Warka Water is an experimental project designed to offer an alternative water source for rural communities facing challenges in accessing drinkable water.

Visiting small isolated communities up on high plateau in the North East region of Ethiopia, we witnessed this dramatic reality: the lack of potable water. The villagers live in a beautiful natural environment but often without running water, electricity, a toilet or a shower. To survive here, women and children walk everyday for miles towards shallow and unprotected ponds, where the water is often contaminated with human and animal waste, parasites, and diseases. They collect the water using dry carved pumpkins and carry the water back in old plastic containers, which are extremely heavy.

The root cause of Ethiopia’s major health problems is the spread of diseases perpetuated by the lack of clean water and sanitation systems. Only 44% of the general population has access to safe drinking water, and merely 34% in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF March 2012). Water quality is severely poor and often contaminated by human and animal waste. The impact of poor water quality on the health of communities is shocking – approximately 54,000 children die each year directly from diarrheal diseases and 217,000 more die from related illnesses, such as malnutrition, pneumonia and malaria (UNICEF February 2012).
 

To help improve this dramatic situation, we made it our mission to find a solution and help people with Warka Water: an environmentally, socially and financially sustainable solution to potable water.

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Warka Water is first and foremost and architectural project and should not be considered as the solution to all water problems in developing countries, but rather as a tool that can provide clean water in selected areas, particularly in mountainous regions where conventional pipelines will never reach and where water is not available from wells. These remote communities, often with limited financial means, struggle to find reliable sources of clean water for the people and animals and for agriculture.

Warka Water is designed to be owned and operated by the villagers, a key factor that helps guarantee the success of this project. Warka Water not only provides a fundamental resource for life – water – but also creates a social place for the community, where people can gather under the shade of its canopy for education and public meetings.

Warka Water is inspired by nature and lost ancient traditions. Many plants and animals have developed singular ‘skills’ to enable them to collect water from the air and survive in the most hostile environments on Earth. Some key examples include the Namib beetle’s shell, lotus flower leaves, spider webs, and the fog collection and water storage system in cacti. We have identified and continue to improve upon specific materials and coatings that can enhance dew condensation, water flow, and storage capabilities.

The construction techniques are inspired by local vernacular architecture and uses local and biodegradable materials to design a structure that both complements the natural landscape and can be built easily by hand with the collaboration of villagers. Furthermore, Warka Water uses very little materials for environmental sustainability.

The name of the project ‘Warka’ comes from the Warka tree, a giant wild fig tree native to Ethiopia. It constitutes a very important part of the local culture and ecosystem by providing both fruit and a gathering place for the community.

The tree is a symbol for the local people: a village without a Warka tree is not considered honorable. Hence, despite widespread deforestation that has become a major problem in Ethiopia, the villagers protect and look after the Warka tree, and the tree in turn serves the community that takes care of it. Likewise, Warka Water wants to become an important cornerstone for the local community.

In rural areas of Ethiopia, infrastructure is scarce, and building a well is neither easy nor affordable. To find water source, you need to drill deep into the ground. Bringing water to the top requires pumps and electrical equipment, which are both expensive and difficult to maintain.

Our focus is on providing sustainable and affordable water sources through the Warka Water tower. Built with local bamboo, it is easily maintained by villagers themselves, and it can run at very low cost.

Air always contains a certain amount of water, irrespective of local ambient temperatures and humidity conditions. This makes it possible to produce water from air almost anywhere in the world. Locations with high rates of aerosol and humidity are best to install a Warka Water tower, which is designed to harvest potable water from the atmosphere (it collects rain, harvests fog and dew). Our objective is to provide up to 26.4 gal (100 L) of drinking water every day.

