On a typical Thursday, we head out as a team for some field work: whether it be a lake, to schools, to Cubbon Park, or to visit another place around Bangalore which Biome has impacted. Due to the strike today, however, Uber Ola were down, so we took advantage of having a full day to work on both our Biome project and our GCIL project.
We also chose to split up what we were working on today. While we are all sitting together, so that we could bounce ideas and source opinions from each other, Eric and I focused on typing up the Cubbon Park Well Report, while Kayla and Tessa began research for our GCIL project.
The Biome project, which is the report, is the one which we have been focused on in both these blogs and in our activities for the week. Now that we have most of our data collected, we were able to begin typing up the who, what, when, and why of the work we have been doing. Using the previous reports on Cubbon park, as well as doing research into infiltration and evaporation data around Bangalore, we were able to predict the impact that the 73 wells would have in recharging the aquifers. We had the time to sit down and analyze the data we had collected this week, looking at topographical elevations and analyzing the effect of the different types of soils in the area. For myself, it was a real life application of what I had learned in my Physical Hydrology class that I took last quarter, an opportunity to take the engineering I've learned and apply it to a solution which has changed how Cubbon Park is operated. With the addition of these recharge wells to work with the open wells, Cubbon Park has stopped buying BWSSB water, instead relying on the stored rainwater that exists across the park.
When we haven't been working for Biome, we have been developing a project for our program. This project has certain requirements: it must be an innovation or product which does not yet exist, it must be presented as a business model, and it must attempt to solve a grand challenge here in India. In brainstorming for this project, we wanted to make sure that we came up with something that would outlast out time here in India - something which Biome or another such organization would want to be involved in and continue even after we left. We also wanted it to be in connection with the water crisis here in Bangalore - for me, it is what I studied, but for all of us, water is something we never have to think of in Seattle. In Washington State, we have an abundance of water, the exact opposite of the water deficit that exists here. We wanted to try and push ourselves to first understand why this was an issue, and then find a solution or a partial solution.
When we visited the ten schools in Devenahalli, we noticed a few things. One, is that only a few rainwater harvesting and water treatment options were used; most only basic filtration systems, two had reverse osmosis systems, and one had a UV treatment system. Our next observation, however, was that these systems were not being used properly, and not being used to their full potential. Neither of the two RO systems we saw were being used as drinking water, which, as we know, is a big problem in rural Bangalore, as many schools have to buy privatized tanker water, which is pulled from wells around the city. One of the RO systems was broken, as was the UV system at another school. Each school had repairs which needed to be done, many of which still existed from the last follow up visit, meaning that the filtration systems hadn't been working correctly for some time. Our final observation was that the teachers and headmasters of this school did not seem to know much about the water conservation and storage that was taking place at their schools.
We initially wanted to focus on the misuse of systems and the potential of the upgrading the systems in place. There are so many easy, accessible, and affordable options for drinking water treatment, and we wanted to create something that could be easily added to rainwater harvesting systems in schools so that they would not have to pay for privatized water. Upon talking to our professors, and our TA Bujin, who worked with Biome last year, we quickly realized that we were focusing on the wrong problem: the issue was not that people were not using available systems, but that they were afraid of using them and did not understand the ones that were in place. The true problems lies in the lack of education that these teachers and headmasters have about the water crisis and the tools they have to help combat it.
We then pivoted, changing out focus to introducing an educational aspect to rainwater harvesting and water treatment in schools. Biome funds the systems that are put in place at these schools through donors - wouldn't they want the systems they put time, money and effort into to work properly and be used well after they are installed? How could we create a product that worked with the existing resources, while appealing enough to the teachers and headmasters so that they would be willing to become educated on these technologies?
Our project is an educational curriculum which will a prerequisite to receiving the funding and building of a rainwater or water treatment system from Biome or another such organization. By presenting this as a condition to receiving the system, teachers and headmaster will be pushed to be educated and knowledgeable about what will be put in place at their schools. This specific method of delivery was pointed out to us by Uma and Shubha at Biome today when we called them, because as they explained, teachers and staff are already extremely busy, and unlikely to take on more work if it is not presented as a job which needs to be done in order to receive something. By learning about the different options that exist, it will give the teachers and headmasters more control and power over which options would work best for their schools, which they know better than any of us or anyone from an organization who has only done a few site visits. This curriculum will present the benefits, drawbacks, potential, instillation, and maintenance for different options for non-potable rainwater harvesting systems, such as the basic filtration systems or ceramic filters, but also provide information on reverse osmosis systems, silver tablets, and combinations of potable and non-potable technologies. The teachers will then be able to work with the organizations and donors to tailor the system to best suit the school and students's needs, which will further motivate them to ensure that the system keeps working and provides the water they know it can. We want to build a program which shows a greater return on investment for the people who are putting time and money into this, but also cultivate more active and educated beneficiaries, this way the biggest difference can be made in the water quantity, and quality, at the schools.
Education is known to be a key component in solving any challenge. While our solution may not be solving the entirety of the problem that is water in Bangalore and India, by starting to educate the people who are hardest hit by it, we can hope for a spread of awareness which reaches multiple audiences. With both the well project in Cubbon Park, which we will be building educational posters to help park-goers understand the meaning of the work done there, and with the curriculum we are putting forward, we are trying to do our part in making sure that Bangalore has a sustainable water future.
