Bamboo WarkaWater tower harvests potable water from air

On a recent trip to Ethiopia, Italian designer Arturo Vittori discovered how collecting water is both dangerous and time-consuming – especially for women and children. He thinks these water-trapping WarkaWater Towers will help.

Life in the dry northeastern corner of Ethiopia is hard. Women must often walk long distances to find water for the family, and small children forced to come along are thereby kept out of school. This of course perpetuates the poverty cycle.

And even after these treks to fetch heavy buckets of water or wash clothes, there’s no guarantee that the water will be safe. Contaminants often spread illness and other misery. After witnessing this himself, Vittori resolved to come up with a thoughtful and inexpensive solution.

’Warka’ comes from the Warka tree or Ficus Vasta, according to Vittori. Like a wild fig tree, it is native to Ethiopia, and often provides shade and a rendezvous spot for traditional gatherings among Pastoral Ethiopian communities.

The trees, which comprise an important part of cultural life, are also vulnerable to drought and ecosystem degeneration. So the towers designed in their likeness are expected to provide both a sense of pride for these important trees in addition to their very important function, which is to capture potable drinking water.

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Bamboo WarkaWater tower harvests potable water from air

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One Comment

Axel Fabricius says:

May 5, 2014 at 6:04 pm

Hello! I am very eager to help build these around the world. Contact me and give directions how I can invest in this wonderful Creation of harvesting water. I want to invest mu savings, time and own muscle to help build these. Best wishes, Axel