UN World Water Day goes beyond March 22 for these 10 startups
The UN has declared March 22nd as World Water Day to spread awareness about the multiple forms that water takes, the variety of uses it is employed for, the channels it is made available for households and industries, and the risks that we face today for not using it properly and polluting its sources extensively.
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Several events have been organised around the globe to draw a picture of area-specific policies that have been followed so far, and delineate what is yet to be done. At Social Story, we decided to bring the focus on how small companies and organisations in India are committing to making every day water day and to help every member of society get easy access to drinking water and sanitation.
Essmart has developed a smart strategy to introduce its products (solar lanterns, water filters, safety gears, farming tool etc) in Tamil Nadu by building lasting relationships with the popular ‘kirana’ stores. Earning the trust of the community made Essmart known, and helped it grow from one distribution centre in Pollachi in 2012 to six offices in different rural areas of Tamil Nadu today.
NextDrop had developed a ‘Smart Grid Lite’ solution, which collects and shares water delivery information with city residents and water utilities. Valvemen measure the level of water in reservoirs every day and NextDrop sends the information to the engineers, who decide which areas should get water at what times, and how much, depending on supply.
Guardian is the first microfinance institution solely dedicated to water and sanitation. It operates in Tamil Nadu and provides affordable loans which have helped hundreds of people in rural areas to get easy access to drinking water and toilets.
Jal Bhagirathi Foundation is a Rajasthan-based company which operates mainly with women to create water ponds in desert areas.
Warka Water developed by a Swiss-Italian team in Ethiopia would be a vertical structure capable of harvesting potable water straight from the atmosphere, eliminating all the energy-dependent technological interlocutors we currently have in place to obtain water.
Greywater provide cost-effective automatic plug and play products for “decentralised treatment of sewage and reuse of water.”
Amrutdhara has created a token machine which distributes water at half the price of bottled water. They started in Tamil Nadu, placing their machines in local stores.
Rain Water Concepts applies Borewell recharging system to maximise the efficiency of rainwater harvesting in North Karnataka.
Sarvajal manufactures filtration units, solar powered and cloud managed water ATMs, cloud-based monitoring system for quality management and also customized ERPs to manage large water franchises in Rajasthan.
Balazs Gardi has spent most the last decade to understand water and the various political, social and economic ramifications of its use through a project called ‘Facing Water Crisis.’ Gardi photographed floods and droughts and tried to understand how it leads to social tension, then becomes a minor conflict and eventually ends in war.