BushProof handwash bag in situ

BushProof Low flow water container & dispenser for handwashing

BushProof has developed a handwashing container and dispenser that is suitable for scaling up handwashing initiatives, especially in emergencies where time is short and water is scarce. This is now being marketed by Butyl Products.

The handwashing water container has been sold to organisations working in numerous countries.


BushProof Handwashing container & dispenser on wall. BushProof Handwashing container & dispenser detail. People using the BushProof Handwashing container & dispenser.

  • Maximum impact: The low unit cost allows agencies to have a large health impact with a limited budget.
  • Water saving: The low flow rate of 2 litres in 16 minutes allows for adequate cleansing, while creating a greater incentive for use in water-scarce situations.
  • Visibility: It is possible to have logos printed on the container.
  • Transferable: The dispenser fits soft drink bottles, allowing longer-term use in case of damage to the container.
  • Durable: The container is made from durable U/V-resistant polyethylene.
  • One-stop solution: The nozzle comes complete with a collapsible container, resulting in cost-effective shipping, while also ensuring that large quantities of suitable containers do not have to be sourced elsewhere. This is especially applicable in emergencies.

 

The rationale

Practical initiatives to stimulate handwashing practices have often been sidelined in the past. This is at odds with the fact that handwashing as a stand-alone factor has been shown to reduce diarrhoeal incidence dramatically.

This situation is not surprising. As there are few practical hardware solutions for handwashing that enable families to put hygiene teaching into practice, especially in an emergency and on a large scale with speed.

Bushproof's idea was to create a handwashing container that could be given out to improve hygiene interventions, resulting in measurable improvements in morbidity rates.

Handwashing at household level

Where handwashing facilities are provided, they are often promoted for use at sanitation facilities, usually on a communal level. While this is good (where practised), it neglects the fact that most of the 'critical times' for handwashing occur at the home, where handwashing is not regularly practised. Such 'critical times' include before eating, before preparing food and after cleaning up children - in fact, the majority of handwashing times.

In a similar way to what other household technologies have demonstrated, we envisage that promoting handwashing dispensers at the household level will foster a sense of ownership and increased use. In such a situation, a handwashing container at household level would be filled up by those who actually used it, rather than left empty as is so often seen at communal facilities.