Clean Water and Sanitation Initiative: A Small Community Approach in Jacmel, Haiti

The Republic of Haiti has a history of resource-draining colonialism, debilitating international debt, corrupt government, and political violence, the legacy of which was revealed to the world in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. As newly opened eyes were drawn to Haiti, a devastating cholera outbreak heightened awareness of the nation’s already extremely limited access to clean water. The objective of this project was to improve access to sanitary drinking water by developing a low cost, low maintenance water filter to install in a small community of 3-5 families. The design served as a platform to study effective methods of education and organization that would most likely support the successful long-term integration of the filter into the community, as well as to study the social implications of a small community filter.