In Lower Moshi, a region south of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, local villages are severely affected by the consequences of drinking unsafe water. The available water contains bacteria and viruses that lead to many water-related diseases, such as diarrhea and cholera. Another local challenge is the high fluoride content in drinking water, which results in dental fluorosis (black teeth).

Together with FT Kilimanjaro and Element15, Net4kids is setting up a project in which 50 solar-powered water pumps and filters (the so-called BARs) will be implemented in Lower Moshi. The BARs will provide safe drinking water to more than 9,000 people every day. To ensure that the water is absolutely safe to drink, the BARs will be equipped with the special ultrafiltration membrane, which blocks all bacteria and viruses, and a bone char filter that reduces the fluoride content to a non-harmful level. This bone char will be sourced locally.

This project focuses on solving three main problems in the region:

• Safe drinking water: Element15's innovative filter (BAR) completely reduces bacteria, parasites and fluoride to make drinking safe;
•  Food security: the solar pumps give farmers an effective means to irrigate their land, while BAR irrigates safe water for food
•  Net Income: The solar pump provides a cheap way to increase crop yields. BAR allows farmers to store their agricultural products and sell them at better market prices.

For a period of three years, these BARs will be kept operational and maintained by a local women's group. Element15 will provide local training for both mandatory and technicians.