some answers to hwts and pricing-nnsupa ceramic water filter experiences

Q1. What strategies exist that promote household water treatment and storage?
Ans: the use of transparent containers allow users to experience at first hand how the systems works, what they use to drink and what they are drinking now. From our feedback ghana, all the participants indicated the difficulty they find in going back to the original source including tap water when their filter candle is broken. In ghana the other factors is the availability of the product wether clay pots or not, finishing, aesthetics and cost to a low extend. ghanaians ether rich or poor like some kind of sophistication in the operation of a project. don't give them chance of saying" but this simple thing" value goes with taht as well.The users are from all walks of life with educated customers being the large group of about 90-92%. They are mostly in the urban areas mainly accra and kumasi. In kumasi the majority are from the university community including the vice chancellor and most professors. These customers normally come after two weeks to buy at least three extra filters fo r their parent/realtives in either in the rural areas or another part of ghana. Some customers will want to have clay pots instead fo the transparent plastic. Some too argue in favour of transparent plastic give them the chance to know what is happening. The kids love it too says one! One factor that will help promote the HWTS is rich or urban users buying for their rural relatives!!! Please NOTE this.
Q2. What value do people see in treating and storing water safely so that they sustain the practice over the long term?
Ans: Some users have realised the need to treat the water after using this product when they realise the sudden stop in visiting the doctor or complains about stomach probems.In fact my own sisters now see the need to use filtered for mum.for a year my mum has not visited the hospital illness and sisters have noticed that. We further show users the cost of treating thyphoid as against the cost of filter system. This must include transportation, pain, drug side effect and must be linked to infertility for both men and women in africa and they will listen pactice what they her. In ghana fertility is big social asset. We don’t play with it.
Q3. How can we magnify the savings from treating and storing water safely so that the investment seems worth the cost and effort to households?
Ans: This will come about when contiunous product improvement in term technolgical advancement that will reduce production cost, buying components from china (because they are cheaper and well finished than made in ghana even though imported). The new option is maintaining the price we’ve started with for the next five to ten years as production cost decreases. We have plans to demonstration to ghanaians do it yourself (D.I.Y.) containers so that they can prepare their own conatiners cheaply and by the filter candles to fix themselves.
Q4. What schemes exist that encourage small business investment into water treatment and storage?
Ans: there is some tax exemptions and likes for water suplliers in ghana, but request a coming from small and medium scale private water treatment and supply firms about possible incorporation of our product into their processing system. I have suggest on the nationa tv on programme call “women chat” about the use of national health insurance scheme to help people purchase a filter system. The university is currently preparin an agreement with a private investor into the full commercial production of the product.
What different payment methods might make these products more affordable or desirable to customers?
Ans: currently what is working is installment system at the pace of the customer, especially those on the university campus. Of some prefer to pay out right. customers will want the product to be sent to them in house with delievery fees attached. Intersting isn’t it? national health insurance is one of the possible and likely method the will enhance the promotion of the of such a project.! we are working on this one. it is slow though.