H50: H is for Humanity, Habitats, Health, Happiness and HIPPO!

Happy Monday. The sun is shining and my heart is aching for something to celebrate. I found it.

Project H, an organization that promotes, inspires, and delivers humanitarian product design, is funding 50 Hippo Rollers for a series of 17 villages in Kgautswane in Northeastern South Africa. Hippo Rollers, if you haven’t seen them before, they are amazing barrel devices that allow the millions whose livelihoods depend on the daily fetching of water to more safely and efficiently access and transport water. The roller holds 3-4 days worth of water for a family of 7, about 5 times the amount of water that can be moved using traditional methods, which frees up time for more productive economic and educational activities. It’s an amazing product and an amazing story of good design enabling communities.For $100 you can sponsor the manufacturing and delivery of one roller in your name, which will be personally delivered to a family in Kgautswane this April by Project H Design. If you believe in the power of good design, here’s your chance to show it! Check out the Hippometer to see how many rollers have been funded to date.

I am not sure about fair use here - as I have lifted the entire promotion from the website without re-writing. And I am reluctant to write too much because I am blubbering with my admiration of such a realistic design serving a real need. Words fail me and that is rare. I am pretty fucking articulate.

The rollers will be delivered to the community this April, as a gesture of support and a catalyst for more collaboration on larger water systems projects within Kgautswane. Here are the details:

What Project H is funding: 50 Hippo Rollers for a group of 17 villages in the Kgautswane community of Northeast South Africa- total population 120,000

Deadline: April 1, 2008

Total amount needed: $5000 (50 rollers, $100 each for production and delivery)

Levels of Donation:
$100- one roller for one household
$500- five rollers for a small micro-community
$1000- ten rollers for a village

ABOUT PROJECT H DESIGN:
Founded by Emily Pilloton (Inhabitat’s Managing Editor), Project H Design is a charitable organization that supports, inspires, and delivers life-improving humanitarian product design solutions to global communities in need. Project H champions industrial design as a tool to address social issues, a vehicle for global life improvement, and a catalyst for individual and community empowerment.

+ Project H Design