Design Continuum

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• 01. Interdesign Africa
• 02. Lab Now
• 03. MIT- Design & Development
• 04. Mood & Anxiety Disorders Institute
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Interdesign Africa

How do you make a dent in the global water crisis? Start by developing simple, yet powerful solutions—locally. Then, consider how to apply them globally.

As South Africa was emerging from the apartheid regime with hopeful and ambitious expectations, it was looking to confront one of its most significant challenges—the water crisis—in a new way: through design. At the invitation of InterDesign Africa, a team from Continuum joined thirty international and local fellow industrial designers, water experts and community representatives in Pretoria, South Africa to learn about how the local community was experiencing the water crisis and to start developing solutions.

InterDesign participants split into small teams to focus on a specific aspect of the larger water problem: clean harvesting and storage of rain water; payment; distribution and transportation; conservation; and sanitation. The critical initial step was to learn, first hand, about the realities of accessing water. Accompanied by social workers and water experts, project teams conducted immersive research in rural villages and local slums. They visited people in their communities and homes, learning about individual aspirations (villagers who wanted latrines like those that city people had) while also experiencing the many challenges around water first-hand. The breakdown of existing systems and newly implemented “high tech” solutions (shuttered large pump filtration, storage and distribution facilities, installed by foreign NGOs that came and then left) framed the teams’ challenges, tempered grandiose expectations, and drove the group ever harder toward solutions that were relevant, practicable, and lasting.

One concept that emerged from the Sanitation Team was the “Melunga Bottle.” This simple approach transformed discarded water bottles into a practical device for cleaning hands. The bottle was equipped with a simple valve designed from a wire that was both local and abundant. Like a hampster’s water bottle, when the upside down Melunga Bottle opening was “pushed,” it released enough water for hand-washing: allowing an efficient use of water and supporting handwashing as a way to prevent illness. Each bottle could dispense water for 50 washes without refilling, making hand-washing both convenient and readily accessible.

The Sanitation Team also considered how to design solutions that could be easily reproduced. After a careful survey of the local tools and materials, the team developed a solution to prevent water from collecting on the floor of latrines. A new method for shaping bathroom floors and latrine seats was developed using local materials and methods.

Simultaneous to this work in Africa, sister InterDesign teams responded to local water challenges in Mexico and Australia. In the spirit of collaboration, teams from all three locations shared their learning and results at the end of this intense two-week engagement.