Eco-Bees Water purification project.
High levels of Fluoride treatment and purification in water through hydroxyapatite, clean safe water for drinking and cooking for the people of Turkana.
Fluorosis is a chronic health condition with no cure but can be easily prevented. Due to ignorance, very little attention is given to it, and most people have silently lived with this condition. Fluorosis is not only a medical condition but has social and economic implications, thus a problem for the affected population's livelihoods and future ambitions. Affected persons have no chance of getting into careers like news anchors, modeling, and hard labor jobs, among others. Low self-esteem is rampant in the affected school-going children hence poor performance and mental illness are high among the people.
Fluoride is a soluble salt that occurs naturally in groundwater. The World Health Organization recommends 1.5mgF/L and below in cooking and drinking water. Drinking and cooking with water containing a high level of Fluoride above the WHO recommended guideline of 1.5mgF/L causes dental and skeletal fluorosis.
Dental fluorosis is characterized by the browning of teeth. The symptoms include:
- Glistering white teeth become dull and lose their shine -developing white and yellow spots.
- White and yellow spots discoloration turns brown and presents itself in horizontal lines or spots on the enamel surface.
- Whole teeth get black and fragile, and chips might fall off.
- Loss of teeth at an early age is common for people suffering from dental fluorosis.
Skeletal fluorosis develops slowly (2 to 30 years); the bone joints get bony outgrows, and the deformed bones will gradually cause movement difficulties in the joints and in severe cases, it total immobility (crippling fluorosis). Unlike dental fluorosis, skeletal is painful from the onset.
The symptoms include:
- Stiffness and pain in the neck and the back.
- Restricted movement and pain in joints, especially knees, hips, and shoulders.
- Full rigid back, immobility of knees and other joints, severe pain.
The most affected are the children between the ages of 2-7 years, where most bone formation occurs. During this time, the shedding of milk teeth and the growth of permanent teeth takes place, thus the need to have fluorosis mitigation measures.
According to UNESCO estimates, more than 200 million people worldwide rely on drinking water with fluoride concentrations exceeding the international WHO guideline of 1.5 mg/L. High fluoride concentration in drinking water has caused dental fluorosis as well as skeletal fluorosis in consumers. While industrialized countries commonly use activated alumina or membrane technology to remove Fluoride from drinking water, defluoridation is still uncommon in low and middle-income countries. The provision of safe drinking water to consumers in Kenya has been a continuous challenge, due to high fluoride levels found naturally in underground and surface waters. As a mitigating factor, defluoridation using hydroxylapatite technology has been applied successfully in several areas of the country because it's affordable, and the raw materials are available locally, unlike other methods that have several shortcomings. The shortcomings of most of these methods include the high initial cost of the defluoridation plant, high operation and maintenance cost, low fluoride removal capacity, lack of selectivity for Fluoride, and undesirable effects on water quality during defluoridation.
Defluoridation Methods
ECO BEES Water program has proposed to research and develop appropriate defluoridation technologies for poor pre-urban communities in Kenya. As a result, the program has come up with affordable and effective defluoridation technology at the household, institutional and industrial levels using hydroxylapatite material produced and disseminated from the program
Out of the several defluoridation methods, Hydroxylapatite has been selected as the most applicable in this case due to the following advantages.
- It is safe, and it does not have any side effects.
- It reduces Fluoride to acceptable limits.
- The filters are easy to use.
- Filters are produced locally and are durable.
- All materials used can be replaced locally.
Hydroxylapatite is a whitely granulate, insoluble in water, and is made of CaO, P2O5, and H2O, by the following chemical reaction: 5Ca(OH)2 + 3H3PO4 -> Ca5[OH/(PO4)3] + 9H2O. The following chemical formula can describe the reaction between Hydroxylapatite material and the Fluoride containing water: F- + Ca5[OH / (PO4)3] -> Ca5[F / (PO4)3] + (OH)-. Water filtration with Hydroxylapatite is selective for fluoride ions.
These household filters are made from 80-liter plastic buckets, packed with 40 liters of Hydroxylapatite material. The raw water, manually fed to the filter passes with a downward flow to a perforated screen at the bottom fixed to an outlet water tap.
