story? from The Pursuit of Water on Vimeo.
The Pursuit of Water is a documentary film detailing water issues and the importance of water in development around the world. To be released on World Water Day 2011 (March 22, 2011), with the producers having traveled over six continents, it will focus on four different issues: water and gender, water and sanitation, water and climate change, and water conflict.
Check out the 60 second teaser trailer for The Pursuit of Water on their website.
Follow The Pursuit of Water on Twitter at @pursuitofwater
Friday, August 21, 2009
Social Enterprise of the Day – Sarvajal
Sarvajal means “Water For All,” and that is what the Sarvajal team is providing. Operating in geographies where the quality of water is often the cause of more than 60% of common health ailments, Sarvajal’s commitment is to make purified drinking water accessible and affordable to all.
As social enterprise that develops sustainable drinking water solutions for rural and urban populations, Sarvajal provides cost leadership, technological innovations, and the appropriate incentives to create market-based solutions that can reach enough scale to impact the health of India’s masses. Their business is designed around scalable innovations, technical/process improvements, ensuring livelihoods for local entrepreneurs, and developing customized community water filtration systems that can produce ultra-affordable drinking water for the masses.
The water solutions are locally-sourced, locally-purified, locally-consumed, and sold under the brand name “Sarvajal.” Sarvajal’s operations focus on a franchise model that enables rural entrepreneurs to start businesses that provide purified drinking water to their communities. Franchisees (68 so far) are water entrepreneurs who are trained to operate water purification machines, ensure the highest standards of hygiene, and promote the benefits of pure drinking water to their communities. Even better yet (and taking the concept of community education and mobilization one step further) they are provided with a business start-up kit that includes health promotion materials, operations manuals, marketing collateral, branding tools, and business development resources.
Customers then purchase prepaid cards in 10 Liter and 20 Liter denominations; they come to the outlet to purchase water filled in their own containers or in innovative carboys (a large globular plastic bottle with a narrow neck, typically protected by a frame and used for holding acids or other corrosive liquids) purchased from Sarvajal. Without subsidy, Sarvajal sells water at 25 paise (US 0.5 cent) per liter or less. It has already delivered clean drinking water to 34000 – a great start!
Sarvajal is incorporated as Piramal Water Private Limited and has its roots in the work of the Piramal Foundation.
Follow Sarvajal on Twitter at @sarvajal
