CLEAN WATER

Amor recently completed our first water filtration project at Rancho Amor in Tijuana, Mexico. For years we have dreamed of developing a way to give the families we serve in Mexico a simple, low cost, and low maintenance solution to clean, drinkable water.

According to a published report from El Economista, ninety-five percent of Mexico's fresh water supply is contaminated, and 25 percent of the country's water treatment plants operate inadequately. The report listed other scary statistics as well stating that thirteen million Mexicans do not have access to potable water and another 27 million lack proper drainage systems.

Such a huge dilemma demanded some research and a response by Amor. Kamar Chafi, Amor Intern and recent graduate of San Diego State University, has spent this year tackling this issue and organized the training and construction of the first water filtration system used by Amor. Through a coordinated effort of Darrell Larson at Canyon View Christian Fellowship, Cup of Hope International, and Amor Ministries an extensive training session was undertaken and then the construction of an actual BioSand water filter was completed.



























The first step was filling the metal form with concrete.
This only takes about a half bag of cement- a readily
available product around the world.



























The cement is allowed to dry in the metal form with the
lid securely closed. It is then allowed to set
over night.



























We loosened the bolts and banged on the sides of
the mold as we slid the hardened filter out of the
mold. Voila, a SandBio Filter is born. Gravel and
sand was then placed in the filter.



























In the picture above the cloudy water on the right
was poured into the filter the day we made the
filter which had only just been filled with sand
and gravel.

As you can see, the filter cleaned out probably
70% of the matter in the water. Wait 6-8 weeks
and the naturally forming algae will grow throughout
the sand in the filter and complete the process of
cleaning the water. Once the algae takes hold the
filter will clean the water 90-99 percent.



















The team that made the this all possible is shown above.
The first BioSand Filter built at Amor and displayed
at Rancho Amor in Tijuana, Mexico.

This it truly a monumental occasion as we have now installed and
displayed the very first piece of "appropriate technology"
at the Ranch. This is the beginning of our dream for a Center of
Appropriate Technology showcasing hundreds and
hundreds of technologies that can improve the
conditions and lives of the 3 billion people around
the world that live on less than 2 dollars a day.