CloudGather

Problem:

Due to drought in Chile, there has been a focus in exploiting available water resources like Camanchaca. Fog collectors have been of great interest lately since they’re environmentally friendly and inexpensive. However, their viability has been questioned because they require constant monitoring and maintenance, tasks usually assigned to local communities who often lack the necessary knowledge, motivations, and resources required to ensure their proper functioning, leading to their abandonment.

Idea:

Re-design fog collecting systems in the Chilean context with a focus in local communities embracing and adopting them, ensuring their sustainability overtime through developing a sense of responsibility, commitment, value, collectivity and ownership in locals. We propose a scope into behavioral psychology to adjust the solution, making them more accessible and user friendly through reducing maintenance and simplifying their use and implementation while seeking to improve their efficiency.

Main Beneficiaries:

Small local communities experiencing drought in northern Chile and Peru ranging the Camanchaca area (La Serena to southern most Peru) who benefit from using fog collectors to partially supply them with water. A couple hundred thousand people.

Stage:

Inspiration and ideation

SDG:

GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

University:

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile