Most communities in the rural sub-Sahara region lack access to safe and hot water, basic indoor plumbing, a reliable electricity supply and to renewable energy source entirely.

Solvatten is a Swedish social enterprise with the mission of providing safe and hot water in a portable and environmental-friendly way to communities in underserved regions.

The Solvatten-kit is  a combined portable water treatment and water heating system that has been designed for off-grid household use, which can produce 20-30 litres water per day. The kit is a solar heater that opens like a book and, after a few hours in the sun, provides water that is free of waterborne microorganisms that would otherwise cause stomach diseases such as dysentery and cholera.

This solution simultaneously purifies and heats the water. contributing to improve health, hygiene, and socio-economic conditions while increasing use of sustainable energy sources in vulnerable communities. Solvatten-kits are at present used by 700.000+ people in 40 countries, mostly in East Africa.

NextEnergy Foundation is supporting Solvatten to provide rural households in the arid region of Taita Taveta, west Kenya, with access to clean and hot water. With soaring temperatures and minimal rainfall, such area faces frequent periods of extreme drought and flooding, resulting in suffering from water scarcity. The goal of the project supported by NextEnergy Foundation  is to provide 170 families with children under five living in this area with the Solvatten-kits.

This will widen NextEnergy Foundation impact in Kenya where we  already support a project for the distribution of portable solar lights to students in nearby Kwale County (see Mwezi Foundation Project).