Laureate Education Inc.

06/04/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/04/2021 10:33

UPN team design portable ecological shower for low-income residents in Lima

According to data from Peru's National Institute of Statistics and Information (INEI), 4% of Lima's metropolitan population (around 400,000 people) does not have access to potable water, which not only makes water expensive for low-income populations, but can also lead to disease and other health problems.

A team of UPN Industrial Design students and a teacher were determined to address this issue by designing an economical, portable ecological shower that would help improve the quality of life of Lima's most disadvantaged by providing them with running water for daily bathing.

The project was conceived for residents of the elevated areas of the Laderas de Chillón human settlement, who are supplied water through hoses from pylons twice a week, making it difficult to install showers for personal hygiene.

The recycling of used water (gray water) was considered a way to optimize water consumption. The Ecoducha shower works by means of a pressure sprayer and water recycling system, precisely measuring the amount of water needed for each shower, optimizing shower times, and avoiding waste by reusing up to 50% of water captured in a closed recirculation and filtration circuit.

The shower structure comprises a cabin and a base where the storage and filtering modules are located, which are made with light, resistant, durable and easily available materials.

Given its benefits and scope, Peru's National Institute for Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) recently granted a patent for the Ecoducha shower.

Laureate congratulates the design team (students: Jonathan Bulnes, Yanely Castillo, Edison Gonzales, Luis Alberto Oblitas and Mery Ann Páucar, and teacher Carla Huamancusi) on this meaningful social and environmental impact project, and contribution to their fellow Peruvians.