Our Mission
Aqua Clara International exists to aid in the establishment of sustainable locally owned businesses that provide cheap, clean water for children and families worldwide. Aqua Clara is a 501(3)(c) non profit organization.
Engineers long ago discovered how to purify unsafe water. The issue has been in forging a solution that is both sustainable and scalable – one that can reach the millions in need, and continue to function without sustained outside input. Our niche is in freely transferring knowledge related to constructing purifiers from locally available materials as well as in supporting the operation of local businesses that can meet the need of their communities in a financially sustainable manner. We freely transfer our technology so that communities can be empowered in working to meet their own needs.
We transfer our program both directly and indirectly. Directly by traveling and training in our target countries. Indirectly by training organizations and individuals here in the US who travel and work in areas of need worldwide.
Our Story
In 2005, Dr Robert McDonald, a retired businessman and engineer, began a ‘reverse engineering’ process with the goal of developing cheap, effective water filtration and disinfection. Dr McDonald dedicated his time and talents to creating a point of use water purification system that would be simple, require no power, with no moving parts and could be made with local materials and by local people all over the world.
The Aqua Clara Water Purifier was extensively tested and developed by Dr McDonald and a team of engineers at Zeeland Water Treatment Plant in Michigan, USA. In 2007, a beta site was established in Eldoret, Kenya and it was confirmed that the output water passed all World Health Organization standards.
AC takes a unique approach to the distribution of its technology and knowledge. We train and support individuals and/or organizations in running for-profit enterprises based around purifier construction, sales and service. The program is flexible, and a large number of different structures have been implemented – though the focus is always on local sustainability.
Initial AC field programs were launched throughout the Americas, Africa, and now Indonesia. 2008 was our first full year of operation, and Water Purifiers were successfully placed in eight countries worldwide. We continue to transfer our innovative technology (the AC Water Purifier) free of charge to individuals and organizations who desire a locally driven and sustainable solution to their water problems.
In 2009, AC will be expanding into more communities in more countries. Our staff, both paid and volunteer, are involved in continually researching simple and sustainable solutions to worldwide water issues, developing our support materials, hosting training sessions in the US and across the world, and supporting the launch and operation of AC program sites.
