Portland, Oregon mayor Sam Adams met with Eastman’s representatives and, among other topics, discussed the HydroPack as part of a disaster readiness plan. He loved the HydroPack and is interested in purchasing more for the city.

Christmas arrived nine days early for Austen Angell and Joel Newman of the Portland, Oregon design firm, Modern Edge.

That’s when Austen and Joel first saw photos of Austin Joel Oduori, born while they were doing design research on the HydroPack™ as part of a demonstration project Jan. 18-28, 2011 in the Western Kenya village of Mudimbia. Hydration Technology Innovations and the Kenya Water for Health Organization conducted the project, partially funded by Eastman.

Baby Austin’s mother, Judith, was interviewed in-depth by Modern Edge to better understand what is needed from a product like the HydroPack™ in a flooding situation. Angell asked questions about the Oduori family history, photographs and objects in the home, as well as Judith’s hopes and dreams. Newman videotaped the interviews.

Floods in early December 2011 ravaged the homes and livelihoods of some 25,000 people, leaving them homeless and scattered across 11 camps in the Mudimbia and Port Victoria areas.

In response to the flooding, Nathan Jones of Hydration Technology Innovations traveled to Kenya, arriving in Mudimbia around the same time as 13,000 HydroPacks™ donated through the contributions of Eastman employees. Eastman cellulose triacetate is the heart of the HydroPack™ membrane that blocks contaminants while it absorbs water and turns the flood waters into a safe and flavored drink.

Jones helped oversee the distribution of the HydroPacks™ and documented the experience of users, including the Oduori family.

The HydroPacks™ proved to be much easier to transport than bottled water.

“They were delivered to the camps by canoe, motorcycle and bicycle,” says Jones. “This is particularly significant because the camps were not receiving any other supplies due to lack of access by road.”

The HydroPacks™ are in high demand, according to John Kudombi, assistant chief of Lwanyange Village. “Everybody is asking for it and word is spreading quickly. Not only does it clean the water, it gives people energy which is very important right now.”

“Flooded latrines and dead animals mean the bacteria count is very high in the water,” Jones explains. “Those are difficult conditions for water filters. But the HydroPack™ is ideal for this situation because of its simplicity, high purity and ability to work in muddy water.

“The training is very short, and sufficient know-how quickly spread through the camps so we see a very high degree of proper use immediately.”

The Oduori family weathered the flood with Baby Austin finding security in a blanket his namesake gave him before leaving Kenya soon after he was born.

“We emphasized the importance of empathy in effective design research,” says Angell. “For Judith and Bonfale to name their son after me and Joel is the ultimate compliment and honor. We’re humbled, and I hope our work improves the chance for a healthier future for him as well as all the children and families in disaster prone areas.”

On seeing photos of Austin Joel for the first time, Newman commented: “Such a happy little guy. Spending time with the family there made a huge impression on my life, and I feel very lucky to be able to see him as he grows up. It’s great to know that our efforts will provide help in the flooding.”

Dr. Paul K. Carlton, Jr., director, Office of Innovations & Preparedness, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, was part of the demonstration project and is a big advocate of the HydroPack™, especially the logistical benefits it provides.

“What a gift Eastman has given the people of Mudimbia – the gift of life! Little did we know that less than one year after our trip to Mudimbia, the people would receive such a blessing as the gift of life. We, who went on the trip, now can realize how important our work was to these wonderful people.”

Article via Eastman

The HydroPack™ story has inspired so many people that we’re celebrating the 2011 holiday season with a special director’s cut of Bringing Water Back to Life, the video that kicked off the compelling series.

The 15-minute director’s cut delves a little deeper into the HydroPack™ demonstration project conducted January 2011 in the flood-prone Budalangi area of Western Kenya.

Charles Andiega Odhiambo has lived in the area his entire life. “Living in this place, it needs perseverance,” he says. “It is very vulnerable for kids. The moment it starts flooding, the kids normally are infected with the diseases that come along with these waters.”

“The key to good design research is to have a lot of empathy for the community you”re with, to really listen and be affected,” said Charles Austen Angell of Modern Edge, Inc. ”This community has a lot of heart, but… there’s been a lot of pain.”

“One of the main causes of flooding in Budalangi is due to dykes that were made a long time ago and their life spans have elapsed,” explains Thomas Mango, of the Busia Community Development Organization. “This leads to a lot of spill over to the homesteads. And when it spills over, a lot of devastating effects is done, particularly to the crops, the houses and even to the human life.”

“You always expect it to be very different and it never is,” says Austen Angell, president of Modern Edge, a Portland, Oregon design firm. “The people are always the same. Every day they want to get up and they hope the day is going to be a little better than it was yesterday. And, overall, they want the world to be a little bit better for their children.”

Click here for the latest video in Eastman Innovation Labs’ series about the HydroPack collaborative project with Modern Edge and HTI.

Eastman’s Innovation Lab is featuring an ongoing series of videos on the HydroPack project, in collaboration with Hydration Technology Innovation and Modern Edge. Click here to see the whole series.

Gaylon White of Eastman on stage

Collaborators on the ‘Hydropack’, C. Austen Angell of Modern Edge and Gaylon White of Eastman Chemical presented a revolutionary new product concept. With the Hydropack, designed for humanitarian relief, they embarked on extensive research with the Kenya Water Research Project. The Chicago design community, and visiting associates, were excited to attend the premier lecture on this incredible, life sustaining, innovation.

http://idsa.org/content/content1/idsa-housewares-section-activities-2011-housewares-show

Read more about the Hydropack project

“It’s all about collecting feedback from the users and learning how people actually use the product before, during, after,” says Angell. “It’s not just about going in, ‘I have an answer and I’m going to perform triage.’ But it’s a matter of engaging the community so that they can help create the next generation of a solution.”

Read more in this project write-up article on Eastman’s news page

Modern Edge is collaborating with HTI and Eastman to improve the usage model, design, packaging and comprehension of the HTI HydroPack, a disaster relief hydration system. We’re currently gathering usage feedback and  insights from a wide variety of users, and usage scenarios.

Sharing tea with Etabo Achio while writing up some notes.

After leaving Western Kenya, the Modern Edge team traveled north towards the Sudanese border to work with the Turkana – a nomadic tribal people suffering from a decades-long drought and the resulting food shortages. Non-verbal and graphic communication among the Turkana can be very counter-intuitive from a western perspective, presenting unique challenges in the search for a strong universal design and usage model. We head back to the Budalangi region shortly for the conclusion of the ninety family pilot and to collect end-of-use cycle feedback.

Near the Turkana village of Kapua in northern Kenya.

HydroPacks from HTI in Kenya. Photo © Alan Lee, Uber

We’re on day three of the usage pilot and rapid ethnography study for disaster relief in western Kenya. We’re exploring a variety of usage and acceptance metrics regarding the HTI HydroPack hydration system and the phase one packaging system design. Interesting feedback on the preliminary logistics. Did you know some people discuss the distance between towns in terms of the cost of the bus fare?

Photo © Alan Lee, Uber

The Modern Edge team is busy preparing for our trip to Africa tomorrow.  We’re heading to Bumala, Kenya with HTI and Eastman for the world pilot program of the HydroPack, a phase one disaster relief solution for providing a clean, nutritious drink from dirty water.  For more information on the project, watch the videos at Eastman’s website.

Equipment staging in the conference room