droughts
A mother and her daughter from Bahia state purifying water using Aqualuz. Credits: Sustainable Development & Water For All.

Anna Luisa: 17 year old scientist invented device to face drought in Brazil

The device helps rural communities purify stored rainwater, even after many months of having been collected. This could offer a safe option of drinking water during long periods of drought in the region.
The device helps rural communities purify stored rainwater, even after many months of having been collected. This could offer a safe option of drinking water during long periods of drought in the region.

Anna Luísa Bezerra was only 13 years old when she first understood the water problems in her home state. In regions farther away from where she lived in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, in Northeast Brazil, kids her same age were fleeing the state due to water shortages. Something had to change.

This motivated Anna Luísa to find solutions to the water crisis in her region. “The government and many institutions do not care about the people who suffer and still die for lack of basic sanitation and access to water,” she says.

At 17, the young scientists invented a device that helps to purify rainwater using only sunlight. In a matter of a few years, she founded her own company and took Aqualuz —which she named her invention— to rural towns.

The device helps rural communities purify stored rainwater, even after many months of having been collected. This could offer a safe option of drinking water during long periods of drought in the region.

Salvador —Anna Luísa’s home city— is a coastal area. In rural regions, which are about three hours away by car, the scenario is already different. The ‘Sertão Nordestino’, home to the Caatinga biome, is one of the driest parts in the country. In times of strong droughts, rainfall does not exceed 200 mm per year. 

Without water, there’s trouble. According to the association ‘Eco Nordeste’, 27,6% of the Northeast region’s population does not have access to water and about 72% of the population does not even have access to sewage. 

drought
 A family from Bahia state shows an Aqualuz water tank in their farm. Credits: Sustainable Development & Water For All.

Cleaning water with light

Before developing any groundbreaking projects, in 2013 —International Year of Water Cooperation— Anna saw her first opportunity, during a contest for young scientists focused on water resources. As she loved physics, it was there that she found a possible way forward. 

During the event, she learned that sunlight —with its infrared rays and radiation— cleans water without any chemicals. She developed the project using this idea, presented it, but did not win the competition. Still, the experience there changed her life, she says. 

At 17, she entered the Federal University of Bahia in Biotechnology and came up with the first prototype of her water cleaning device, a product that could change the lives of many people in her native region. 

Aqualuz —as she named it— basically uses a steel platform with a water purification meter and a water tank. Through a set of filters, the device uses sunlight to purify the stored water. It can clean up to 30 liters per day, without any chemicals. 

The device works by heating water inside using sunlight. With the energy of solar radiation, bacteria in the water dies, leaving the water healthy for consumption. Evaporation is controlled through a glass container.

The main collection is rainwater. In the region, water tanks typically receive water from trucks sent by the municipality in drier times. However, it is not exhaustively treated and can have strong health impacts. 

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in the survey ‘PNAD Continua’ of 2019, even in the houses of the Northeast that have daily water supply, 69% of them have a coverage that does not match their needs. 

Because of this, Aqualuz has become an important tool for rural families in the face of climate change. In times of drought, the device could supply drinking water in households and also for small vegetable plantations, which are a common source of food in the area.

Anna took this idea to the private sector and created her company Sustainable Development & Water For All (SDW), to help her product reach more people. And it did. Today they are present in 15 Brazilian states. Aqualuz alone serves one thousand and one hundred families.

Today SDW has a portfolio with 5 products ranging from Aqualuz to self-managed sanitation systems. The products supply clean water to around 15 thousand people in rural communities.

Money for sanitation

The small public budget for sanitation is the main challenge for communities lacking clean water, according to Cicero Felix, coordinator of the ‘Articulação no Semiárido Brasileiro’ (ASA) Bahia —one of the main institutions of research and development of public policies. 

“We have public policies, but the money needed to make them work often does not arrive. And another point is that the population that most needs clean and effective access to water is not involved in the debates that implement these policies. They need to be there. They are the ones who live that on a daily basis,” he added. 

This is what most motivates Anna Luísa, she says. “What still continues to motivate me is the factor of laziness on the part of the government and many institutions that do not care about the people who suffer and still die from lack of basic sanitation,” she says.

drought
A kid from Bahia state beside an Aqualuz water tank. Credits: Sustainable Development & Water For All.

One of the main plans Brazil has to combat constant droughts in Caatinga and mitigate the impacts of climate change is the National Plan to Combat Desertification, coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment. 

According to Cicero that plan is not being properly implemented. “It is a necessary public policy to revert the problem in time and avoid an even stronger disaster for the population of northeastern Brazil,” Cicero said.

The region will become more arid as time goes by due to climate change, he added. Desertification, loss of vegetation, prolonged droughts and reduction of water supply for the population will follow as consequences. 

“A great challenge is to face the causes that provoke climate changes, working in the perspective of reducing their effects”, adds Cicero. 

Anna, who today is an ambassador and winner of the United Nations Young Champions of the Earth Award, wants to help mitigate this impact. Not just by being a leader, but by creating and implementing technologies that change people’s lives.

