ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Water scarcity is a pivotal issue in developing countries. In Africa alone, nearly one billion people lack access to a safe, sustainable water supply. The heightening water crisis has drawn the attention of renowned philanthropists such as Matt Damon, co-founder of Water.org, and Bill Gates. These millionares have funded research for complex technologies and solutions to provide impoverished populations with sufficient water. But in Ethiopia, where only 26 percent of the population has access to drinking water, a practical and convenient product has emerged: Warka Water, a structure that extracts gallons of fresh water from the air.
As one of the poorest countries in the world, Ethiopia suffers from frequent droughts and famines, with 84 percent of the population residing in rural areas and depending on subsistence farming. In certain parts of the country, finding and collecting water is a six-hour journey, a task that adds up to a grueling total of 40 billion hours a year for people in the region. Hundreds of Ethiopians suffer from fatal diseases due to contaminated water collected from ponds or lakes that contain infectious bacteria, animal waste and other harmful substances. Poor water quality damages harvests and decimates livestock, leading to minimal food production. The situation also causes social problems for Ethiopian women who are responsible for the long trek to fetch water and, subsequently, cannot attend school or participate in community life.
In 2010, the Ethiopian government launched an ambitious national program that aimed to achieve 100 percent water accessibility in all regions by 2012. However, this goal was never attained.
For decades, organizations have collaborated to provide clean water access in Africa through high-tech solutions. The “once-promising” PlayPump, a hybrid merry-go-round water pump, failed due to its high cost of $14,000 and consistent upkeep and maintenance issues. Meanwhile, building wells have proved to be an equally difficult challenge since they require drilling 1,600 feet into the ground, access to a stable electricity supply, and spare parts for frequent pump malfunctions.
But when Italian designer Arturo Vittori and Swiss architect Andreas Volger first visited Ethiopia they proposed an unthinkable solution for the global water challenge: simply pulling water out of thin air.
Vittori and Volger’s company, Architecture and Vision, developed the Warka Water, a majestic 30-foot-tall palm-like structure that is biodegradable and can be constructed without mechanical tools in less than a week. The Warka Water, which is named after a native Ethiopian fig tree, consists of a bamboo frame designed for stability and ease of airflow, a mesh net that attracts water condensation, and a container that collects water droplets from the mesh. The water in the container then passes through a tube that functions as a faucet, carrying water to the people on the ground.
The Warka Water produces 26 gallons of water each day, which is enough to provide drinking water for a small rural community of 40 inhabitants, according to Vittori. All water collected is safe and drinkable, given that the local air conditions are not polluted, and productivity is dependent on seasonal and climatic conditions such as humidity, wind and temperature differences. In addition, the bamboo and mesh are accessible in the region, easy to clean and do not require extensive maintenance.
The low-tech design of the Warka Water makes it economically attractive to the local Ethiopians, many of whom live in extremely impoverished conditions. Each water tower costs only $550, less than a quarter of the cost of similar high-tech solutions for water production. This price will continue to drop if the company begins mass-producing them. With the simplicity of the Warka Water and needlessness for special machinery or scaffolding, Vittori plans to teach the locals how to build Warka Water towers and spread this knowledge to other villages throughout Ethiopia.
While the structure is still in its testing stages, Vittori has already begun developing new features for the product. This includes the Warka Water 2.0, an upgraded version that will include solar panels and LED bulbs to provide light after dark.
“It’s not just illnesses that we’re trying to address. Many Ethiopian children from rural villages spend several hours every day to fetch water, time they could invest for more productive activities and education,” said Vittori. “If we can give people something that lets them be more independent, they can free themselves from this cycle.”
Warka Water appears to be a promising, effective and affordable solution to the global water crisis, and it will hopefully improve the lives of those most affected, one drop at a time.
– Abby Bauer