Hydroxyapatite Fluoride Uptake
According to the fluoride uptake capacity of the synthetic Hydroxylapatite material of about 8mgF/gm, each household filter will have the capacity to defluoridate about 45m3 of water. Assuming each household takes about 25 liters for drinking and cooking daily, the filter is expected to last for about five years before saturation. The project cost includes one batch of replacement materials to last for another 5 years.
Household Defluoridation Filter with Hydroxylapatite material and filter design
The Turkana people live around the shores of Lake Turkana, which is the largest desert lake in the world. The Turkana is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Kenya, numbering 926,976 people, and also, the poorest of Kenya's ethnic groups. They are currently gathered into villages, with (2000 to10000) people respectively. Their diet is primarily composed of fish, but occasionally they eat turtles and crocodiles from the lake. They don't eat any fruits or vegetables either since the region is too dry to grow food or they are too far from any marketplace. The Turkana people depend on the lake water for their livelihood. However, the quality of the lake water is wanting. The water has Fluoride levels of between 4mg/l to 6mg/l depending on the season. The alkaline lake water, malnutrition, and unbalanced protein-rich diets result in an array of health issues for Turkanans. They also suffer from high fluoride intake, and dental and skeletal fluorosis, with brown teeth and walking challenges being prevalent among many members of this community, both young ones and the elderly.
Turkana is a poverty-stricken community with small-scale fishing as their only economic activity, they cannot afford a balanced diet, like supplements of fruits and vegetables in that signs of malnutrition are also prevalent among residents of these communities, for example, discolored hair and other physical features among the elderly and young ones. With this region being a hot region of the country, the dehydration rate is high, and one is left with no alternative than to high water consumption daily, resulting in high daily uptake of Fluoride, and this leads to accelerated effects of dental and skeletal fluorosis. Due to the poverty state of Turkanans, they are left behind in development activities as they are not mostly able to finance the community contribution required for Fluoride treatment. Besides, the targeted area has experienced increased poverty levels over the years due to fewer economic activities in the area and the nonaggressiveness of the community due to fluorosis. The youths in the region also miss career opportunities due to fluorosis, especially where physical appearance is a crucial qualification. These include front office jobs, and defense forces enrollment, among others.
Therefore, the provision of household defluoridation filters as outlined in this proposal will have the whole of the Turkana generation access to fluoride-free water, saving the future generation from the harmful effects of excess consumption of Fluoride.
Expected Impacts;
Short term impacts
The following short-term impacts will be realized.
- Reduction in the level of Fluoride in consumption water to the recommended level of <1.5mgF/l (WHO), through the supply of household filters. As a result, this will ease the suffering due to fluorosis and stop the further development of fluorosis.
- Upon awareness creation, the immediate impact is the increase in the number of people who are aware of the dangers brought by using water with high levels of Fluoride and poor hygienic practices.
Long term impacts
It is assumed that the long-term impacts can only be visible after five years. These will include:
- Improved livelihoods for persons and self-confidence built up due to the elimination of dental fluorosis. Most of them will strive to venture into professions that value dental formation, such as the armed forces, tellers, air hostesses, and hosts.
- Reduction/eradication of fluorosis and poor hygiene-related illnesses will help improve the economy by having a productive generation of the community.
- Money/time spent on the purchase of painkillers, medical care, and supplements will be plowed back to other economic activities like small-scale business and education.
- A fluorosis-free Turkana generation will bring back their self-esteem, allowing them to be part of esteemed contributors to the country's economy.
Team members
Name: Augustine Wahome
Position:
Senior project manager and CEO Eco-Bees.
Experience:
Grew up in northern Uganda ( KITIGUM) an area similar to Turkan, and therefore can best relate to the hardship of the people of Turkana and emotionally connect to them, giving them the best services that will transform their lives for the better.
Skills:
· Financial analysis and budgeting.
· Project implementation and management.
· Communication.
· Social relation and relationship building.
Name: Joshua Rubangakene
Position:
Production Supervisor
Experience:
He has carried out several projects in the past that were mentioned successfully. For example, setting up a poultry farming business that was supplying eggs and birds for eating and sales of high quality and quantity makes him the best fit to monitor the production process of our filters.
