Dreamwater Portable Filter Project empowering women in the flood affected areas

Fifty rural women were empowered with the Dreamwater Filter, a portable and automated water filter which can convert upto 15,000 liters of flood water into drinking water, in becoming water entrepreneurs and disaster respondents in Ulipur, Char Rajibpur and Raumari of Kurigram district.

Footsteps Bangladesh, a next generation organization, is implementing the 18 month long project which was supported through the AFCIA grant provided jointly by the United Nations Development Programme, European Union and Adaptation Fund.

They shared the information at a knowledge sharing seminar held recently on their Dreamwater Project- empowering rural women in converting flood water into drinking water in northern Bangladesh.

Footsteps was the only Bangladeshi organization and one of the 44 organizations in the world to receive the Adaptation Fund for Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) grant.

The knowledge sharing seminar was hosted at Ascott Palace in Dhaka, where the Footsteps team shared key milestones, activities and impact of the project which began in August 2023.

It also informed that 3500+ beneficiaries in the three sub districts of Kurigram are currently enjoying access to clean drinking water from surface and flood water from this project.

Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Rezaul Karim as the special guest shared how dire the scenario is in Kurigram when it comes to climate change and water access, where he served as Deputy Commissioner for three years, and how an innovation like the Dreamwater Filter can come in handy to build local adaptation to the increasing floods in the region.

The session also showcased a short documentary of the project alongside a demo of the Dreamwater Filter. Representatives from various NGOs, INGOs, embassies and governmental agencies were present during the event.

"The AFCIA grant helped us in testing our device and building the market for Dreamwater in northern Bangladesh, and we hope this device becomes a beacon of hope in achieving local adaptation to the impacts of floods and other natural disasters in our communities" said Co-Founder and President at Footsteps Bangladesh Shah Rafayat Chowdhury.

UNDP has committed a second round of financing to support this project of Footsteps, empowering more rural women in northern Bangladesh in harnessing flood water as a drinking water source using the Dreamwater Portable Filter.

During the seminar, the organization extended its gratitude to the UNDP, AFCIA, EU, and the Adaptation Fund for their invaluable support in making the Dreamwater project a success.

The event underscored the need for collective efforts to tackle water and climate-related challenges and highlighted the importance of empowering local communities, particularly women, as key agents of change.