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Can digitalization
not only change
the world,
but also improve it?
Foundation
Menschen für Menschen
Smarter water systems
for Ethiopia
– powered by IoT
& real-time data
Project in a nutshell
-
Innovation for nationwide geodata collection. In the case of modern foundations such as Menschen für Menschen is about development cooperation, Partner ecosystems, digital transformation and self-empowerment. In this case, project, we have equipped wells in Ethiopia with IoT technology to collect groundwater data in near real-time, which can be used to gain insights into such as water consumption quantities and quality.
The Customer Need
-
Analyze water resources in Ethopia. In a country where access to to clean water for 40 percent of the people and even slight climate fluctuations can dramatically worsen this number, it is vital to know how water resources change. With IoT sensors in selected Brunnen wanted Menschen für Menschen this previously non-existent geodata for the first time.
Challenges & Extra Miles
-
Local conditions & political unrest. Actually, a pandemic would be and severe political unrest enough to put any project "on hold". The remarkable commitment of the Ethiopian and German colleagues from Menschen für Menschen and the flexibility of the entire project team, it is important to thanks to the fact that our IoT prototype for water data measurement is possible at all could start.
Strategy
-
Real-time supply status. Digital solutions allow, among other things: data-based decisions, the measurability of measures and a fast scalability of convincing concepts. Important goals also for our Menschen für Menschen project. For this purpose, we have not only developed various types of wells equipped with sensors. We also wanted a visualization to develop changes in the supply status of wells in real time. In the second step, a push message system was to be created, which informs users about available water resources.
Innovation
-
Real-time well monitoring. Like any digitization project, "WaterWatch" is the work of a partner ecosystem. Together with the hardware partner SEBA and the Ethiopian colleagues of Menschen für we have evaluated the local infrastructure, checked feasibility, depending on the situation and the sensors are finally activated after a Remote training launched in the Ethiopian communities. Since November 2021, the sensors from both wells have been collecting live data, the information about groundwater level, temperature and salinity or cleanliness of the water.
Technical Solution
-
IoT prototype for WaterWatch. How new technologies work is shown preferably by example. This is also possible with innovative projects: With the help of test data from a well in Germany, our IoT experts were able to find out what was technically and organisationally necessary for the project in Ethiopia. Together with the hardware partner for the sensors, we were able to implement all the necessary IoT set-ups make. Based on mock-ups from our UI designers, we then visualizes the data evaluation. An integrated map shows the digital monitored well. In addition to surveys on water quantity and quality, In the future, the sensors will also be able to predict water availability, inflow and daily withdrawal quantity.
Technical Milestones
Six steps to an IoT prototype:
-
1Requirement analysis using a test well in Kaufbeuren
-
2Hardware sourcing with IoT specialist SEBA
-
3Infrastructure analysis with Menschen für Menschen
-
4UI design for the monitoring dashboard
-
5Connection of IoT sensors to the mobile Data network on site via SIM card
-
6Operation & hosting of the web environment via the Microsoft Azure Cloud from blu BEYOND
Big
Wins
-
Robust geo-data for an entire country. Without data, it is hardly possible to make sustainable decisions. Especially in life-critical supply projects, gut feeling is a poor advisor. With data-based well monitoring from WaterWatch, Ethiopian communities will now collect reliable geo-data, enabling them to better assess their water resources and plan water systems more efficiently.
-
12.500 € to secure clean water – the cost of a spring catchment for a hand pump well
-
26 Well have so far been equipped with IoT sensors
-
34 Well will receive monitoring sensors in the next phase
-
44000 people now have access to safer, smarter water – powered by IoT and 10 monitored wells
Small Victories
-
1Partnerships that cross borders Digital solutions are only created through teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration. During times of pandemic and political unrest, Ethiopian communities, a German foundation and a medium-sized digitization company Have shown that strong partners always find a solution.
-
2Digital Literacy Upgrade Climate, Human and health protection – the major issues of our time can be addressed better and faster with the help of of data and digital technologies.
-
3Real-time transparency for donors Those who donate want to directly see where their money is going. Through visualization, donors can track the impact of their contribution online in near real-time.
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“As an NGO, we see digitalisation as a real opportunity. That’s what led us to partner with blu BEYOND – a team willing to go above and beyond for an innovation project that isn’t about commercial success first, but about something far bigger: securing better basic services for millions of people – services we often take for granted. WaterWatch is exactly that. It enables Ethiopian communities, authorities, and research institutions to continuously track water usage, detect falling groundwater levels early, develop countermeasures, and monitor water quality. In times of drought, they can react faster, understand regional water systems better, and plan more resilient water supply strategies.”
-
Dr. Sebastian Brandis, Speaker of the Board bei Stiftung Menschen für Menschen
-
blu BEYOND GmbH
Keltenring 11,
82041 Oberhaching
