The award-winning Eliodomestico could help provide drinking water in developing countries.
This project is intended to bring good drinking water to the families in the developing countries at no operating cost
You simply fill the black boiler with salty water then tighten the cap. Throughout the day as the temperature rises and the pressure increases, steam is forced downwards through a pipe and collects in the lid of the oven. This acts as a condenser, turning the steam into fresh drinking water.
The Eliodomestico is designed to be easy to build and use.
Open-source oven
Diamanti was inspired from his travels visiting friends who are NGOs. He quickly realised that there could be an open source solution to providing clean drinking water in remote areas of developing countries and areas riddled with drought issues. Particularly as the large majority of these countries share one common factor: lots of sunshine.
“This project is intended to bring good drinking water to the families in the developing countries at no operating cost, starting from sea water,” Diamanti says. “It works like an upside down coffee maker: during the day, the heat of the sun raises up the steam pressure into the black watertight boiler. The steam is forced down throigh the exapnsion nozzle, thus condensing against the lid.”
Utilising the sun
Currently the project is still in development, but having won a Core 77 Design award and placing as a finalist at the Prix Emile Hermes competition, Diamanti is confident the invention will get off the ground quickly, as it could efficiently deliver enough daily drinking water for a small family.
Five litres of water can be produced using the solar oven.
“At the end of the day the Eliodomestico delivers 5 litres of fresh drinking water,” Diamanti explains. “The lower basin is specifically designed for transport over the head, supporting this common habit. It is entirely made from poor, widely available materials. The technologies involved in the production are very simple and popular. This also makes the maintenancce much easier: No electricity, no filters, easy maintenance, good impact on the local economy and no impact on the environment.”
Empowering craftsmen
“My goal was to design something friendly and recognizable for the users,” he explains. “The process developed quite naturally to determine the current shape; every detail is there for a reason, so the form, as well as production techniques, represent a compromise between technical and traditional. I tried to make something for a real household that could be operated directly by the families. The idea is that instructions for the project can be delivered to craftsmen.”
It’s an open-source project. That means anyone can modify and upgrade it
The ultimate aim for Diamanti is for NGOs to deliver plans to build the project to the local craftsmen. He hopes that a micro-credit program could help finance and create small start-ups who could develop the oven on a wide-spread scale. He is currently looking for more funding and is ready to step up field testing during the coming months. But Diamanti is keen to impress that anyone can help develop the idea: “It’s an open-source project. That means anyone can modify and upgrade it. So it will always be a work in progress.”
