Household Water Filters as part of the Kitchen Improvement Project
(Cocinas Rurales)
PROMESA is a small international health program that has been working to improve the conditions in the Yeguare region of Honduras for the past four years. Currently PROMESA is working on a kitchen improvement project in four small communities (La Ciénega, Las Tablas, Las Agujas, and Rodeo) in the region. This project’s focus is to improve the health status of the families by improving the health standards in the kitchen by offering materials to improve earth stoves, install drains, sinks, install mesh on windows, and install concrete floors. One improvement that was offered to the families in the communities was a household size water filtration system to purify contaminated water. There are a variety of filtration systems; however, it was necessary to find an inexpensive, functional, and long lasting system. One filter that met those requirements was the Filtron.
The Filtron is a ceramic filter that is marketed by Potters for Peace and is one method to decontaminate water that is used for human consumption. The filter works in two ways: as a filter to remove large contaminants such as protozoa, helminthes, etc., and as a disinfectant by using colloidal silver to clean the water of potentially harmful bacteria. The silver is spread on the sides and bottom of the filter. Water passes through the pores that are formed in the manufacturing process. When the water passes through these pores it comes in contact with the colloidal silver, which acts as a bactericide. The filter is an alternative to chlorination, boiling, or using solar energy to decontaminate water (1).
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