Water Filter Project in Caliche

Trip Summary-January 2011

Mitchell White

Goal: To bring safe, clean, bacteria-free water to the people of Caliche.  Through fund raising and donations, I was able to purchase 30 Tulip Filters (gravity water filtration) through the organization called “Safe Water Today”.  Each filter costs about $15.00 US and can supply a family with clean water for up to 5 years!  Each filter has been shown to reduce harmful impurities and bacteria by 99% and can filter clean water at a rate of 4-5 Liters/hour!

We took 30 Tulip Filters packed in shipping trunks along with laminated water filter use and care instructions (translated in Spanish), one for each filter.  The filters arrived in good shape with the exception of 4 units which had damages and will be replaced by the manufacturer.

During the morning medical clinics each day in Caliche, I set up a “Water Filter Station”.  On the first day, we mostly introduced the concept of using a filter to bring safe, clean water into the home.  I taught lessons on the importance of clean water, described the future benefits to the families who purchased the filters and also gave preliminary explanation on the use and care of the filters.  The people seemed responsive and I began to take a list of names to come back the next day for actual training classes.  Through word of mouth we found there to be great interest and talk in the village about the filters!

After clinic on Day #1, we toured the village to assess the water supply used by the people of the village.  There are two water supplies to the village of Caliche.  About half of the village—those more centrally located—receive water from a water- trapping tank that is filled from a spring.  The rest of the village ( some 150 people—mostly outliers) access their water from “Posos” or large puddles and cement receptacles that have either run-off from streams or trapped rain water in the ground.  We found that the people use the same water supply for bathing, washing clothes and collecting their drinking water.   We collected some of the water which we found to be turbid and cloudy for testing.

Day #2 we held several Water Filter Training classes.  Each class had several adults (mostly women) who listened attentively to the instructions and demonstration of the water filter.  Research has shown that when people pay for these filters, they become more invested in the use of them.  They also feel empowered because they have ownership in bringing clean water to their families.  While the filters each cost $15.00 US, we charged each family the equivalent of $2.50 which we found  they were quite willing to pay.  We also chipped in for two large pails which are used in conjunction with the filter—one to hold dirty unfiltered water and one for the clean water receptacle.   I found that the Spanish instructions were helpful because many people who could not read were able to easily follow the photographs and become educated on the care of the filters.

I was pleased to see the responsive smiles on the faces of the men and women who purchased the filters as they seemed to really understand the impact of what they were buying!  We sold out of all of our usable filters by the end of the clinic and there is now a waiting list of other interested families.  We plan to bring more filters to Caliche in the near future.

On Day #3, we had the opportunity to take two filters into the homes of the elderly couples whose homes we built during the week.  Each couple received a filter as a gift along with their home dedication.  I was able to demonstrate the use of the filter in the home and to explain to each couple the use and care of the filter.  Seeing the filters in their homes was very rewarding and the gift of the filters was met with extreme gratitude.  I got the sense that these couples really understood what clean water would mean for them and their health.

Having been on numerous trips to Honduras previously, this is the first time that I have come home knowing that I have had a true impact on the physical and health needs of the people of Caliche.  I feel that these filters have great potential for future use in Honduras.  They were well received, sturdy, easy to demonstrate, and easy to use.  I hope that other teams going to Honduras will embrace the importance of investing in the use of the filters for their teams and more importantly for the people of Honduras.

If you would like to participate in providing clean drinking water to people in Central America please make a donation though our DONATE NOW page or the HTH Store (link below). The cost of purchasing and shipping a Tulip filter is $20 each.