About Us

AbundantWater.org is an organisation committed to developing a system using clay pot filters to provide clean drinking water to ethnic Lao villagers.

In addition to making the filters, the project will also conduct an education campaign to encourage local ownership of the filter production and distribution process.

This system will integrate very basic filtration technology proven in Australian National University laboratory research with local Lao pottery techniques.

Our aim is to develop a model that will enable communities to meet their own drinking water requirements.

Pilot Project

Background

Although Lao has an abundance of water, safe drinking water is scarce, particularly in rural areas. The increasing competition for water resources is leading to increasing rates of diarrhea making the provision of clean drinking water to rural communities urgent.

There is a tradition of clay pottery in Lao villages. However, with the popularity of plastic and metal containers the traditional potters are losing market share and viability and are in danger of dying out. Traditional Lao pots are fired without a kiln at temperatures similar to those of Tony Flynn’s pots. Thus, this pottery tradition is very compatible with the process required for Tony’s clay pot filters.

abundantwater.org’s pilot project is integrating Tony’s water filter technology into the traditional Lao pottery processes. The low cost and low technology nature of the process increases the likelihood of success at the village level. This enables the potters to preserve their traditional craft, make an income and begin to take responsibility for their own clean water and good health. Once the methodology has been successfully established in this initial project it can be simply transported as ‘micro-credit’ backed businesses to other communities who need clean water and possess a pottery tradition.

Plan

Field research has helped us familiarise ourselves with the traditions and the environment of the potters and the cultural context of the villagers who will use the filters. We are working side by side with village potters to design a pot filter that reflects their sensibilities and skills and is appropriate to the local conditions and the materials available.

We will test the suitability and effectiveness of the clay pots as water filters and once proven will optimise the production process and testing regime. After testing the pots will become available for distribution to and use in the villages. We will create resources to integrate the filters into a clean drinking water system and use potters to train other potters to produce, sell and educate about the use of their pots.

Progress

Rotary has provided seed funding to enable us to begin our project. We have begun producing trial filters with a potter outside Vientiane. A number of batches of pots have already been fired to determine suitability of design, adequate flow rates and effective use of available material. We are progressively working towards optimal pot size and shape and efficient production. Recent batches of pots are now awaiting testing and user feedback from the villagers as to the filter pot’s suitability.

Anticipated Effect

The Helvetas Lao Agricultural Extension Program has expressed interest in including this information as part of their ‘wisdom bag’ program. This would provide leaflets and potential training throughout the entire network of regional government offices. Thus once the abundantwater.org project is shown to produce efficient clay pot filters appropriate to village use organisations have already expressed interest in communicating and transporting the model to other Lao communities. Already at this early stage other organisations on three continents have expressed interest in the progress and potential of the abundantwater.org project.

Tony Flynn’s Innovative Water Filter

An innovative new filter, developed by ANU materials scientist Mr Tony Flynn, allowed water filters to be made from commonly available materials and fired on the ground using manure, without the need for a kiln.

Tony’s approach produced a filter, capable of removing bacteria and protozoa from water, that could be produced almost anywhere, by almost anyone, from locally available materials, and for a fraction of the cost of the alternatives.

We recognise the potential of this filter especially if it can be produced by local potters, from local materials, in the locale of greatest need. Abundant Water is facilitating a pilot project in rural Lao PDRintroducing traditional potters to this innovative technology. This project will design a robust filter, prove its ability to reliably filter bacteria, and verify its production and use in the field. Successfully accomplishing this project requires expertise and specialised knowledge delivered to the project site.

Abundant Water acts as a linking organisation that is building a network of expertise and specialised knowledge to enable successful production and usage of claypot filters in rural communities.

Following the successful pilot project resource material will be produced to enable other organisaions to replicate a similar solution elsewhere.