Safe Water Kiosks (SWK’s) provide potable water for an entire village, using SkyHydrant membrane filters that work independently of the external power supply and process between 500 – 1,000 litres per hour of safe water.
SkyJuice Foundation has partnered with established NGOs to supply innovative, complete, pre-fabricated kiosk modules. A typical Kiosk will service an immediate community of 1,000 – 5,000 people. Our building quality and standardised design can be flexibly and readily deployed in multiple locations.
So far, in conjunction with our partners (Siemens Stiftung, in particular), we have installed 20+ Safe Water Kiosks around Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Vietnam.
Empowerment of local communities
A major premise is to encourage the empowerment of local communities as well as reinforce hygiene practices. To prevent water from being re-contaminated, cleaned water containers are exchanged free of charge at the water kiosks for the community. Users can bring their own containers to the kiosk to be sanitised onsite prior to being filled with safe, clean water. Our partners have implemented various sustainable business models to encourage regular safe water consumption and reinforce long-term benefits.
Reliable safe water has flow-on effects
Reliable safe water not only improves health conditions in the local community, but it has real flow-on effects. The immediate impact is that healthy children can consistently attend school. Also healthy parents can work and maintain a household income. Kiosk operators can make a reliable income from the sales and distribution of water at “socially affordable” prices.
Entrepreneurship and income generating opportunities
The water stations foster entrepreneurship and create new opportunities for generating income. The filtered drinking water is sold at an affordable price, and the earnings are reinvested in maintaining and expanding the project. Station managers receive the required technical and entrepreneurial training. The medium-term goal is for ownership of the stations to be passed on to local communities and entrepreneurs. Some partners refer to these as Safe Water Enterprises.
Many water kiosks in African towns provided unsafe drinking water
Water kiosks are a common sight in many African towns. People travel to the kiosk, pay to fill containers with water and take them home. However, many of these kiosks consistently provide water that hasn’t been treated and is hence unsafe for drinking. Implementation of SWKs can break this cycle.
Quick to install, no electricity or chemicals required
Our Safe Water Kiosk Model uses low-cost, pre-fabricated modules, which means that community water plants can be installed quickly. Unlike almost all other kiosk models, our technology uses no electricity or chemicals, ensuring that the cost of running the units is kept as low as possible.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: SkyJuice Foundation proudly acknowledges and endorses partners in our global kiosk projects. These are Siemens Stiftung, Global Nature Fund, The Hunger Project, SOS Children’s Villages, SWAP, Pureflow, Australian Water Association, Australian High Commission (Kenya), Australian Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Evoqua Water Technology