Aqua Clara International is committed to getting safe, affordable drinking water to those in need in a locally sustainable and scalable way. Since it's inception, ACI's focus has been on training and empowering local people to construct improved bio sand filters for themselves and their communities.
The ACI program is demand driven and trains only where it is invited to do so by a local leader or organization. ACI has many small locally producing groups as opposed to one centralized manufacturing site. This helps to ensure that transport costs are minimized while also allowing for more local ownership of the project. Some of these groups are operating on a for-profit basis, while others operate more as a non-loss social business. These trained individuals are known as Community Development Entrepreneurs (CDEs) and they are the local experts in their rural communities. The program model allows for local flexibility and creativity. The typical material cost of an ACI water filter in Kenya is around $10, which will provide enough clean drinking water for a family for up to 10 years.
ACI has a network of Community Health Promoters (CHPs) who are local women who oversee the work of the CDEs. ACI places a high priority on hygiene education through the CHPs who visit the filter users regularly and train school children on good WASH practices.
Currently, over 6,000 ACI water filters have been constructed and placed in households in over 20 countries. Aqua Clara International has staff led programs in Kenya, Uganda, and Nicaragua.
