Anyone who has spent any time at all travelling in Latin America knows that the water out of the tap is usually not drinkable (Santiago in Chile is the only place I’ve trusted it). It is one of the key problems throughout Central and South America and it is the reason I bought my Travel Tap microfilter bottle for this year-long trip – so that I didn’t have to keep buying water.
There are many aid organisations trying to help the local people get access to this most basic of resources, one of which I read about in the June issue of the Revue magazine (Guatemala’s English language mag) when I first arrived in Guatemala. Ecofiltro is a simple water filter system that was given to families in poorer areas and financed through sales of a slightly fancier product to companies, organisations, government departments, etc.
When you walk around Antigua, Guatemala, the above is a very common sight in many of the businesses. It’s incredible to see how many have embraced the EcoFiltro to provide free drinking water refills (and cups!) to anyone who needs in Antigua, which then further helps the surrounding communities get access to their own clean water.
Another one for my list of “brilliant ideas from Latin America”.
