Solvatten is a Swedish invention and a social enterprise making portable solar powered jerry cans for heating and treating water.
It’s a combination of portable water treatment and water heater system and it uses UV, built-in turbulence, and filtration to clean water on a household level. All that is needed is sunlight. This way it gives people health and better lives through clean and heated water, and reduces deforestation as water is treated without the need for cooking over fire.
Since several years we at Greencarrier provide Solvatten with logistical support that enables their water heaters and treaters to reach needing families in Africa.
This is an update from one of these projects in Tharaka, Kenya.
The Valuable Tree
About 80% of the population in Tharaka provide for their families through agriculture. The region has a very limited access to safe water or sustainable sources of energy, which causes high cases of water and hygiene related diseases. To meet the critical need, many families are dependent on cutting down trees for firewood, which causes unsustainable deforestation rates.
Today, only 7% of Kenya’s naturals forests remains. As the farmers’ season’s for cultivation and harvest is highly dependent on the weather, they are very affected by the effects of the climate change and the deforestation, as the trees help to prevent flooding and soil erosion.
Collaboration enables help to many
This project in Tharaka, Kenya is a collaboration between Solvatten, the local aid organization IAS (International Aid Service) and Greencarrier. As IAS works closely with local district governments within water, health and environment, this helps us reach the most vulnerable households and regions with high deforestation rate.
– Thanks to Greencarrier’s logistical support, we have managed to reach some of the most vulnerable families in Tharaka and provide access to safe and hot water from Solvatten, for many years ahead. This contributes to improved health and well-being, and in the same time it enables saving of trees, more secure self-providence and resilient communities.
Says Petra Wadström, founder of Solvatten.
Read more about our partnership here.
A sunshine story from Tharaka
In February, Solvatten visited the project in Tharaka and gathered the IAS staff and the volunteers for Solvatten workshops.
Women of all ages gathered in the shadow of a big tree to listen and learn about the technology presented by the volunteers. Many with snuggling babies wrapped in beautifully coloured fabrics over their shoulders.
The health volunteers described the importance of a safe water storage, with a lid and a tap, that will enable them to treat water 2-4 times a in a day. Another suggestion was to pour heated water in a thermos. Mothers and grandmothers saw the advantage of storing heated water, to give their babies a warm bath before bedtime, to keep them clean and healthy.
– Many families are left without any other choice than to boil their water safe over open fires, and those who cannot afford it are often badly affected by diarrheal diseases. I had heard about Solvatten before IAS involved me in the project, and I am very happy to finally be able to offer the most vulnerable households a long-term, sustainable solution.”
– Says Anastacia, who is one of the Health Volunteer in Tharaka.
Please read more stories from Kenya in this project update from Solvatten: Greencarrier – Solvatten – Tharaka
The Greencarrier Spirit – combining business with giving back
This is one of Greencarrier’s many initiatives within Greencarrier Spirit. We contribute directly to Solvatten’s vision of a world where everyone can live a healthy and worthy life and we get to combine our business knowledge with our social and environmental goals.
This exemplifies just what the Greencarrier Spirit is about. Read more here.
Photos: Solvatten
