1. Team Water Drop
The Taapu!
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2. Team Water Drop Adam French Anshuman Bapna Chris Bradford Eric Tsai
Saving the world one bike at a time
Anshuman Bapna
Hopelessly out of touch with rural India
Chris Bradford
A Virgo
Eric Tsai
Monomaniacal passion to sing “Hava Nageela”
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3. Team Water Drop Adam French Anshuman Bapna RAMU! Chris Bradford
Saving the world one bike at a time
Anshuman Bapna
Hopelessly out of touch with rural India
RAMU!
Our newest team member
Chris Bradford
A Virgo
Eric Tsai
Monomaniacal passion to sing “Hava Nageela”
Design Review 2
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4. Ramu – the dollar-a-day farmer
Lower caste farmer
2-acre plot growing beans and sorghum but nothing in dry season
Supports a family of 9; save half of crop for consumption
Get my info from radio or rare city visits
Dream: grow tomatoes or eggplants in the dry season
Problem: The well has dried up, and flood irrigation is expensive and inefficient.
Drip irrigation is great, but requires a gravity tank.
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5. So what’s wrong with the Gravity Tank?
Too expensive at Rs 600 ($12)
Unnecessary valve
Need elevated place
Theft (Rs 600 is ½ month’s income!)
The Need: A better way to get water from storage to drip-irrigation
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6. The Taapu!
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7. The Taapu!
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8. * Irrigation * Disaster Relief
Value Benefits
* Irrigation * Disaster Relief
270 L Storage
Low-cost
Easy Set-up
Transportable
Readily available materials
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9. Installation
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10. But they can be easily patched!
Maintenance
Holes may form . . .
But they can be easily patched!
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11. Ramu’s buying decision
Cuts 60% off gravity tank price
Cost of the micro-irrigation system reduced from Rs 950 to Rs 550!
Rs 400 savings =      •10 day’s income      •My child’s annual school fee      •The cost of seed/fertilizer for another season      •Drip-irrigation system for another 100 m2 plot
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12. A Scalable Manufacturing Process
Simple, scalable components
rope, flat sheet, PVC, bar, tube
Flat sheet made watertight
Pinched between bar and PVC
Low capital investment
Local assembly possible at low labor cost
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13. Watertight Seal Steel bar Slit PVC Pipe Bag material 1 2 3 4 5
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14. Viable Economics Manufacturing cost: $2.75 Retail price: $4.50
Direct Materials: $2.50
0.5 hours of labor: $.25
Retail price: $4.50
~30% markup for both manufacturer and distributor
Building 16 units per day with one employee would make $13 profit per day!
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15. Marketing and Distribution
Primary audience:
$1/day farmers in semi-arid, monsoon, no groundwater availability.
Reach via:
Drip irrigation system demonstrations (IDE)
Movievans!
Demonstrations of Taapu by local manufacturers
Distribution channels:
Local manufacturers
Local resellers
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16. Timeline for Expansion
Refinement Pilot Tests Develop Local Partners Rollout
February
Feb/March
March -- ?
First step: Refinement of Design
Eliminate leaks, reduce costs
Next: Test with Ramu and Friends
Tips for further refinement
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17. Problems and Questions
Is it durable?
It’s not very attractive!
How best to repair it?
Does it take up too much space?
Are there alternate uses?
Can Ramu assemble for himself?
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18. Potential Refinements
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19. Expert Testimony Martin Fisher Technical Director, ApproTEC
Cost Reduction is Key
Must determine appropriate bag size for market
- How often replenished?
User perspectives of “quality” may vary
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20. Summary and Conclusions
Current IDE Gravity Tank needs improvement
A much cheaper, higher volume tank can be profitably manufactured
All components are scalable, and bags could be manufactured or assembled locally
A number of design problems remain to be solved
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21. Future Steps Prioritized Group Research Reinvigorating Ideation
Design Review
Ideation
Refined Mission
Prioritized Group Research
Reinvigorating Ideation
Refining Mission Statement
Design Review 2
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