Water Purifying Filters

There are many ways to purify water. One way is to let the sun do it (SODIS).We are teaching people that if they fill a clear soda bottle with water and place it on their roof in the sun for six hours, that water will be safe for them to drink. (To learn more about SODIS, go to https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/solardisinfection.html). The limitations of this method are that it is limited to small volumes of water and the six hours it takes to purify each half-liter bottle of water. Starfysh has experimented with other purifying technologies, but we have found that most of them have drawbacks in La Gonave’s unique situation.

One technology we have found to be extremely effective and accepted by the people of La Gonave is bio-sand filtration (www.cdc.gov/safewater/sand-filtration.html). Though it is possible to make them out of concrete right on site in a family’s home, we have found that the most time-efficient, cost-efficient way of getting bio-sand filters into the over-10,000 homes across the mountainous terrain of La Gonave is to use a commercially manufactured, light-weight yet heavy-duty, stackable bio-sand unit called Hydraid® One truck flatbed can easily haul 100 filters at a time. We still need to haul heavy sand and gravel, but no concrete. The filters are easy to install and require no electricity.

As of 2016, Starfysh has placed lifesaving bio-sand water filters in the homes of over 1,500 families. We project these filters will last at least ten years. Our vision is to see a unit in every home on the island.

Needed:
Each $125 gift will provide one family with a lifesaving bio-sand water filter which will provide them clean, safe water for ten years or more.