Got an office water cooler? Try lifting the 5 gallon jug of water onto your head and you’ll have a better sense of what it’s like for women and girls around the world hauling water from tap to home. “An analogy I like to use is that it’s like getting off an airplane in La Guardia, putting your checked baggage on your head and walking to the Brooklyn Bridge. That’s something that women and girls in the developing world face every day. That’s the approximate distance, the time they’re spending and the weight that they’re carrying,” says Cynthia Koenig, the founder of Wello in an interview with ABC News.

In January, Catapult kicks off a new design project with Wello in Rajasthan, India to explore the challenge of reliable water access. More than one billion people in the world lack regular access to safe water, and many more that haul water and other liquids such as milk or diesel fuel on a daily basis for their livelihood or business.

Building upon existing research such as IDEO and Acumen Fund’s Ripple Effect  project, Catapult and Wello will spend the next few months prototyping, observing, and testing ideas and new features with partners, with users, business owners, and local manufacturers in Rajasthan. Our goal? “ To create reliable tools which enable people to efficiently access and distribute water,” says Lead Designer, Noel Wilson.

This isn’t the first time Catapult and Wello have joined collaborative forces. In 2009, Catapult did a brief feasibility study around incorporating water sanitation technologies into Wello’s famous WaterWheel. (Check out the results here.) Needless to say, we’re excited to kickoff another design project with this amazing organization! Watch our twitter feed and newsletters to see how it goes –

CONTACT:
Noel Wilson, Lead Designer, noel@catapultdesign.org   @noelgaelwilson