New Energy Projects in Africa: leading the way with innovation

Back to Tap has been busy working on a number of new initiatives - looking for ways to affordable water filtration technology to new markets like Africa, where innovation and ideas are blossoming.

In particular, we were excited by all the talk of renewable energy at this year's Africa Utility Week in South Africa. If even a fraction of the projects discussed during the week are acted upon, Africa's use of renewable energy with soon put Europe and the UK to shame. Here's hoping that Africa leads the way in adopting mostly renewable energy and other sustainable technologies in the future.

Moving Grass in Your Window: green is good.

How many times do you wish there was more green in your life? At Back to Tap, we are also partial to blue, but are excited about a recent playful design that popped up here in London.

A shop window that waves its green grass fingers at you as you stroll by. Connected to a series of motors, the graceful long grasses follow one's movement across the pavement...

When when they come up with a window shop wave?

Of Taps and Toilets

Back to Tap was amused to find that a new Toilet Museum has opened in Wiesbaden, Germany. Like taps and everything plumbing and water related, toilets don't often get the attention they deserve, but proper hygiene and sanitation infrastructure are key to building healthy communities.

Water is essential for life, and having access to clean water can often mean the difference between a healthy and prosperous life and disease. The most recent illustration of this has been a cholera outbreak in Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where poor water treatment and substandard water infrastructure and drainage systems have led to the unnecessary death of over 50 people.

Here in London, Back to Tap is proud to work with the ARCHIVE Institute to raise awareness of the links between health and housing and water issues in particular. Basic steps can be taken in home design to reduce the risk of illness for some of the world's most vulnerable urban populations, and Back to Tap hopes that ARCHIVE's work will change the way people think about water, design and health in cities around the world.

UNICEF Works to Provide Clean Water in Libya

UNICEF has just set up a new transit station on the Libyan border and one of their major challenges is providing clean drinking water to the growing population. Here at Back to Tap, we have been considering work on a low cost filter for just such situations.

Back to Tap hopes that everyone fleeing the war in Libya and surrounding areas will find a safe refuge in neighbouring countries, and that freshwater will continue to flow for all.

Why the Tippy Tap Is Good for Your Health

Linked with today's post about hygiene and water quality in the Congo and elsewhere, we thought we should this great film about the Tippy Tap. While not everyone loves the Tippy Tap it a simple innovation that will hopefully inspire new ideas and approaches to water technology, low-cost sewerage and other areas in the future.

With the majority of the world's population under pressure to access clean water, it is time to think more seriously about how we use and manage water resources.