Design Review 2 Water Drop 1

Team Water Drop

The Taapu!

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Team Water Drop

Adam French

Saving the world one bike at a time

Chris Bradford

A Virgo

Anshuman Bapna

Hopelessly out of touch with rural India

Eric Tsai

Monomaniacal passion to sing “Hava Nageela”

Design Review 2 Water Drop 3

Team Water Drop

Adam French

Saving the world one bike at a time

Chris Bradford

A Virgo

Anshuman Bapna

Hopelessly out of touch with rural India

Eric Tsai

Monomaniacal passion to sing “Hava Nageela”

RAMU!

Our newest team member

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Ramu – the dollar-a-day farmer

• Lower caste farmer • 2-acre plot growing beans and sorghum but nothing

in dry season• Supports a family of 9; save half of crop for

consumption• Get my info from radio or rare city visits

• Dream: grow tomatoes or eggplants in the dry season

• Problem: The well has dried up, and flood irrigation is expensive and inefficient.

• Drip irrigation is great, but requires a gravity tank.

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So what’s wrong with the Gravity Tank?

• Too expensive at Rs 600 ($12)

• Unnecessary valve• Need elevated

place• Theft (Rs 600 is ½

month’s income!)

The Need: A better way to get water from storage to drip-irrigation

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The Taapu!

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The Taapu!

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Value Benefits

• 270 L Storage• Low-cost• Easy Set-up• Transportable• Readily available

materials

* Irrigation * Disaster Relief

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Installation

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Maintenance

Holes may form . . .

But they can be easily patched!

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Ramu’s buying decision• Cuts 60% off gravity tank price

• Cost of the micro-irrigation system reduced from Rs 950 to Rs 550!

• Rs 400 savings =     •10 day’s income     •My child’s annual school fee     •The cost of seed/fertilizer for another season     •Drip-irrigation system for another 100 m2

plot

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A Scalable Manufacturing Process

• Simple, scalable components– rope, flat sheet, PVC, bar, tube

• Flat sheet made watertight– Pinched between bar and PVC

• Low capital investment– Local assembly possible at low

labor cost

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Watertight SealSteel bar Slit PVC Pipe

Bag material

1

2

3

4

5

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Viable Economics• Manufacturing cost: $2.75

– Direct Materials: $2.50– 0.5 hours of labor: $.25

• Retail price: $4.50– ~30% markup for both manufacturer and

distributor

Building 16 units per day with one employee would make $13 profit per day!

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Marketing and Distribution• Primary audience:

– $1/day farmers in semi-arid, monsoon, no groundwater availability.

• Reach via:– Drip irrigation system demonstrations (IDE)

• Movievans!– Demonstrations of Taapu by local manufacturers

• Distribution channels:– Local manufacturers– Local resellers

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Refinement Pilot Tests Develop Local Partners Rollout

Timeline for Expansion

• First step: Refinement of Design– Eliminate leaks, reduce costs

• Next: Test with Ramu and Friends– Tips for further refinement

February Feb/March March -- ?

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Problems and Questions• Is it durable?• It’s not very attractive!• How best to repair it?• Does it take up too much

space?• Are there alternate uses?• Can Ramu assemble for

himself?

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Potential Refinements

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Expert TestimonyMartin FisherTechnical Director, ApproTEC

•Cost Reduction is Key•Must determine appropriate bag size for market

- How often replenished?•User perspectives of “quality” may vary

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Summary and Conclusions• Current IDE Gravity Tank needs improvement

• A much cheaper, higher volume tank can be profitably manufactured

• All components are scalable, and bags could be manufactured or assembled locally

• A number of design problems remain to be solved

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Future Steps

• Prioritized Group Research• Reinvigorating Ideation• Refining Mission Statement

IdeationDesign Review Refined Mission

Research