13 September 2021, Bubisa, Marsabit county, Kenya – The Bubisa WaterKiosk Solar Desalination Project will officially launch on the 22nd of September 2021.
A collaboration between Cargo Human Cares, Caritas Germany, Pacida Kenya, Boreal Light GmbH and WaterKiosk Africa, it is the largest project of its kind on the continent.
It delivers over 11,000 litres of clean drinking water per hour, with the capacity to supply water to over 30,000 community members within a 5km radius of 24 fully automated water ATMs.
Bubisa is an extremely remote and arid part of Kenya, located 46 kilometres from the nearest town of Marsabit. The area experiences great difficulties in accessing hygiene drinking water in amidst of harsh climate, and also suffers from food insecurity.
In line with the principles of a circular economy, two hectares of saline water farming is integrated into the project utilising the desalination plant’s waste water. The system also runs on 100% solar energy and is totally off-grid; providing clean water, hunger relief, and job opportunities for locals.
“Bubisa WaterKiosk is a unique role model for unprivileged poor-rural communities where water, electricity and food supply are a challenge,” said CEO of Boreal Light GmbH, Dr Hamed Beheshti. “We believe many other parts of Africa may learn from the best practice of Bubisa for their future adaptation to climate change impacts.”
“The concept of producing clean and safe drinking water with the help of a desalination plant will not only be a significant improvement to the health of the people in Bubisa but also an improvement to the infrastructure of this village,” said Cargo Human Care e.V Board Member, Dr Thomas Berger. “This pilot project can also enable people in other regions access to safe water”
The launch will be graced by:
WaterKiosk Ltd is a registered entity specialized in renewable sources of energy solutions for water treatment facilities. The company installs, operates, and maintains solar water desalination systems for off-grid communities around Africa.
Partner organizations:
Boreal Light GmbH is a Berlin-based company specialized in renewable energy solutions for water treatment facilities. The company designs and manufactures affordable solar water desalination systems for off-grid communities around the globe. Systems manufactured by Boreal Light are capable of delivering high-quality hygiene drinking, irrigation, fish farm, and sanitation water from any kind of high saline and polluted water resources. Powered fully by solar, simplicity of the design, and affordability of the cost of the systems manufactured by Boreal Light are the three great competencies the company is proud of.
Caritas is a confederation of 16 catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Collectively and individually, their missions are to work to build a better world, especially for the poor and oppressed.
Cargo Human Care is a humanitarian and medical aid project, which was brought to life by employees of Lufthansa Cargo and doctors from Germany in 2007. Core commitment is to provide immediate medical assistance to people in need and to give destitute orphans and young people a home and prospects for a good future.
The Pastoralist Community Initiative and Development Assistance (PACIDA) is a development and relief organization that empowers pastoralist communities through sustainable community-driven development interventions.
PACIDA was founded in 2008 by local scholars and development practitioners who were concerned about the huge and widening humanitarian needs, deepening vulnerabilities and huge development gap in its target region.
Do you have an article that you would like to share? Submit your article here or keep up with the latest news from the water industry and wastewater industry by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.
