Young Water Solutions (Latin America)
Young Water Solutions is an international non-profit organisation that aims to develop and support the potential of young people to contribute to universal water, sanitation, hygiene and water resources management. It does so by providing young leaders and entrepreneurs with the tools to carry out water and sanitation projects and to launch social businesses in their communities.
In 2020/2021, the Eurofins Foundation provided a grant to the first edition of the Young Water Fellowship in Latin America, supporting the piloting and launch of youth-led social enterprises in Latin America that tackle water, sanitation, hygiene, water pollution and water scarcity issues. The Fellowship aims to offer a fully funded intensive training course in business and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), seed funding grants for their pilot projects, and mentorship support from senior-level experts over the course of a year.
This pilot edition reached approximately 1,787 people, of which 286 were sanitation-related initiatives and 1,501 were water-related projects. The programme led to the organisation of stakeholder meetings in Peru and Colombia in 2022, which will bring together policymakers with entrepreneurs supported by the programme.
The programme also added value and impact at multiple levels:
- Empowering young people (with technical and financial resources) to contribute to solutions for water and sanitation issues;
- Supporting the creation of 10 start-ups that will provide employment and access to water and sanitation in years to come;
- Directly funding the delivery of water and sanitation services to vulnerable communities in six Latin American countries, through these high-performing start-ups.
In 2021/2023, Eurofins Foundation partnered with Young Water Solutions for the second and third editions of the YWF Latin America 2022, contributing to the participation and incubation of 45 young entrepreneurs.
Some examples of the incubated projects include:
Witari, a start-up established in Cuba. The pilot project involved the installation of 5 Rainwater Collection Systems (SCALL) with natural filters in the Loma Blanca community, a peripheral community in the city of Guantanamo facing water shortages. Each SCALL has a capacity to store between 400 and 1,000 litres of water. The installed SCALLs were adapted to the specific construction characteristics of each house, considering their capture surface. They also received technical advice and a donation of two Chaac Rural kits from the Mexican company Isla Urbana, whose components contributed to the comprehensive improvement of the systems.
The pilot project benefited 5 families consisting of single mothers with young children and disabled individuals. 5,000 litres of water were collected and distributed.
Nimbu, in Nicaragua, a social enterprise whose main objective is to provide access to efficient sanitation services for sewage and wastewater in small communities. Its primary focus is water treatment through innovative technology that incorporates biological sponge equipment.
The initiative to modernise and improve the wastewater sanitation system in the community of Ciudad Sandino aimed to provide more efficient and sustainable sanitation services for the local population.
The project included the installation of biological sponge equipment in the existing wastewater treatment plant, allowing for greater efficiency in the treatment process. These biological sponge units are an innovative technology that significantly improves the quality of the treated water.
The equipment operated for 47 days at a flow rate of 0.08 L/s in 9-hour cycles, translating to the treatment of 2,592 litres of wastewater per day, equivalent to 2.592 m3/day. In total, 121.8 m3 of wastewater were treated throughout the implementation campaign. 760 people gained better access to clean water and basic sanitation. The initiative also had an indirect impact on at least 2,000 people living in the area.
The Eurofins Foundation renews its support in 2023/2024.
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
