October 17, 2014
Grey Matters
Where there are people there is water use, and where there is water use, there is wastewater. In a world on the verge of being overwhelmed by issues of water scarcity, why isn’t wastewater reuse a constant component to this equation? During the course of this past summer, Fitsum Gelaye went back to her home city, Addis Ababa , Ethiopia, in order to explore the social and functional feasibility of reusing greywater ( a component of wastewater generated from household appliances) to combat the water shortage issues the city is having. By conducting interviews, spreading questionnaires and seeking out precedent projects, Fitsum tried to find an answer to the question of transferring a currently “first world” technology as greywater reuse to the capital of a developing country. During this panel, she will discuss her research process, the challenges she faced in gathering information and budgeting her time and how she is using her findings to help her design a product that will turn what is currently considered trash in her society into a resource that can aid in combating water scarcity.
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