In many third world countries many people do not have access to clean drinkable water due to pollution, waste management and a myriad of other issues.
There have been many projects around the world whose aim is to regenerate their water supplies. One such project that was launched in the Philippines in 2009 was the “Kapit Bisag para sa Ilog Pasig” (Linking arms for the Pasig River).
The river in itself is the main river running through Manila and many of the poorer citizens depend on the Pasig to live. The project was run by the ABS-CBN foundation and they held many events to fundraise ro revitalise the polluted river.
Even though in the Philippines they were able to successfully complete the project there are still many areas. This idea of providing clean drinking water for the less advantaged was tackled by a multi-disciplinary team of Scientists and Designers (Theresa Dankovich, WATERisLIFE and marketing firm DDB) who came up with the idea of “The Drinkable Book “.
On first inspection the ‘Drinkable book’ looks like any other Hard Bound book.
Scientist Theresa Dankovich invented a bactericidal silver nanoparticle paper, pAge, for PHD. As part of the Global health in Limpopo project she travelled to South Africa to test her pAge papers. Each page is about a millimeter thick and contains the silver nanoparticles, the silver can rid the water of harmful microbes, but with little to no effect on humans.
“A lot of water issues aren’t just because people don’t have the right technology, but also because they aren’t informed why they need to treat water to begin with,” Theresa Dankovich
In collaboration with Designer Brian Gartside & DDB Worldwide they designed a beautiful book whose pages filter dirty water of any deadly diseases. Once water is passed through the filter, bacteria count is reduced by over 99.99% per cent.
The paper costs only pennies to produce, making it by far the cheapest option on the market. Each filter is capable of giving someone up to 30 days worth of clean water. And each book is capable of providing someone with clean water for up to 4 years.
To use the book, you rip one of the pages in half, slide it into the filter box (which doubles as a cover for the book) and pour contaminated water through. The water safety tips, printed in nontoxic ink, include washing your hands before eating and keeping trash away from your water source. That information will be printed in English and local languages. With a cost of 10cents per filter paper each book can last up to almost a year.
References:
Pasig River Clean Up (no date) Available at: http://www.abscbnfoundation.org/pasig-river-clean-up.html (Accessed: 30 April 2015)
The Drinkable Book – Brian Gartside’s Portfolio (no date) Available at: http://briangartsi.de/The-Drinkable-Book (Accessed: 30 April 2015)
(No date) Available at: https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/3925/islam-and-the-visual-arts-in-indonesia-and-malaysi/ (Accessed: 4 February 2015)
Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig AVP (no date) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/embed/PqEEl0Vd4SA (Accessed: 30 April 2015)
The Drinkable Book – Water is Life (no date) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/embed/qYTif9F188E (Accessed: 30 April 2015)
Indonesia Global Design Studio 
Such an interesting initiative! It’s great to see the combination of beautiful design aesthetics for such an important and beneficial purpose. A simple idea, executed so well, I can’t believe this isn’t being used everywhere!
Such an interesting initiative! It’s great to see the combination of beautiful aesthetics and design with such an important and beneficial cause. A simple idea, executed so well, I can’t believe this isn’t being used everywhere!
That was such an beautiful invention, this book would be useless in places where clean water is not part of our daily concern, but for people living in areas with no access to clean drinking water, it can truly be life changing.
This is not only incredibly intelligent and efficient use for those who live in such hard conditions, but it is designed and presented in a way that makes it desirable and motivates use. It could also be an effective alternative to chlorine or iodine water treatment for those who travel to places with limited drinkable water.
Such a good idea, do you have any idea about the plans to begin distributing these books. Aside from the novelty of the book, I wonder how favourably this filter technology compares to initiatives like the LifeStraw http://www.buylifestraw.com/en/ . Would be interesting to see if it’s format is simply decorative or actually creates a more efficient and helpful product.