Skills:
- Attention to detail.
- Communication
- Social and free
- love for children
We have carried out a baseline survey to understand and identify the needs of the Turkana through their knowledge, attitude, and practices. with this information and data, we are able to serve this community positively and to the best of their need.
In addition, we have collected old project information that was been done in the region providing us with more understanding of the Turkana people and how best we can affect them positively through our defluoridation project.
- Other: Addressing an unmet social, environmental, or economic need not covered in the four dimensions above.
- Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea.
our solution is cheap and can easily be supported and adopted by the Turkana community to provide them with clean, safe, and fluoride-free water for drinking improving their health and ways of living through generations to come.
The solution involves a simple process of making defluoridation filters by heating up brochures or fliers through a banner at a temperature of (500) degrees and then crushing it into gravel like shape sizes that can easily allow the fluoride water to pass as it mixes with the calcium in the brochures that become calcium fluoride making water safe for drinking and cooking in the individual container the defluoridation filters are placed and distributed to the different holds in the Turkana communities. On a pulse side, the filters shall serve the users for an estimated five years.
Therefore our solution is innovative in a way that is cheap, creates employment for the people of Turkana in a long run, and serves a large community with clean safe fluoride-free water that will improve their health and confidence to build their communities for generations to come.
conclusion the process of our water purification can be represented by the chemical equation below:
F- + Ca5[OH / (PO4)3] -> Ca5[F / (PO4)3] + (OH)-.
Impact Goals:
- To provide over 333 households (2000 people) of Turkana people with fluoride-safe and clean water in compliance with the world health organization water quality guidelines. To create awareness among the Turkana people on the health effects of consuming water with high levels of fluoride and other micrological contaminates in the lake Turkana waters.
- To build a bencher processing plant that will be used to provide the materials for the defluoridation filter.
- To create employment for the youth and women of Turkana in the different activities our project will be involved in from time to time.
- To improve the health of the young and old people of Turkana keeping them safe from dental fluorosis and Skeletal fluorosis giving them confidence and strength to grow their society for generations to come and keeping their mental health in check.
We are using a simple chemical and manufacturing technology to transform fluoride water into clean safe water for cooking and drinking as below:
Hydroxylapatite is a whitely granulate, insoluble in water, and is made of CaO, P2O5, and H2O, by the following chemical reaction: 5Ca(OH)2 + 3H3PO4 -> Ca5[OH/(PO4)3] + 9H2O. The following chemical formula can describe the reaction between Hydroxylapatite material and the Fluoride containing water: F- + Ca5[OH / (PO4)3] -> Ca5[F / (PO4)3] + (OH)-. Water filtration with Hydroxylapatite is selective for fluoride ions.
Household Defluoridation Filter with Hydroxylapatite material and filter design
These household filters are made from 80-liter plastic buckets, packed with 40 liters of Hydroxylapatite material. The raw water, manually fed to the filter passes with a downward flow to a perforated screen at the bottom fixed to an outlet water tap.
Hydroxyapatite Fluoride Uptake
According to the fluoride uptake capacity of the synthetic Hydroxylapatite material of about 8mgF/gm, each household filter will have the ability to defluoridate about 45m3 of water. Assuming each household takes about 25 liters for drinking and cooking daily, the filter is expected to last for about five years before saturation. The project cost includes one batch of replacement materials to last for another 5 years.
- Biotechnology / Bioengineering
- Manufacturing Technology
- Materials Science
- Kenya
Our solution aims at serving over 333 households in Tarakan that are composed of around 6 people per household (2000 people) with clean, safe low fluoride water. That will strengthen and improve their health for generations to come and create employment for over 100plus youths and women in the region.
- We are facing a challenge of capital to fully fund the project and run all the activities until its fully sustainable.
- There is also a challenge of transportation to the area that is sandy and requires a four-wheel drive car to pass through preferably a land cruiser Toyota.
We are currently working with IDAA international organizations for guidance and data collection and water purification guidelines.
Business modal
Project: Eco-Bees water purification.