Below are the key details of Warka Water 5.0:

• Daily water supply: 13 to 26 gallons (50 to 100 L), annual average 
• Water tank storage: 264 gallons (1000 L)
• Construction: 4 days, 6 people (by hand, no electrical power machinery required)
• Assembly: 3 hours, 4 people

• Weight: 132 pounds (60 kg)
• Materials: Bamboo, hemp, metal pins, bio-plastic
• Dimensions: Height 19 ft (5.8 m) – Footprint Ø 18 ft (5.7 m)
• Surface Area: Mesh 690 sq. ft (64 sq. m), Collector 205 sq. ft (19 sq. m), Canopy 1288 sq. ft (120 sq. m)
• Cost: ~ $1,000 (production in Ethiopia)
• Maintenance: easy to be maintained, cleaned and repaired.

We installed our first Warka Water pilot tower in a rural community in South Ethiopia called Dorze, situated 2400m above sea level. The pilot was successful, and the local villagers have embraced the tower as their own. Several families have been using the collected water for drinking, washing, and farming. We hosted workshops with the villagers and the children to help them independently build, install, and maintain the Warka Water tower and care for the collected water. 

We are monitoring the pilot installation closely to learn more about Warka Water’s technical, social, and economic impact in the local cultural context.

Since 2012, we have developed several design concepts and constructed 12 full-scale prototypes to test with different materials and environmental conditions. We installed our first pilot prototype in Ethiopia in May 2015, version 3.2. We are currently monitoring the pilot in Dorze and working in parallel on a new design: Warka Water version 5.0. Learning from the experience acquired and, thanks to the previous prototype, the new version will include several improvements.

Mesh: We are experimenting with new and improved mesh to further enhance water collection. 

Edible Garden: We are currently developing an updated version, Warka Water 5.0, that includes a modular edible garden that can serve the food needs of one to three families, using only a part of the water collected. This experimental garden has already been installed and tested in our lab in Italy and will be integrated into the next Warka Water version to be constructed.

Illumination: We are exploring also the possibility of bringing lighting under the Warka Water canopy for children to study and people to gather after the sunset, for security and for education. Using flexible and lightweight solar panels, we can power small LED lights that will bring light to the covered space around the Warka Water tower.

India: In addition to our field pilot in Ethiopia, we are working on bringing the Warka Water 5.0 to remote villages in India. We are currently evaluating various potential pilot sites in the Meghalaya, Assam, and Gujarat regions.

Adopting the Warka Water for small rural community can lead to numerous impactful initiatives:

• Education: Women and children can engage in productive activities such as care, education and crafts that can lead to self-sufficiency
• Economy: Manufacturing the Warka tower locally and sourcing indigenous materials can create jobs and boost the local economy
• Society: The Warka tower’s canopy creates a gathering place for the community
• Agriculture: Water produced by the Warka tower can be used for irrigation and farming
• Environment: The water management training program can introduce the principles of permaculture.

The Warka Water project began in 2012 by the Italian design firm ‘Architecture and Vision,’ directed by Arturo Vittori, and with the support of external collaborators. Since then, we have come a long way, launched our first pilot in Ethiopia, and we are now are ready to continue testing the tower in different environmental and cultural contexts. 

We have drafted a business plan for the next 3 years, where each year is divided into 2 semesters and marked by the letter (S). The semesters with the (✓) symbol delineate what has been achieved thus far, and the semester with the green mark indicates the current phase, which will be achieved with the help of this campaign. We have also planned subsequent phases of work, among which are the launch of 3 field tests and 3 larger pilots, and monitoring test results, before large-scale production. 

In 2019, once the project is completed, we plan to start the large-scale production of Warka Water. Additionally, specific training courses will be organized for the inhabitants of the village to construct, use and maintain the Warka Water. We hope to invigorate the local economy through manufacturing activities and give children opportunities to invest their time in more productive activities and education. We believe that Warka Water can be a stepping-stone that empowers communities to build greater independence.

Help us make Warka Water happen and empower water poor communities with the ability to produce clean water! Your contribution – from supporting this project, spreading the word, to reaching out with new collaboration ideas – can make a difference in remote villages around the world. We are grateful for all your support and encouragement.

Warka Water team members are based in Italy, India, Ethiopia, Lebanon, USA, UK, and Nigeria. They are led by the CEO and Founder, Arturo Vittori.

Warka Water has received widespread interest from many international organizations.

Our story has been featured on several magazines and blogs.