Skip to content ↓

Nepal water project photo gallery

A woman and her sick child wait to be seen at the International Buddhist Society free clinic in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
Caption:
A woman and her sick child wait to be seen at the International Buddhist Society free clinic in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney
A young boy drinks polluted water from the village pump. This tube well's water has microbial contamination.
Caption:
A young boy drinks polluted water from the village pump. This tube well's water has microbial contamination.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney
A biosand filter to clean the water is tipped over into the muck where animals roam by a Jonbarsha village resident impatient to clean out the old water.
Caption:
A biosand filter to clean the water is tipped over into the muck where animals roam by a Jonbarsha village resident impatient to clean out the old water.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney
MIT student Jason Low carries a tray of casings for filters through the doorway of Hari Gobindh's pottery in a village near Kathmandu.
Caption:
MIT student Jason Low carries a tray of casings for filters through the doorway of Hari Gobindh's pottery in a village near Kathmandu.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney
Master potter Hari Gobindh (left) of the village of Thimi near Kathmandu works with Susan Murcott and MIT student Jason Low to make a water filter of sawdust, rice husk, ash, and red clay.
Caption:
Master potter Hari Gobindh (left) of the village of Thimi near Kathmandu works with Susan Murcott and MIT student Jason Low to make a water filter of sawdust, rice husk, ash, and red clay.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney
MIT student Tommy Ngai gathers results from the filtration unit he made to remove arsenic from well water in Parasi.
Caption:
MIT student Tommy Ngai gathers results from the filtration unit he made to remove arsenic from well water in Parasi.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney
Women in Mahilwari sing to show their gratitude for efforts to clean the water.
Caption:
Women in Mahilwari sing to show their gratitude for efforts to clean the water.
Credits:
Photo / Donna Coveney

A team of eight MIT students and their advisor brought their ingenuity and technical skills to villages in Nepal this year to try to solve a very basic practical problem--the need for clean drinking water at very low cost. Worldwide, more than 1.7 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and waterborne diseases are a major cause of illness and death.

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 22, 2002.

Related Links

Related Topics

More MIT News

Headshot of Catherine Wolfram

A delicate dance

Professor of applied economics Catherine Wolfram balances global energy demands and the pressing need for decarbonization.

Read full story