A wonderful innovation, as media reports, pertaining to air-water harvesting has recently come to be known from that region. It is reported that residents of Cabajane of Africa are using nets to harvest water from air. Led by a team of Scientists from the University of South Africa's School of Agriculture and Environmental studies, residents of Cabajane string up nets across a nearby mountain pass. The net remains close to moist air and fog, and collect drops of water contained in them. These drops saturate the net and the water from the net comes down through a pipe. The pipe remains extended to the village and allows water to reach there where villagers collect it in cans. It is further reported that villagers collect hundreds of liters of water through this process. The water collected from air is reported to be pure and clean as it directly comes from clouds. It is a valuable commodity for villagers who suffered from acute water crisis earlier.
It has been reported that the stream of water nearest to the village is located at a distance of about 2 km. The stream remains contaminated by animal use and carries germs of diseases. The extreme drought has dried up all the water sources of the area. Under these conditions current innovation of harvesting water from air is saving lives of villagers. The innovative process of harvesting water from air has additional advantage that it reaches to the villagers through pipes under the pressure of gravity. It is collected downhill in properly constructed tanks. It does not require the use of electricity or other form of energy. It is almost affordable and environment friendly. The maintenance is also very easy. The collection of water from fog is an old technology. It has been n practice in Chile since last 30 years. The project at Cabajane has been replicated in many other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa also. It is important to note that harvesting water from thin air is neither a new innovation nor a new technology as reported by the media. The water harvesting technology was originally the brainchild of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It sought ways to ensure sustainable water supplies for U.S. combat troops deployed in arid regions like Iraq. There has also been a company named Aqua Sciences that developed a product on its own and was first to put a product on the market that can operate in harsh climates. Sciperio is a company which is applying the application of proven liquid desiccant technology to the challenge of energy efficient water harvesting from air. Read the full report here.
Source: Climate Himalaya Initiative.
