Fog Nets for Thirsty Peru Neighborhood
- Posted by: Andrew Price
- on November 12, 2009 at 3:09 pm
A German NGO called Alimon has figured out a smart way of providing water to a neighborhood in Lima, Peru that’s been struggling without plumbing.
Noticing that the city gets a lot of fog, Alimon set up nets in the hills above the neighborhood that trap that moisture and funnel it into aqueducts and reservoirs where it can be used for drinking or farming. The large nets cost the equivalent of $800 and can yield as many as 60 liters in a night. Sounds like a net benefit to me. Ahem.
You can check out Alimon’s “green desert” project here, which includes some other innovations as well. National Geographic has some nice photos of the nets.
DISCUSSION: 2 Comments
This is pretty cool. I wouldn’t have thought each net could yield 60 liters. Animals in the neighborhood have been taking advantage of the same fog for ages. Good to see people finally tapping the same resource.
Kudos to Mr. Price for this brief article. Folks, go to the Green Desert link. The story is quite in depth and is a reinforcement to the saying about the best solutions are often the simplest. Moreover it is a testimony to the human spirit and how helping hand across borders and cultures can succeed when governments can or will do nothing for those in need. Now I’m wondering if this application could benefit California’s fresh water problem.