Last fall we told you about the WaterWheel, an ingenious “wheel” that is lightening the load for women and children in developing countries who have traditionally had to transport large, heavy water buckets on their heads. The original water roller was developed in South Africa and has been distributed internationally by the Hippo Water Roller Project/Imvubu Projects since 1994. The roller, so simply, rolls on the ground, transforming approximately 200 pounds of water into a much more manageable 20 pounds, which can still meet the water needs of four people a day.
Tonic was highlighting Cynthia Koenig’s recent version of the Hippo Roller called the Wello. It was among the top five contenders in a contest hosted by Justmeans and we were calling on readers to vote for the water roller. The top prize was an India Social Entrepreneurship Journey with Journeys for Change. And hey — guess what? Wello won! In February 2011, founder Cynthia Koenig will travel on a scouting trip to India with the ultimate goal of bringing the roller to the Asian continent. The judges felt that Cynthia stood out in terms of her leadership experience, her achievements and her rationale for how she could use the journey to increase her social impact in the world.
Koenig has since been working to develop an improved design and now has the opportunity to win much needed grant money to enable her reach her goals. So once again, we’re calling on you, our readers to help her out. The competition is through Nau (pronounced “now”), a clothing company based in Portland, Ore., that makes sustainable urban and outdoor apparel. Vote here on their website until June 24 to help the Wello win Nau’s 2nd annual $10,000 Grant for Change. Koenig tells Tonic: “Winning Nau’s Grant for Change would give us much needed cash infusion — we’re down to $80 in the bank! — and highlight the need for water transport as an important component in the clean water value chain: the vast majority of organizations focus on clean water at the source (digging wells) or at the point of use (purification with tablets, chlorine, etc), but the burden of water transport — a burden bourne mainly by women and girls — is ignored.”
The theme of this year’s competition is design as a tool for positive change. They have called for “designs that challenge assumptions about the way even the most basic things are done.“ Well, it sounds like a pretty good fit. “A simple design can change the world.” So come on and vote for positive change. Help take the weight off the shoulders of the 1 in 6 people in the world, mostly women and children, whose access to water requires hard work, waiting in line and hours of spine-curving walking. Help free up there time so children can go to school instead of fetching water and women can better look after their families and pursue other means to support them.
So simple, so influential. Come on, help them take a load off.
Photo courtesy of Wello.