-Veronique (GCIL 2020 Team Biome w/ Eric, Kayla and Tessa)
We also chose to split up what we were working on today. While we are all sitting together, so that we could bounce ideas and source opinions from each other, Eric and I focused on typing up the Cubbon Park Well Report, while Kayla and Tessa began research for our GCIL project.
The Biome project, which is the report, is the one which we have been focused on in both these blogs and in our activities for the week. Now that we have most of our data collected, we were able to begin typing up the who, what, when, and why of the work we have been doing. Using the previous reports on Cubbon park, as well as doing research into infiltration and evaporation data around Bangalore, we were able to predict the impact that the 73 wells would have in recharging the aquifers. We had the time to sit down and analyze the data we had collected this week, looking at topographical elevations and analyzing the effect of the different types of soils in the area. For myself, it was a real life application of what I had learned in my Physical Hydrology class that I took last quarter, an opportunity to take the engineering I've learned and apply it to a solution which has changed how Cubbon Park is operated. With the addition of these recharge wells to work with the open wells, Cubbon Park has stopped buying BWSSB water, instead relying on the stored rainwater that exists across the park.
When we haven't been working for Biome, we have been developing a project for our program. This project has certain requirements: it must be an innovation or product which does not yet exist, it must be presented as a business model, and it must attempt to solve a grand challenge here in India. In brainstorming for this project, we wanted to make sure that we came up with something that would outlast out time here in India - something which Biome or another such organization would want to be involved in and continue even after we left. We also wanted it to be in connection with the water crisis here in Bangalore - for me, it is what I studied, but for all of us, water is something we never have to think of in Seattle. In Washington State, we have an abundance of water, the exact opposite of the water deficit that exists here. We wanted to try and push ourselves to first understand why this was an issue, and then find a solution or a partial solution.
When we visited the ten schools in Devenahalli, we noticed a few things. One, is that only a few rainwater harvesting and water treatment options were used; most only basic filtration systems, two had reverse osmosis systems, and one had a UV treatment system. Our next observation, however, was that these systems were not being used properly, and not being used to their full potential. Neither of the two RO systems we saw were being used as drinking water, which, as we know, is a big problem in rural Bangalore, as many schools have to buy privatized tanker water, which is pulled from wells around the city. One of the RO systems was broken, as was the UV system at another school. Each school had repairs which needed to be done, many of which still existed from the last follow up visit, meaning that the filtration systems hadn't been working correctly for some time. Our final observation was that the teachers and headmasters of this school did not seem to know much about the water conservation and storage that was taking place at their schools.
We initially wanted to focus on the misuse of systems and the potential of the upgrading the systems in place. There are so many easy, accessible, and affordable options for drinking water treatment, and we wanted to create something that could be easily added to rainwater harvesting systems in schools so that they would not have to pay for privatized water. Upon talking to our professors, and our TA Bujin, who worked with Biome last year, we quickly realized that we were focusing on the wrong problem: the issue was not that people were not using available systems, but that they were afraid of using them and did not understand the ones that were in place. The true problems lies in the lack of education that these teachers and headmasters have about the water crisis and the tools they have to help combat it.
We then pivoted, changing out focus to introducing an educational aspect to rainwater harvesting and water treatment in schools. Biome funds the systems that are put in place at these schools through donors - wouldn't they want the systems they put time, money and effort into to work properly and be used well after they are installed? How could we create a product that worked with the existing resources, while appealing enough to the teachers and headmasters so that they would be willing to become educated on these technologies?
Our project is an educational curriculum which will a prerequisite to receiving the funding and building of a rainwater or water treatment system from Biome or another such organization. By presenting this as a condition to receiving the system, teachers and headmaster will be pushed to be educated and knowledgeable about what will be put in place at their schools. This specific method of delivery was pointed out to us by Uma and Shubha at Biome today when we called them, because as they explained, teachers and staff are already extremely busy, and unlikely to take on more work if it is not presented as a job which needs to be done in order to receive something. By learning about the different options that exist, it will give the teachers and headmasters more control and power over which options would work best for their schools, which they know better than any of us or anyone from an organization who has only done a few site visits. This curriculum will present the benefits, drawbacks, potential, instillation, and maintenance for different options for non-potable rainwater harvesting systems, such as the basic filtration systems or ceramic filters, but also provide information on reverse osmosis systems, silver tablets, and combinations of potable and non-potable technologies. The teachers will then be able to work with the organizations and donors to tailor the system to best suit the school and students's needs, which will further motivate them to ensure that the system keeps working and provides the water they know it can. We want to build a program which shows a greater return on investment for the people who are putting time and money into this, but also cultivate more active and educated beneficiaries, this way the biggest difference can be made in the water quantity, and quality, at the schools.
Education is known to be a key component in solving any challenge. While our solution may not be solving the entirety of the problem that is water in Bangalore and India, by starting to educate the people who are hardest hit by it, we can hope for a spread of awareness which reaches multiple audiences. With both the well project in Cubbon Park, which we will be building educational posters to help park-goers understand the meaning of the work done there, and with the curriculum we are putting forward, we are trying to do our part in making sure that Bangalore has a sustainable water future.
-Veronique (GCIL 2020 Team Biome w/ Eric, Kayla and Tessa)
