This project aims to send representatives of the "Prespot" pottery centre (Cameroon) to a ceramic water filter production and implementation training in Cambodia, and set up equipment for Prespot and ADEID to start a pilot production and distribution of ceramic water filters.

More information

The production of water filters will be a joined effort of ADEID, PRACTICA and Prescraft, a well-equipped pottery center in Bamessing. New opportunities in the international ceramic water filter community enables for a jumpstart of water filter production in Cameroon:
- RDIC, a filter producer in Cambodia can offer training in production, promotion and distribution of ceramic water filters;
- RDIC has specialized in low-cost production and shipping of all the equipment needed for ceramic water filter production;

The following goals will be included:

• ADEID and Prespcraft will have attended the ceramic water filter training and have knowledge about filter production and filter marketing principles
• ADEID and Prescraft staff will be trained in the practical filter production
• ADEID and Prescraft will have established contacts with other filter production facilities, enabling south - south knowledge exchange and day to day support
• ADEID and Prescraft will have established contacts with donor organisations giving opportunities for further funding
• Technical assistance is given for the start-up of filter production

Target benchmarks:

This project only focuses at the first phase of establishing local production, promotion and distribution of ceramic water filters in Cameroon. For full scale production, additional assistance is needed to ensure the filter quality that is so important to make it an efficient health tool. Once fully operational, the Prescraft factory should be able to produce over 1500 filters each month. The average life span of the filters is two years, which gives a possible scope to serve 36.000 families in the first two years of full production.

Current state

One sanitation expert from ADEID in Baffousam and one ceramics expert from PRESCRAFT in Bamessing have been trained in Cambodia. Next step is to run a pilot filter distribution in the Baffousam area in Cameroon to test the marketing approach and to make further plans for production of the water filters in Bamessing.

Context

The NGO ADEID is involved in health work in the Baffousam area in Cameroon. The yearly outbreak of Cholera at the beginning of the rainy season has triggered the idea to introduce water filters in this area, as consumption of untreated water is the major cause of water borne diseases as Cholera. In 2006, ADEID and PRACTICA have indicated possibilities for sustainable local production of ceramic filters, but due to lack of funding, the production has not started yet.

Ultimately, low cost ceramic water filters will be available on the local market in the Baffousam area, giving the population an affordable tool to improve the family's drinking water. The goal of this first step to local water filter production in Cameroon is to facilitate start-up of production and establish contacts. (see details)

Sustainability is guaranteed by setting up the filter production to operate as a business and sustain without external financial support. This only works when there is a real market for the filters. A distinction should be made between the retail market, which are often the middle class families who have enough education to know about the potential risks of drinking unsafe water and who have disposable income to spend on the filter on the one hand, and the NGO and institutional market on the other hand, buying filters for free or subsidized distribution to very poor families. By further developing these two markets, filter production and sales can be sustained by free market principles.