“In 5 years we want to have a portfolio with the most important technologies to solve the problem of rural sanitation in needy populations, with an impact of more than 12 million people directly benefited by them, in Brazil and in the world,” she concludes. 


This story was published with the support of One Earth, through our Local Solutions Journalism Programme.

Evandro Almeida
He’s a mobile journalist born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brasil. Former Fellow in Dart Center (Columbia University) and Youth Climate Leaders; also Economic Trainee for Estado de Sao Paulo and member of #RedLATAM for Distintas Latitudes. Evandro’s worked in the TV Band in Google News Initiative, as text editor in TV Record, and interned in Municipal Parliament of São Paulo. He’s the digital editor for TV Band producing and editing reports, podcasts, and video programmes.
slot thailand slot88 joker123 zeus slot slot mania habanero idn slot jdb slot slot gacor maxwin slot thailand slot thailand slot thailand slot thailand sv388 slot kamboja idn slot slot ovo habanero slot petir slot dana slot maxwin slot ovo starlight princess live casino slot zeus pg soft slot olympus ibcbet maxwin slot thailand slot pgsoft slot slot mahjong zeus slot digmaan slot mania slot pulsa jdb slot slot777 slot shopee slot spade gaming slot thailand slot thailand fafaslot nolimit city slot princess fafaslot fafa slot slot princess slot gacor slot thailand slot mahjong slot gopay slot88 slot toto slot server thailand slot thailand slot77 slot gacor slot thailand slot server thailand slot thailand akun gacor slot maxwin slot gacor slot thailand slot kakek zeus Pg Soft Maxbet Ibcbet Starlight Princess Slot Ovo Joker123 Mahjong Ways 2 Sv388 Sbobet Slot Dana Slot Thailand Slot Thailand Digmaan Sv388 Joker123 Mahjong Ways 2 Slot Dana Slot Gacor Slot Anti Rungkat baccarat roulette sicbo casino online sv388 tembak ikan online sbobet slot macau slot thailand slot thailand slot88 situs slot wwg slot wm casino tembak ikan slot thailand slot wala meron slot nolimit city slot pg slot gacor slot88 slot50000 slot mahjong slot thailand 66k bet slot daftar judi slot online indonesia slot mahjong ways slot thailand mahjong ways slot gacor slot mawin slot gacor slot gacor slot gacor slot thailand slot thailand slot gacor slot ovo slot gacor slot gopay slot gacor slot gacor slot thailand slot gacor judi slot slot thailand slot thailand slot thailand slot mahjong ways 2 slot pragmatic slot demo pragmatic slot demo pg soft demo slot pragmatic slot gacor 4d slot pg soft pgslot pgsoft pgsoft sv388 slot88 pgsoft slot thailand slot88 slot thailand slot gacor slot ovo slot dana fafaslot slot ovo slot jepang judi slot gacor slot rusia Situs Daftar Judi Slot Mahjong Ways 1 dan 2 PG Soft Online PG Soft : Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Slot Kakek Zeus RTP Slot > Daftar Situs Judi Slot Gacor Mahjong Ways 2 PG Soft : Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Terbaik Situs Slot Online Gacor Dan Agen Slot Pragmatic Play Terpercaya Slot Gacor: Situs Slot Online Pragmatic Play & Bocoran Pola Slot Situs Slot Online Terbaik Terpercaya dan Terbesar di Indonesia Slot Kakek Zeus Daftar Link Slot Olympus Terbaru Slot Dana Daftar Judi Slot Online Indonesia Paling Gacor di Indonesia Sabung Ayam Online Sv388 Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online SLOT88 SLOT PG SOFT GACOR Bandar Slot Daftar Situs Judi Online Terbaik & Terpercaya Gacor power gaming sv388 lucky neko slot gacor slot gacor slot88 slot kakek slot pg slot kakek zeus slot dana slot maxwin slot server luar negeri slot thailand Link Daftar Situs Judi Slot Deposit Dana 20RB Tanpa Potongan Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Link Daftar Situs Judi Slot Deposit Dana 20RB Tanpa Potongan Slot Pragmatic - Link Alternatif Judi Slot Online Gacor Kakek Zeus Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Daftar Slot Dana Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play lucky Neko Daftar & Login Slot PG Judi Slot 88 Online Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Slot Mahjong Ways 2 Mudah Jackpot Paus di PG Soft Hari ini 2023 Lucky Neko Situs Slot Gacor Pgsoft Hari Ini Slot Pragmatic - Link Alternatif Judi Slot Online Gacor Kakek Zeus SITUS SABUNG AYAM SV388 ONLINE DAFTAR LINK LOGIN APK AGEN SV388 Daftar Judi Slot Online Indonesia Paling Gacor di Indonesia SBOBET Login Agen Judi Bola Sbobet Mahjong Ways | Slot PG | Slot Mahjong Ways 2 | Slot PGsoft | Daftar Slot Mahjong Situs Joker123 | Joker123 | Joker Gaming | Daftar Slot Joker Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Agen Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online Terpercaya Slot Kakek Zeus : Daftar RTP Judi Slot Online Gacor Gampang Menang Joker123 Game Slot Gacor Joker Gaming Casino Online Indonesia Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play