Wara Bilong Life project - solutions

SOLUTIONS - Corinna School

Expert feedback from Dr Hugh Thorpe from Canterbury University

1. Mermaid's group

(For Mac users, please click the image to see the video clip).

The Mermaids’ water dispenser
Our water dispenser was inspired by the shape of a cow. The ice cream container and the large plastic container are to collect rain water. The bamboo stick is a handle to turn the ice cream container towards the bottles so they can be filled. We chose the bottles because they are easy to find and recycle and durable. The bottles are also important they can be used to measure out the right amount of water without wasting too much.
So if you want to wash your hands, you can go to one of the bottles, pull down the sipper part of the lid and wash your hands. The water will then go down into a bucket that can be used as garden water to help the soil. The bottles can be wiped inside and outside or washed so that it won’t keep lots of germs.

I like the video you have made. It is a good prototype but there is not a lot of catchment for the water. How are you going to collect it? How many hands could be washed with it? It is good mentioned that the push/pull valve (sipper) attachment on the bottles need wiping and I like the cow shape idea. That is clever! The bucket collecting water for the garden is also good. There is no mention of soap or disinfectant though.

Peace Makers' team

(For Mac users, please click this image to see the video clip).

The Peace Makers' team made up a song for people to sing instead of using the happy birthday song when washing hands.

Peacemakers’ water dispenser

We got our idea from the hospital drip bags that have the medicine hooked on to a stand. So we tried using plastic bags but they were not strong enough once they had been used a couple of times (even when we reinforced the sides with strong tape). So we changed the bags to plastic bottles that were more durable and easy to hook on and off the stand.

To use this water dispenser you have to first be able to collect rainwater which can then be poured into the plastic bottles. This means that the water can be measured out and not wasted. It also reduces the chances of passing on germs. To wash your hands you pull the lid down (the sipper part of the bottle) and then sing happy birthday twice or another song that lasts the same time. When you finish washing your hands you unhook the bottle and put it in a container to be washed and refilled.

The water that is used to wash hands can be collected in a bucket or bowl underneath the bottles and a monitor could use it to clean paths or to help plants grow. If we were to do this again, we would:

Decorate it so people would want to use it
Make the stand stronger so it could hold more bottles
Do more investigating before deciding on a model to make
Have the stand connected to a rain water bucket that could refill the bottles automatically

Find a way to keep the lids hygienic so the whole bottle doesn’t have to be changed each time it is used.

Ha. The song is good although it is all about promotion but not actually explanation.

You do have a very good explanation for the contraption and using a sipper bottle is good. The whole project shows good systematic thinking. I particularly like the way you have set it all up so that two people can wash their hands at the same time. Well done.

Where will you get the water from?

The Water Tribe’s sliding water dispenser

Our water dispenser was made out of bamboo, ice cream containers, duct tape and cello tape. We also used a drill and saw.

The ice cream containers would be filled with water and soap (either a bar of soap or some liquid soap). This helps dispense the water fairly for each person so it does not get wasted.

One person tips the water out of the first container and washes his or her hands in the bucket. The bucket then gets taken away to be emptied where it can be used again for other things. The ice cream container is also taken off the slide and placed in a bucket to be cleaned and the next container should just slide down for the next person to use.

Originally, our water dispenser was free standing but the bamboo and base was not stable enough when the containers were filled with water. So we used the fence to stabilise the dispenser and would recommend people using our design to use a wall or make one properly with wood and nails.

Your concept of dispensing the water is good and there are some good thoughts here. I also like the way you have critiqued your own design and thought of improvements. All the schools should do this.

However, you haven't said anything about where the water is got from and where it would be stored.

There would be a limited number of ice cream containers that you could put on the slide so you would need an idea that would work for many people. I am not sure about soap and water in the same container (or dirty hands) and it might be better just to have a bar of soap.

I understand what you are saying about stability so I think that you would probably need to build a wooden frame with a sloping surface so that the ice cream containers will move down.

The Bronco Group

We designed a water dispenser out of bottles, wire, bamboo and tape.

The top part can collect rain water or it can be filled from a bucket. If you want to wash your hands you use the wire to pull down the sipper part of the lid. That is so you don’t touch the bottle with germs on your hands. Then you sing the happy birthday song twice as you wash your hands. You can then close the bottle lid with your clean hands. Then the water moves through the bottles to refill. We used bamboo to slow down the water from filling up the bottom bottle too fast. We did that so one person couldn’t use all the water up at once. Underneath the water dispenser we have a bucket to collect any water used so it can be used for plants.

I have had a really good look at the photo but it is not really clear what you have here. I am not sure how the wire would work and can't see how you could avoid touching the sipper valve. Perhaps you need a way to sterilise it? I also can't see the bamboo.

I like the way that you are dispensing the water in a controlled fashion.

Where does the water come from?

Wishy Washy Group

We worked together sharing ideas to make our water dispenser. The giant wire hand was made for the top to inspire kids to wash their hands. The bucket at the top would be used to collect rainwater which could then be poured through the hose to fill the bottles. When the hose is not being used it would be plugged with a stopper.

We used bottles recycled from old soft drink, juice or water bottles and dish washing detergent. They were useful because they can give the right amount of water to use. The bottles can also hold soap to help take off the germs.
So when kids want to wash their hands they can pull the sipper part of the lid open and wash their hands in the running water. As they wash their hands, the dirty water can go down into the bucket underneath the bottle. Then the dirty water can be used for the garden.

The lids of the bottles can be taken off and put into a bucket to be washed. You have to be careful not to touch the sipper part though because that is what was touched with dirty hands in the beginning. If that is too hard for younger kids to remember, then maybe the empty bottles can all be taken off to be washed after being used.

It is excellent how you thought of multiple washings at the same time. While your plug stopper concept is good, the actual plug could be easily lost and therefore not a fail safe method. How is the detergent dispensed? You would have to be careful about not touching the sipper bottles but I think it impractical to wash the bottle at the end.

The hand at the top to remind kids to wash their hands is clever and you have got all the hygiene aspects right. However there is not much volume of water for washing hands. You might even need storage of water for dry periods. In New Zealand we wouldn't have storage problems but in PNG they might.