Solar Water Desalinisation System in Kenya

Adaptation from the project website

Access to clean drinking water - a new project approach

Ensure equitable access to clean and affordable drinking water to prevent the cycle of disease, malnutrition and undernourishment. With this goal in mind, atmosfair started the search for suitable technologies and cooperation partners in the field of solar-based water treatment as early as 2018.

We discovered promising new developments in systems that do not require a grid connection, no diesel generator and no battery. The technical basis is the reverse osmosis process, in which pressure changes filter impurities through membranes.

The products of the Berlin manufacturer Boreal Light GmbH aroused our special interest. Together, we developed a first pilot in Kenya in order to derive conclusions for possible follow-up projects and to lay the foundation for the new project pillar solar drinking water supply.

The pilot project in the village of Burani (see Our WaterKiosks® Portfolio) is a success story. Since its installation, the villagers (and surrounding villages) have access to clean and affordable drinking water. The time-consuming fetching of contaminated water is no longer necessary. In addition, the cutting of wood as fuel for boiling and thus the deforestation of the forests and the release of CO2 now belongs to the past.

Growing together following the example of Burani

The water kiosk in Burani is a model for the construction of further water kiosks. The upcoming follow-up projects are spread all over the country and focus primarily on places with limited access to clean, affordable drinking water and high deforestation rates. Since 2020, a total of 27 water kiosks have been put into operation.

Through the financing commitment of these water kiosks by atmosfair, the largest decentralized water treatment project in East Africa at that time was started in 2020 (see sidebar “News from the project”). We do not want to stop here. Access to clean and affordable drinking water is still closed for millions of people.