(14 Sep 2019) LEAD IN: Women living in rural areas of Kenya are being spared the back-breaking task of carrying barrels of water thanks to a simple new gimmick.
Women are often forced to walk many kilometres a day to fetch water for their families.
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In developing countries, travelling to fetch water for households falls mainly on women and girls, especially in rural areas.
These women in Kitengela, Kenya are using what's known as the "Tosheka Rolling Springs" water roller to carry their loads. Until recently they carried them on their heads or backs.
Esther Muindi is a 26-year-old mother of two.
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"Carrying water on my back is usually a heavy burden especially when I am pregnant. I sometimes need a lot of water, approximately 10 jerry cans; yet the water source is 2 kilometres away," she says.
" 'Tosheka Rolling Springs' enables me to transport 15 jerry cans with ease whilst carrying my child on my back."
According to the charity World Vision International, women in remote villages in developing countries can walk up to 6 kilometres every day to fetch water for family consumption.
The long-term effects of this daily work load has adverse effects on their spines and general health.
The "Tosheka Rolling Springs" water roller is the creation of 70-year-old American inventor and businessman Herman Bigham.
Originally from the state of Pennsylvania, the father-of-three moved to Kenya in 2018.
"I have been here for two years and in two years we have designed and patented seven inventions that are destined to have great human and social impact and employment, provide mass employment which is, you know, one of the goals of myself and my wife," he says.
"'Rolling Springs' is the name of the invention, system that we put together to be able to relieve women and children and the elderly from carrying water on their backs. I became very clear about the level of strain and physical handicap and injuries caused by doing this. And also, Kenya and Africa is so advanced now in so many ways and at the same time we still have women and children carrying water on their backs for 10, 20 kilometres. We...my son and myself were inspired, you know, to find a way to make a difference and we were able to. And the reward is seeing how people are so happy, enriched and refreshed by the experience of using 'Rolling Springs'."
Manufactured in Kenya, the rollers are made from a combination of recycled materials such as old tyres and local wood and can be used by both young and older women.
The rollers allow women to carry up to three 20-litre water containers over long distances and are designed to be rolled over any terrain.
"It has a lot of advantages even though it is low tech. It's advantages are, the water container never comes in touch with the ground, therefore it's preserved, it doesn't become contaminated and it's also extremely easy to transport, makes it easy to transport the water, whereas some of the systems, they carry more water, have a lot of problems with the containers being busted by the very rough terrain over which one has to travel," says Bigham.
Internal springs allow water to turn inside the container building momentum which then propels the container forward
The roller currently retails for 60 US dollars, which makes it out of reach financially for many women.
But Bigham says he plans to make it cheaper through the manufacturing process of moulding.
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