Key Resources
(What resources will you need to run your
activities? People, finance, access?)
- Donor network
- Capital
- Brand
Key Activities
(What program and non-program
activities will your organization be carrying
out?)
- Baseline survey of the target area
- Water quality analysis
- Design of relevant household filters
- Community training and awareness creation
- Distribution of the relevant household filters
Partners and Key stakeholders
(Who are the essential groups you will need
to involve to deliver your program? Do
you need special access or permissions?)
- Community leaders and elders
- The Turkana County government
- IDAA International
Type of Intervention
(What is the format of your intervention? Is
it a workshop? A service? A product?)
- High levels of fluoride water purification for safe and clean water for drinking and cooking
Segments
(Who benefits from your
intervention?)
• Over 333 Turkana households with a population of 6 members per household (2000 people)
Value Proposition
(Beneficiary Value Proposition)
• Provision of clean, safe water od drinking and cooking improving the health and well-being of the Turkana people both socially and economically, in addition to saving a whole generation from skeletal fluorosis dental fluorosis, and mental health problems.
Beneficiaries
(Who are the people or organizations who
will pay to address this issue?)
• Turkana people of a community with over 333 households ( 2000 people)
Channels
(How are you reaching your users and
customers?)
• Local mobilization and training of the Turkana masses.
Revenue
(Break down your revenue sources by %)
Grants and Donations are 100%
Cost Structure
(What are the biggest expenses that the project will incur)
- Staff
- Transportation
- Materials and labor
- Construction of bencher processing plant
Impact measure
- Increase in the number of schools going children
- Increase in employment and economic position of the people in the community
- Reduced cases of mental health problems, dental fluorosis, and skeletal fluorosis in the Turkana community
Customer value proposition
(What do your customers want to get out of
this initiative?)
- Provide clean and safe low levels of fluoride water for drinking and cooking by the poor Turkana community.
APPENDIX 1. Implementation schedule
January - February ( Filter material production)
March ( Baseline survey)
April ( Training and Filter Installation )
May ( Reporting)
APPENDIX 2. Project Budget
No.
@
Subtotal (kshs)
Total (kshs)
A
Installation/ Construction
A1
80L capacity household units
Pcs
333
20,490
6,823,170
6,823,170
B
Information dissemination / IEC materials
B1
Banners
No.
4
10,000
40,000
B2
Brochures/Fliers
No.
400
50
20,000
B3
T-shirts
No.
10
800
8,000
68,000
C
Capacity Building and Sensitization
C1
Community Sensitization meetings
unit
2
150,000
300,000
C2
Community training and O &M
unit
2
150,000
300,000
600,000
D
Community awareness
D1
Creation of awareness through theatre Group
unit
4
200,000
800,000
800,000
E
Staff costs
2,000,000
E3
Project Officer
Kshs
2
420,000
840,000
1,890,000
F
Mileage
F1
Transportation of staff
4
98,000
392,000
F2
Transportation of Filters
1
180,000
180,000
572,000
G
Baseline Survey & Water Testing
Unit
1
120,000
120,000
120,000
H
Internal/external project evaluation and reporting
unit
1
300,000
300,000
300,000
I
5% Administration fee
71,895
Total Budget
11,355,065
40liter HAP hh filter
Description: Household defluoridation filter system 40Liter Filter materials - HAP
no
unit
Kshs
Kshs
USD($)
General Materials
80L plastic bucket
1
@
1,740
1,740
Filter gravel
20
liter
58
1,160
HAP
40
liter
290
11,600
Subtotal:
14,500
Internal pipework materials
Workshop (incl. screening)
1
@
406
406
3/4" Pegler tap
1
@
638
638
Screen
1
@
174
174
PPR 3/4" socket
1
@
81
81
GI 1" washer
2
@
58
116
Filter stand
1
@
1,160
1,160
Subtotal:
2,575
Margin
20%
20
%
198
3,415
Subtotal:
3,415
Grand Total, Fluoride filter:
20,490
Our project will fully depend on donations and grants and with the help of IDAA international in fundraising until the Turkana are fully strong and on their feet to take over the water purification project for generations to come.
Director/CEO Eco-Bees Company Limited