Fairwater

Addressing Water Scarcity through Design, Technology & Business

Anni Hytti, Elina Lammintausta, Maud Bocquillod, Tushar Malhotra

Content Credits / Disclaimer

All Pictures / Images / Data-Visualizations used in the presentation have been taken from the sources mentioned in the references section (slide 35).

"The wars of the next century will be about water.

- Ismail Serageldin, former Vice President, World Bank, 1999

"Fierce competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future."
- Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary-General

Background Context & Customers

THE WATER PROBLEM

VLOM to the rescue?

Unicef, WHO and Indian Govt. developed the VLOM (Village Level Operation and Maintenance) model and standards for hand-pumps in early 1980s (India Mark-II) Assumption community ownership a more scalable model than centralized control. Mandated elaborate community management structures Idea was to develop and tap local supply chains and small-scale industry

But VLOM failed in Africa

Why VLOM failed in Africa?

Organizations, NGOs etc. tried to adopt the same model in Africa, without success Inexpensive but unreliable, high-maintenance pump design. Little quality control Lack of skilled labor and commercial supply-chains Unfavorable govt. and regulatory policies and lack of support infrastructure

Addressing water scarcity through Design, Technology & Business

THE SOLUTION

About Fairwater
Non-Profit based in Netherlands Founded by Paul Van Beers, after extensive experience and work in Africa on water projects Owns and develops the BluePump design and the BlueZone management model

Fairwaters Value Proposition

Fairwater aims to attack the problem of waterscarcity and provide safe & sustainable water solutions in the rural areas of the developing world by:
Designing better technology: The Blue Pump Designing better operating models: The Blue Zone

About Fairwater: Partners

Sponsors: JoinThePipe, Sanex, FairSport.org, others Implementation Partners: Millennium Promise, Swe-Gam, Global Resources Alliance etc. Single manufacturing partner & distributor for better quality control: Boode B.V.

Designing better technology

THE BLUE PUMP

The Blue Pump is a more durable, reliable, lowmaintenance, convenient hand pump designed to operate at greater depths (100 m) with very good water yield.

Blue Pump: Features

BluePump Bottom Support (BS) system for durable operation at greater depths (100 m) No borehole casing needed Durable POM piston without rubber or leather seals Heavy-duty, durable, better designed key components: self-lubricating bearings, stainless steel rods and PVC riser pipes etc.

Blue Pump Vs. the Others

Handpumps
Cost (80m)

BluePump
2500

Duba
8000

AfriDev
850

India Mark II
1000

Comfortable 10-80 m Pumping Range Max. Pumping Range Output at 30 m Output at 80 m Maintenance Requirements 100 m 15-20 L/min 10-15 L/min Rare & Simple

40-80 m

5-30 m

20-50 m

100 m 15-25 L/min 10 L /min Moderate & Complicated

45 m 15L/mn n/a Frequent & Increasingly Complicated Moderate-High

80 m 15-20 L/min 10 L/min Frequent & Increasingly Complicated Moderate-High

Typical Repair Costs

Fixed based only on distance

High Approx. 400 per repair trip

Designing the Business (Management / Operating) Model

THE BLUE ZONE MODEL

BlueZone Model: Project Selection

Fairwater, in collaboration with local partners, identifies potential regions for creation of a Blue Zone. Focus on rehabilitation projects. A Blue Zone is a cluster of several BluePump projects clustering helps attain economies of scale To ensure genuine commitment, Fairwater mandates reimbursable initial investment from the local implementation partner (2500 per pump)

BlueZone Model: Operating Model

In response to the failing traditional VLOM management model, Fairwater developed the The A-B-C Operating Model A. Local Agent or distributor supported by FairWater / Global distributor B. Professional local Back-up supported by the local Agent C. A single paid Caretaker from the community

BlueZone Model: Operating Model

Caretaker from the community is responsible for day-today operation, check-ups and contacting the regional back-up for assistance in case of a problem. Fairwater, through the local partners, facilitates Fast repairs at a Fair & Fixed cost based only on the distance Faiwater supports local private sector and entrepreneurship partners can market more products and services (e.g. agricultural tools) after getting a foothold in community

A check-up of a Unicef sponsored BluePump in Mozambique by the local company "BlueZone", the country dealer for the BluePump.

Insights from actual projects

HOW WELL DOES FAIRWATER FARE?

Oxfam BluePump Pilot

BluePump piloted in 2008-2011 in Turkana, Kenya:
1. Lack of existing skilled labour in the district capable repairing hand pumps 2. Lack of commercial supply chains for sourcing spare parts 3. Poor roads and inaccessibility resulting in very high costs to repair pumps. 4. High dependence on external support to service or repair pumps. 5. Economic circumstances of users and inability to pay for repairs

Oxfam BluePump Pilot

Initial teething troubles required design changes, led to negative perception Design improvements made At the end of the pilot BluePump perceptions positive, Oxfam considered project a success, expanded scope Not perfect but better than anything else available!

CURRENT STATE & FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

Over 400 Blue Pumps in 250 communities serving more than 150 000 people in Anglona, Burkina Faso, Niger, Kenya, Tanzania, Central Africa,
Gambia, Malawi & Mozambique

Revenue / Funding
Funding through Sponsors Partners, Promotional campaigns, sporting events, product sales etc.
JoinThePipe.org SMS Donations in Netherlands Sanex percentage of sales, Facebook likes

On-Pump Advertising / Branding opportunities for sponsors Sponsoring a complete BluePump costs 2500

Further Development
Already established Blue Zones can be used to expand to other products / services. Fairwater already exploring water-filters in certain zones Licensing partnerships for technology to scaleup operations and drive down costs Exploring other business-models Safe Water as a service?

BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

Osterwalders Business Model Canvas for FairWater

PARTNERS
Sponsors JoinThePipe, Sanex etc. Local Implementation Partners
Millennium Promise Program Global Resources Alliances Mambo View Point Christian Service Committee Swe-Gam SADEER Africa

KEY ACTIVITIES
Setting up operation and maintenance Monitoring performance Organising follow-up training Partner selection Sponsor search Developing design for pump Outsource manufacturing

VALUE PROPOSITION
Provide safe, sustainable & durable water solutions in the rural areas of the developing world by Designing better technology - The Blue Pump Designing better operating models - The Blue Zone

RELATIONSHIPS
Partners: Co-creation (no information available on costs, can be costly if trips form the Netherlands is needed). Communities: Selfservice (cost non-existent, in a way, everything is done for the benefit of the communities but through partners)

CUSTOMERS
Niche: Communities, Partners (NGOs and private companies)

KEY RESOURCES
Founder FairWater Trust Fund Local partners in Africa BluePump Technoogy

CHANNELS
Partners: ABC guarantees a smooth flow of info from communities to FairWater Logistics partners: Boode B.V, Local implementors

COST STRUCTURE
2500 per pump reimbursed to implementors Training / Monitoring costs

REVENUE STREAMS / VALUE

Donations from Sponsors through event campaigns, sales partnerships etc. Advertising / Branding opportunities for sponsors on the pump 1

References
www.fairwater.org Drinking Water: Equity, safety and sustainability
Thematic report on drinking water by Unicef, WHO, 2011 http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/report_wash_low.pdf

Piloting the BluePump in Turkana, Kenya

Oxfam Kenya, European Commission DMI Initiative, 2011 http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/F_R_457.pdf

VLOM for Rural Water Supply: Lessons from Experience

WELL, WEDC, Loughborough University, UK, 1999 http://www.lboro.ac.uk/well/resources/well-studies/summaries-htm/task0162.htm