This post has been written for 'The Idea Caravan' organized by Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012 along with indiblogger.in
Watching Cynthiya Koenig speak about her idea to improve water transport in remote areas was really an eye opener. At one hand you can't stop but applaud her brilliant idea on the other hand you have to ask yourself, how can such a wonderful idea remain hidden for so long? I mean when you think about it, it's so obvious when you think about it. But it always happens with such brilliant ideas which are so effective that we can't help but think, why didn't I think of that?
Watching Cynthiya Koenig speak about her idea to improve water transport in remote areas was really an eye opener. At one hand you can't stop but applaud her brilliant idea on the other hand you have to ask yourself, how can such a wonderful idea remain hidden for so long? I mean when you think about it, it's so obvious when you think about it. But it always happens with such brilliant ideas which are so effective that we can't help but think, why didn't I think of that?
On the surface Cynthiya's idea is very simple and very creative, rather than carrying water tank at your head like people are used to just roll it over to your destination. It became possible due to Cynthiya's innovative design where in she turned a simple drum into a rollable drum with handles for easy movement. It's called Wello waterwheel and ladies and Gentlemen it is going to revolutionize the life of people all around the world in the areas where there is water shortage.
Image courtesy Wellowater.org
It is not uncommon for women in villages in Rajasthan to go and carry water from wells over long distances sometimes even 10 kms and as Cynthiya correctly said carrying such a heavy weight on their head over such long distances would definitely affect their spinal cord which results in serious health issues later in their life. Her solution is simply marvelous just look at the picture below from their site, I have no doubt that their product Wello waterwheel will bring a revolution to the lives of all these women and girls in the remote areas and villages with water shortage.
Image courtesy Wellowater.org
Waterwheel's design is ingenious and I do believe that by using this product people would at least be able to get some respite from the gruelling process of collecting water. Since its closed shut during transportation there is now no more chances of contamination to the water as it was always possible with the open Matki carried by women traditionally. Also Wello promises that waterwheel is made by sturdy material keeping Indian terrain in mind.
Its all good and fine but it will only truly benefit people when its adopted by them. And only by large size adoption will Wello be able to innovate further. But I honestly believe that for the many families for which the product is intended and suitable would not be able to afford the amount quoted. For us 1000 Rs is not such a big deal but it is still a big amount in 1000s of our villages. And the irony is that the poorer the village is the more they would need waterwheel.
And yet no one can dispute the price after all to make waterwheel with kind of plastic and iron do take money and I believe they would barely be making any profit to make sure that all those poor women are profited. I sincerely hope that either our government or the largest corporate houses must come together and sponsor this movement to improve lives on countless Indians. Afterall for few measly Crores they would be able to distribute waterwheels to thousands of households and help them get supply of cleaner water.
Remember water is our life force and its a natural resource and every Indian has a right to safe clean water for his daily needs. This directly relates to the living standards of the people and with small but effective steps like this we would be able to make sure that all the Indians grow. And when people grow the Country grows.
I would like to thank Franklin Templeton and TEDxGateway for giving us such a wonderful opportunity to listen these awesomely talented and innovative people sharing their life changing ideas. And most of all to http://www.indiblogger.in to enable us to share our view and contribute to such wonderful ideas.