Source: idealist.org
Published: January 21, 2015
The SunSaluter aims to increase energy and clean drinking water accessibility to off-grid communities, and thus mitigate the environmental and health implications from traditional energy and water sources. Furthermore, the SunSaluter helps to eliminate the need for villagers to travel to areas with grid electricity, thus reducing fuel consumption and increasing quality of life.
By creating designs that are intuitive and locally sourceable, the SunSaluter empowers the local community through education and sustainable design.
The SunSaluter supports impoverished communities in meeting their needs for both electricity and clean water. Using the weight displacement of water passing through a filter, the SunSaluter rotates solar panels throughout the day, to optimize energy collection by up to 40%. Now, a family that struggled with limited electricity and insufficient clean water has both.
The SunSaluter won the Westly Prize, the Mashable-UN Foundation Startups for Social Good Challenge, second prize at the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge, and the grand prize at the Staples-Ashoka Youth Social Entrepreneurship Challenge.