Even though families live in a thick fog for 6 months of the year, water is a rare and very expensive commodity in the communities located in the hills around Lima. Indeed, these communities do not have access to the distribution network and the only way to get water is to bring tankers. Because of the difficult and dangerous access conditions, the price of water is 7 times more expensive than in downtown Lima. Water represents about half of a family’s budget.
With Vladimir Léon Menacho, a young engineer, we carried out a test on the profitability of “fog catchers”, nets stretched to catch water from the fog. Vladimir has experience in this field and this installation could significantly reduce the financial burden for families while opening the door to other possibilities (e.g. creation of vegetable gardens, construction of a shower,…).
The tests were conclusive: over a period of 2 months, we collected an average of 8.5 liters of water per day per square meter of net, well beyond our expectations. The collected water has been analyzed in the lab and can be made drinkable with a simple filtration process. The construction of a complete facility will be our major project for 2022-2023.
