UNDP Report on Water

From the readings, I was struck by how much women and girls are disproportionately burdened by the challenges of water collection in developing countries. Many girls are even held back from school so they can collect water and help around the house. Other girls are held back from school because there is a lack of private toilets for them to use. The issue of clean water is also a gendered issue when school attendance of girls are being affected. Water is tied into so many other aspects of human life like health, food, and even education in this example.

The Youth Booklet presents the challenges of water and sanitation in an optimistic way. I am quite cyclical and am not convinced that by 2015, water and sanitation issues will be solved. I am very hopeful this will be the case, but I just don't see as many countries coming together and doing what they can to end such a solvable challenge.

WaterWear Backpack

This technology was developed as people realized how burdensome fetching water actually is for many people around the world. In addition to fetching water, keeping it clean and transporting it to their homes is a major challenge and this technology hopes to make this easier for people around the world.
The pros of this technology is the easily washable lining and the built in tap that keeps the water clean. It is also in the shape of a backpack so it is manageable to carry over uneven terrain. It is not as harmful to the neck and as carrying water on your head. The cons are that the backpack only carries 20 liters which is not enough for a whole family. Also some of the materials like the tap, and the woven polypropylene may increase the cost of production. It is arguable whether this technology is more efficient than some of the local products in use.

If I had 10 grand to devote to addressing water challenges around developing communities, I would not choose this technology.  The amount of water it carries is not sufficient and there is not adequate quantitative data supporting how effective this has been in the real world. I would also need more support on how the materials and cost of the backpack are acquired.

Water Challenge

I did not go through the water challenge for an entire week successfully, but I attempted. I had strategies of filling up my water bottle any chance I got, I used the bathroom before and after my classes and I would shower in the afternoons before dinner. The experience was, despite how short it was, made me more conscience of water accessibility and how much water I used. When I would brush my teeth or wash my face or shower, I would turn off the faucet to brush or lather. It made me more mindful about wasting. The hardest part for me was going out in order to wash for prayer 5 times a day. This was pretty inconvenient, especially when I needed to wash for prayer at 5 in the morning.

Overall, I think the point of this challenge is very meaningful. We got a little taste of what it's like to ration and get access to water in developing countries. My experience barely scratched the surface of what most people around the world deal with, but it gave me a couple of insights I wouldn't have had before. The plenty of water we can access in convenient places is truly a luxury. 

Gravity Light Analysis

The gravity light is quite innovative and seems like a very simple concept, but it was difficult to figure out the specifics. Estimating and assumptions helped me conceptualize this device. I'm still not confident I know how this works though. This product seems viable to me.

Assumptions:

• We assumed the length of light is about 5 inches because the man's head looks about twice as long as the light. Measured my head and assumed a man's head would be a couple inches longer than mine
• Plastic bag appears 8 times as long as the light, 8x5= 40 inches (length of bag)
• Width of bag appears to be as long as light, 5 inches
• We used weight of bowling ball as a good estimate for the weight required to power gravity light, 10 lbs
• If a bowling ball was compressed into a 5x5 cube, then 5 of them could fit into the plastic bag
• 50 lbs seemed like it was too much so I halved it for realistic measures
• I'd say about 25-30 lbs is the weight required to power the gravity light

Building a safe Sharps Container

When brainstorming for the sharps container, we wanted something that would be sturdy enough so razors wouldn't cut through the inside of the box. Also something that wouldn't be too heavy. We found styrofoam and settled with that. It was pretty thick so a razor couldn't puncture a whole in it.

We tried to build a box out of it at first, and during this we thought of a simpler idea. We took a large piece of styrofoam and cut four slits in it, the long way. We covered it in duct tape to give it a second layer of protection for sturdiness.

The slits were also covered in duct take then cut open again. That way, we thought that there would be more support in holding the razors inside. The razors are inserted into the slits in the styrofoam for safe containing. We tested it and no razors fell out. It's simple and gets the job done.

Sharps container standing upright

I built a lantern

This project was overwhelming in the beginning because I didn't feel like I was given enough direction, but, but eventually I worked it out and thought it through with some help.
I had no experience building anything like this so it's pretty awesome. Difficult, but pretty awesome once completed. It required a new way of problem solving and thinking. One that I'm not used to as a humanities major at Wellesley. Scavenging was a good way to get innovative ideas so I used lots of what I found.

Materials:
1 9Volt battery
1 270 ohm resistor
1 LED
Paper clips
Gift wrap tissue
Paper clips
Duct tape
Floss
Magnet
Velcro
Plastic cup

Here is a sketch of my lantern, the circuit diagram and the calculations to select the right resistor:

I linked a chain of paper clips together for handles. I then made slits on the sides of the plastic cup with scissors. Then by hooking the clips into the slits, I created a handle for the lantern. Inside the cup I had my battery with the LED and resistor connected. I held the battery in place with velcro. 

I created the switch by tying a string of floss to the resistor and making it dangle from of the bottom of the cup. Then I tied a circle magnet to the bottom of the floss adding a weight. My switch functions because the weight of the magnet pulls the wires of the resistor and the LED together, thus turning on the lantern light. When you want to turn off the lantern, you lift the magnet and attach it to the side of the cup on top of the battery. Magnetic force attaches it to the battery inside the cup. And since there is no weight pulling the resistor and LED wires together, the magnet is off. 

I covered the body of my lantern with orange gift tissue wrap to improve aesthetics and because it maximized the light given off and creating a brighter light. Here is my lantern shining in the dark! 

Poor People's Energy Outlook

I enjoyed reading the two chapters because when I thought about important resources people lack, I usually do not think of energy. I think more about access to school, hospitals, food/water, shelter. But energy is integral to many of those categories and this reading gave a good overview. It was also surprising that smoke is one of the largest causes of ill-health and death when people don't have safe methods of using the stove and fuel. Lot's of people seem totally dependent on firewood for their cooking and fuel. How does this affect deforestation? I wonder how effective the approaches taken to rely less on wood have worked?

I also liked the gender analysis part that explained how energy is also an equity issue. Women in the developing world have work days that are much longer than men because they bear the burden of supplying energy resources. This affects them by greater fatigue, nutritional deprivation, withdrawal of children. Energy poverty disproportionately affects women compared to men.