Resource Development Partners International

Why we don't give filters away

People pay for what they value. Clean water will help kids grow up healthy and strong. Clean water helps protect the family from diseases. Clean water should be valued.

Studies done in other countries have shown two problems with giving away filters.

First, if they are free people don't value them. Studies have shown that people who are given a filter are the first ones to abandon their use. If they break, they don't call to get a replacement. They didn't spend their hard earned money so they don't think they are valuable.

A second problem is expectations. If one village gets a bunch of free filters then the next village will wait for the same deal. Word spreads that someone is giving away free filters and no one is willing to buy.

A third issue is follow-up. While ceramic water filters are a great way to help people have clean water, studies have shown that follow-up is key to their continued effectiveness. Filters crack, they get put on a dirty floor, or no one cleans them for months. Follow-up is key to helping rural people have improved health and sanitation conditions in their homes and community. Follow-up should be done by trained nationals. These men and women need to make an income to live in these rural areas. While following up on one house, maybe they can sell a filter in another house. If we give them away, the motivation for follow-up naturally goes down.