Safe Drinking Water in Solan District in Himachal Pradesh

Social Awareness through Human Development (SATHI), Sirmur, Himachal Pradesh

Contact: Dr. Anil Kumar

Dates: February 2025 – February 2028

Total Budget: Rs. 11,63,250

2025 Funding: Rs. 3,88,812 ($4,488)

During the first 2 quarters of this new 3-year project, SATHI has manufactured and distributed 26 Bio-Sand Filters (BSF) to families in 3 remote villages of the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, which will enable them to have clean drinking water at home. The overall project is designed to provide the residents of 15 villages of Solan district a total of 165 BioSand Filters (BSF): 50, 55, and 60 BSF during the first, second, and the third year respectively of the project.

To get the program started, village level meetings and “Awareness and Training Camps” were held in three villages to educate the people about the health benefits provided by water filtration through use of BSF. Educational material and posters / stickers also were provided to each BSF recipient to highlight the benefits of a BSF, the directions for its use, and the phone number for technical assistance, if needed. Some basic information about the filter construction, its installation and the ease of maintaining it was also provided.

Each BSF recipient paid about 20% of the cost of a BSF. SATHI feels that this small contribution encourages the beneficiaries to feel more ownership of the BSF and encourages their proper use.

Follow-up quarterly visits to 14 beneficiary families were also conducted to ensure that the filters are being used and maintained properly and to correct any problems, if required.

2025 Q1 Report  2025 Q2 Report  2025 Q3 Report