Entrepreneurial student project is a life saver

11 January 2014

Every 20 seconds a child dies from a water related disease. Dirty water kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. These stark and distressing realities prompted Nottingham University Business School undergraduate Matt Clements to initiate an entirely student led project to provide safe drinking water to communities where access is limited.

Project AquaAid was originally set up in 2013 under the auspices of Enactus, a global organisation that uses entrepreneurial action to run projects locally and internationally. Since then Matt and the team have primarily been working alongside development charity Reignite in north-west Cameroon but will now expand the project to reach homes in Western China and Malaysia thanks to a £15,000 grant from the University of Nottingham’s Cascade fund.

The AquaAid solution to the threat posed by contaminated water is innovative, effective and like all the best ideas, devastatingly simple. The project team has developed the ‘Biosand Filter’, an in-house filtration system filled with layers of specially selected sand and gravel which purifies contaminated water by removing harmful organisms responsible for the spread of water borne diseases.Matt Clements

Matt, who is currently in his final year of a BA (Hons) Management Studies said: “We have adapted the traditional concrete biosand filter and developed a plastic version that can be easily and cheaply made out of waste plastic containers and PVC pipes. This cheap alternative will therefore allow each household to afford a filter and have access to a source of clean water. As the filters are produced from waste materials this will also ensure our project has a positive environmental impact.”

Due to its campuses in China and Malaysia, Nottingham students will be able to coordinate the entire project. The production of the filters will be managed within China, where there is an abundance of plastic containers and PVC pipes. This will also provide long term employment opportunities for local disabled people, some of the most disadvantaged individuals in China. The finished filters will then be distributed to project partners allowing the scheme to give communities access to clean water.

Matt was keen to stress however that the long term success of the project depends on it working as a business: “We do not believe in the power of charity. We are passionate that empowering individuals and forming sustainable change is the most powerful form of action. Our mission is to enable progress through entrepreneurial action by providing communities with a technology that meets a basic need, while also creating employment opportunities for those without work.

Our long term approach will also enable us to make a lasting impact upon the communities themselves as our members will teach the local communities the importance of clean water. This is arguably one of the most important factors in the project, because if a community understands the importance of sanitary issues they will continue to educate long after we step away.”

About the Cascade fund

Cascade supports projects which enhance the skills, confidence, social awareness and employability of students, while making a significant impact on communities, both locally and globally.

The Cascade fund is made possible thanks to donations from alumni and friends of the University who want to help students achieve something special during their time at Nottingham. Staff or students who have a great idea for a project which will benefit the student experience can apply for a grant of up to £25,000. Since the fund was established in 2007 over £1.3 million has funded more than 150 projects.

To find out more or to make a donation please visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/impactcampaign/cascade

About Enactus

Enactus is a global organisation present in 37 countries whose aim is to foster a community of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. Enactus Nottingham is one of the top 5 Enactus teams in the UK and over the years we have changed the lives of thousands of individuals across the world.