Awareness & Implementation:  
 

Avalokita Foundation & Basic Water Needs Foundation (BWNF) from Holland are collaborating with Palmyra, Auroville  on a project to implement a “Safe Drinking Water Project” in the Kaliveli Watershed Project Area. 

Palmyra had already intensive rapport with the WUA, Village Panchayath and Women SHGs under its Tank Rehabilitation Project, Women development and Integrated Wasteland Development programs.  These project implementation works have resulted in smooth relationships with the people in the field. This makes it easier to also introduce and finally implement this new Drinking Water Project.

BWNF  and Palmyra have by now already implemented the installation of the water purification systems and related infrastructure.  A pilot project was started during the month of November 2005 in one of the proposed villages. 

Avalokita is specialized in managing, organizing and developing awareness campaigns. The aim of Avalokita is to stimulate an attitude change regarding

“Using free but unsafe water into buying safe drinking water”.  Yatra multimedia is specialized in arts based programs.

The implementation process has been developed as follows:

• Identification of villages for the programe after analyzing the watersample  from the village water resource(s).
   

• Discussion as to the willingness of the panchyath to participate with their available means. Budget preparation for the needed infrastructure. 
   

• Introduction of the safe water program to the entire village. Organizing the people and performing street theatreplays which inform the concerned people about the value of using safe drinking water.
   

• School project (education through art) to give the children knowledge about the value of water, hygiene, how to use water in a proper way and the associated dangers of using unsafe drinking water.
   

• Organizing the installation of the needed infrastructure. 
   

• Collect data on households, water resources and population through PRA exercise.
   

• Selection of 2 representatives from each street to cover entire households to have access to safe drinking water and forming a User Group.  
   

Project Area Map

Click me to enlarge

30000 Liters Capacity of OHT
with  Power Room

Safe Drinking Water System

Women in PRA Exercise

Working Comm. members with PIU

User Group members collecting
purified water

• Select woman / man to become a operator and distributor for the safe drinking water.  
   

• Train the people how to organize drinking water distribution and the water cess.  Training in book keeping and how to maintain the systems out of the income from the water cess. 
   

• Awareness programs for the women teach the value of safe drinking water and how to use it in a proper way at home.

Purification process:

1. Water tank on top of the roof is filled with untreated well- water through a pumping system.
    

2. There is a Filter which removes sand- and other particles. (Filter can be cleaned)
    

3. Two filters with activated carbon will remove pollutants such as pesticides and also removes bad taste and bad odour. Activated carbon are grain sized particles made from coconut shells which are burned in a special way in order  to be able to remove the pollutants mentioned.
    

4. A special Ultraviolet lamp in the unit will kill viruses and bacteria.  This makes the water safe to drink.
    

5. The electronic safety unit will stop the purification process when the UV lamp does not function anymore or when a power cut occurs.
    

6. A Voltage stabiliser will make the voltage of the electrical power line more reliable by controlling high voltage fluctuations.
    

7. The Storage tank  will be filled with purified water. When the storage tank is full, the purification unit stops to produce safe drinking water. When the water level in the storage tank drops, the purification unit automatically starts again to fill the tank with safe drinking water.
    

8. Inside the storage tanks ceramic bricks have been placed.  These are loaded with a silver compound to prevent bacterial multiplication in the storage tank filled with purified water.

 
Village Resource Map