Rano lanitra, water from the sky (2021)
Experts : Dr.Hendrik Hänke, Dr. Jean Robertin Rasoloariniaina, Dr. Mianndrito Mampiray MBOLA
The south of Madagascar, where most of deforestation happens, is now facing irregular rainfalls, with some years no rainfalls at all, making the environment too dry to harvest crops, and making the soil too dry to give enough water to people. Solutions of water collection devices were proposed by external people. While these solutions efficiently gave drinkable water to the impacted communities, they were not resilient enough as as soon as these broke, people would have to rely again on undrinkable sources, like seawater, or river waters.
How can a functional object be made sustainable over time without the need for external resources?
A Low-tech, open-source and local drinking water dispenser-condenser
Map of local stakeholders (craftsmen, workshops, material ressources, universities)
With the help of researchers based in Madagascar, I was able to draw up a map linking the various stakeholders in the region who would contribute to the maintenance and manufacture of the devices. This was done with the aim of making the object sustainable over time (local reparability).
Experimental small models/prototypes
Water condenser prototype
A zero energy condenser, working with the superposition of insulating materials found in the south of Madagascar (sisal, wood planks, clay). A layer of white paint reflects the sun’s rays, reinforcing the object’s internal insulation.
It can produce a minimum of 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of water per day, depending on weather conditions. The object is intentionally simple to build, simple to repair and scalable to allow large-scale distribution.
Map of different climate change related issues and their interconnected impacts