Nouvelles Pousses, Cambodia
Drinking Water for 3 Villages
The Sarikakeo inhabitants currently get their
water from 2 main sources: rain water during the rainy season,
which provides clean water but which gets quickly contaminated as a
result of poor storage conditions, and surface/ground waters in the
dry season, the former containing many pathogenic elements and the
latter containing high mineral levels and arsenic. Drinkable water
is available through local businesses, but there is no guarantee on
the origin of the water and the price of such water makes it
affordable for less than 30% of the population (60% of the
villagers live with less than $1 per day per person).
The projects aims at setting up a water
treatment unit (decantation/filtration/UV purification) with a
capacity of 5,000 litres/day (i.e. 1,250 m3/year),
packaged in 20-litre bottles sold 800 Riels ($0.20). Water
production will be seasonally adapted (higher during the dry
season). The water source will be the Mekong River nearby.
The unit will be built and run with the
technical assistance of Teuk Saat 1001("1001 Fountains"),
who has extensive experience in the process and in other similar
projects throughout Cambodia.
Provided that the investments are excluded
from the costs calculation and that the building costs are covered
by the municipality, production & delivery costs are estimated
at US$11,000/year. Sales are expected to reach 63,875 20 bottles
per year, sold at $0.20, i.e. $12,800/year. The long-term plan is
to run the unit as a social business, with operational
responsibility shifting progressively from Teuk Saat 1001 to the
community and whereby operation and maintenance costs are covered
by sales to the beneficiaries. Nouvelles Pousses shall then
re-focus on its own activities relating to health and education,
and on outreach activities for the remote communities.
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