The Power of Design: Milking the Clouds, Bringing Water to The Desert
In my final project at Industrial Design in DuocUC in 2000 I had the opportunity to develop a project to improve the quality of life of low-income people in the Atacama desert, a virtually rainless plateau in South America, covering a 600-mile strip of land on the Pacific coast of Chile. The access to water in this area is scare and communities living in the area depend on private suppliers. After spending three months interacting with communities in the area I detected a significant problem relating to water. During my research I noticed that low income families needed to spend money due the high level of minerals in the water that spoiled pots and kitchenware. This was also reflected in poor levels of health and several illnesses in the youngest population. The issue was not the supply or the price of water; the problem was the quality.
In parallel I discovered an existing project that aimed to provide drinking water through the condensation of morning fog through a ‘fog collecting device’. Although the project was based just six kilometres from the town and had strong awareness amongst local residents, the initiative was completely external to and disconnected from the community. This was mostly because the project was still perceived as an novelty and it had been conducted out of the community. The final device was a primitive device, a scientific experiment that the community failed to see as a product that could give solutions to their problems.
For the next two months I worked with anthropologists to define an approach to overcome the distrust towards the project as well as the lack of sense of ownership from the community. This work provided important design and engineer guidelines for the project as well as enabling a more fluid design process with civil engineers, architects and designers. The input from each discipline had an important bearing on the definition of the mechanics, physics, functionality, user interface and the physical form of the ‘fog-collecting device’.
The result: The approach and overall process produced an excellent result with the final prototype being approved for building and testing in four communities in Chile. The device generated up to 80 liters of water per day, as much as the previous model being half the size, thanks to the double layer of fabric and the use of wind tunnels to maximise condensation.
The costs were kept low using basic materials and adapting existent parts. The reception was overwhelming, the device was presented as a finished product in a box, it can be set up by as few as two or three people following the instruction manual that details every step with text an graphics illustrating all the necessary processes.
Drawing from this experience I recognised the diversity of the wider challenges that designers face when developing products or services. I became passionate about discovering ways to improve people’s lives through design and bridging the gap between design and other social-related disciplines. This is where the inspiration for my MA research was fermented; to bridge that gap by understanding the theoretical roots behind design thinking and providing a concise justification for design thinking in the social sector.
About ECö: Milking the Clouds
This innovative product captures morning fog in desert areas and condenses it to produce water for local communities with no access to drinking water. Made with low cost materials the system is affordable for poor families and a smart solution to source scarce water resources in extreme conditions.
Simple materials and mechanisms make this product a creative solution for users and producers. All pieces are standard (with minimal modifications) to keep production costs down. The product can be set up by two or three people and comes with an installation manual.
The project was developed based on an investigation sponsored by the Australian Embassy in Chile.
