Basic Water Needs (BWN) is widely recognized for its impact in developing, producing and distributing water purification and conservation products; creating access to safe drinking water for everyone.
Over the last 10 years, BWN has supplied our innovative Dutch-designed Tulip water filters to more than 2,000,000 people worldwide, offering safe and durable drinking water products that are simple to use and last for thousands of liters. In order to bring safe water in every house our technologies are simple, affordable and available.
Simple
BWN believes that the best products do not require an extensive manual, but are understandable for everyone, all over the world. Our products are easy to use in order to realize sustained usage. Our Tulip products are based on gravity, which implies that no electricity or complicated processes are involved. Additionally, the products are easy to maintain and control by using a scrub pad, end-of-life indicator and an effective backwash to keep the flow rate high. Finally, if the filter needs replacement, the user can easily replace the candles. Like our products, BWN keeps her organization simple. No large overhead, no big marketing department, just one small, professional, international team that simply gets the job done.
Affordable
We are committed to provide access to safe drinking water for everyone, including the BoP. Therefore our customers require affordable, but high value products. Our Tulip technology is designed in such a way that it combines state-of-the-art technology with high value materials, making it an ideal Self Supply solution.
BWN strives towards embedding her assembling and sourcing locally as much as possible, ensuring lower administrative and transport costs and stimulating local economy. Locally sourced components are generally low complexity items, such as buckets. Local suppliers are always extensively screened and should adhere to BWN quality standards.
Available
Having a simple and affordable product is not enough to provide a sustainable solution for everyone: the products and its replacement components have to be available and accessible, also for the BoP. This means that a sustainable supply chain needs to be in place for our HWTS products which we realize through both our commercial and NGO network and by directly and indirectly training and guiding national, regional and community entrepreneurs.
Besides providing components and products, this network allows the sharing of technical knowhow concerning water treatment and hygiene in general and our products, including Tulip technology, specifically. We believe working with these values will lead to a sustainable and durable solution: safe water in every house.
We work to impact 2,000,000 people worldwide
BWN has reached over 2,000,000 people worldwide with Tulip products, substantially improving people’s health. By using the Tulip Technology e-coli (99.995%), turbidity (99%), cryptosporidium and other protozoa (99%) are removed, contributing to the prevention of diarrhea, cholera, typhus, giardia and schistosomiasis. Because BWN’s end users consist of people in the BoP, these results will impact the poorest and are part of a larger strategy for fighting poverty.
More than 2,000,000 people with improved health
By using our filters, a family will experience much fewer diseases, especially children younger than five. The average family in the countries we work consists of 5 people per family. One filter can clean enough water for an entire family every day, making it safe to drink.
More than $10,000,000 increase in disposable income
Compared to other household purification methods or not treating your water at all, an average family will save about $25 a year using Tulip Technology. The amount of filters we have sold worldwide over the years times the average of $25 money saved is an increase in disposable income of $10,000,000.
Over 1,000 entrepreneurs selling our filters
Our products are sold all over the world by local partners. In all countries, we work with local agents who import the product and spread this within the country. They are in contact with local organizations and entrepreneurs who make a living selling the filters.
We work with a conscience
- Africa | East
- Africa | Middle
- Africa | West
- Americas | Central America
- Americas | South America
- Asia | Southeast
- Asia | South
Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Angola, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Philippines, Indonesia