Innovative Solution

KEGGO, portable water carrier, water hygeine, financial benefit

technical

The KEGGO is  a portable, collapsible 40 litre barrel with an inner bag that can be rolled with ease over rural terrains on its central tyre section ; a metal handle is used to direct the rolling KEGGO as one walks. The KEGGO offers 4 central, unique features that provide a competitive advantage over rival products.

1. It’s large capacity (40 litres) means less trips to fetch water;

2.  It is fitted with an inner bag which means that:

        a) Liquids inside are kept free from contamination;

        b) It does not need as much water and chemicals to be cleaned;

        c) It can carry other useful materials such as rice, grain and coco beans without any danger of contaminating the barrel;

 3. It is both collapsible and stackable and therefore easy to store;

 4. It is fitted with a tyre around the barrel that facilitates ease of rolling even over rough terrains

The product is aimed primarily at rural and urban enviroments where people are required to walk to the water source, and subsequently transport and store water at their dwelling.

Please see KEGGO brief attached.

The Design and preliminary testing is complete and patents are now registered in the UK, USA, Europe, Africa, India and Australia.

Manufacturing will take place in China, but funding is pending for the tools.

A  water hygeine study is planned in Khayelitsha Informal settlement with the help of City of Cape Town Public Health and the University of Western Cape.

Formal and extended field testing will be undertaken by the British Red Cross.

Transport and storage of water in rural and urban enviroments results in contamination once water has been collected. This is implicated in higher rates of diarheal illness and perinatal mortality. The Keggo will maintain water hygeine and so prevent both of these outcomes.

By improving water quality, reducing acute diarrheal illness (ADI) and reducing perinatal mortality, not only will there be a reduction in medical costs but also an improvement in overall community productivity (less days of sick from work and school etc.).

As highlighted by Angel Gurria himself : “We know that polluted water and poor sanitation cause 1.5 million preventable child deaths per year. It is the biggest child killer along with malaria and malnutrition. Investing 1 dollar in water and sanitation saves 4 to 12 dollars in avoided health care costs alone, according to the World Health Organisation.”

The aim of the KEGGO is to maintain water hygiene after it’s been collected, and during its storage in the home. The qualitative and quantitative indicators of its success will be demonstrated in the planned Khayelitsha study. Essentially, a reduction in incidence of ADI and perinatal mortality with resulting improvements in community productivity related to improvements in overall health. As a caveat to this, there are financial algorithms that calculate overall savings from this benefit (including direct medical costs), which form the basis for Angel Gurria’s statement above.

This is an interesting question as it illustrates the difference between need and demand.  The people who need the KEGGO are dwellers of rural communities and informal settlements. The demand currently lies with NGOs, Corporates and Local Governments with water based community programs. Marketing the KEGGO to these organisation is facilitated by forums such as yourselves. For me, the most interesting development of the past 5 years is the growth of MicroFinance Institutions (MFIs) – currently 1 in 10 Africans is involved in some kind of microfinancing.  For the first time, those who actually need the KEGGO may be in a position to buy it themselves. There is also an opportunity to use the KEGGO to develop community “microentrepeneurs” renting out the barrel to families that own “bags”, in the same way that mini-solar panels are rented out to charge cell phones. The Social Investment Consultancy recognise this opportunity and are keen to train someone specifically to develop a link between MFIs and harness this market (see additional attachments).

This is a simple product, and has been pretested successfully by families in informal settlements outside of Cape Town. The business plan, in terms of implementation and all aspects of investment is summarised in the KEGGO brief attached.

A number of organisations have shown commitment to the KEGGO  (see attachments for letters of support):

1. G and H Associates (www.ghassociatesuk.com). This is a Consultancy who raise funds and orders via the African Aid Agencies represented in Brussels. The Ghanian Aid Agency  have committed to fund the product in Africa, although they are yet to lay out timescle for the provision of funds

2. The British Red Cross have committed to field testing the product.

3. The Public Health Dept., Khayelitsha, City of Cape Town, have committed to the Water Hygiene Study highlighted above.

4. AIPACS (www.aipacs.com), an International Aid Consultancy, have committed to launching the product in Kenya.

A number of other NGOs  have made verbal committments to placing smaller orders to test in their own programs.

Zach Dovey

Celdo Ltd,

1, Streamside, Main Street, Cape Town, South Africa, 7700

00 27 21 686 8125

00 44 7714 273816

zachdovey@gmail.com

Please Keggo Brief, attached images and letters of support attached below.