Folia Water

Area of Focus:

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Geography:

Bangladesh

Globally, 1.2 million people die each year from drinking dirty water. Low-income communities cannot afford costly water appliances that provide access to safe, germ-free drinking water.

Folia Water’s vision is to make water purification available for pennies, not pounds. Founded by two scientists, it uses a green chemistry process to make a simple antimicrobial paper water purifier using nano-metalised paper. Silver is used to kill bacteria and viruses, while the paper’s pores physically eliminate dirt, iron, and larger pathogens to make water safe to drink. The filters are simple and affordable, retailing at the same 20 cent pricing as other grocery store staples. Each filter provides 20 litres of safe, germ-free water.

Packaged like a simple coffee filter, Folia Water’s product is designed to fit into the containers that consumers already use in their kitchens, such as Bangladeshi water containers, kolshis.

Folia Water aims to reach low-income people via grocery retail stores so as to make water purification as common as soap, snacks and SIM cards. To understand more about using retail stores as a channel, TRANSFORM provided support with consumer research, marketing and product development. The pilot initiative tested the impact of door-to-door female sales agents, as well as sales via shopkeepers at local grocery kiosks.

During COVID-19, TRANSFORM worked with Folia Water to help ensure access to clean water in rural areas. In partnership with the NGO Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC), Folia Water distributed water filters to rural locations, through door-to-door selling and by placing the products in kiosks and health centres. The project reached more than 3,000 households, impacting more than 12,500 individuals.