Plumber David Osborne of the Rotary Club of Troon has invented a new water boiling system, the Jompy Water Boiler, which is helping communities in East Africa and other developing countries improve their lives by reducing energy consumption and eradicating water borne diseases.
David said: “The initial idea came from using solar panels for heating water. While heating large amounts of hot water is a straightforward process for us in the UK, in poorer countries storage isn’t possible and the cost of fuel for heating water is prohibitive so I recognised the need for a practical solution.”
The Jompy Water Boiler is designed for use on direct heat sources such as solid fuel, the most common heat source in the majority of homes in the developing world. The device takes the cultural norm of heating water for cooking, cleaning, washing and drinking in a pan over a heat source but significantly improves heating time, enabling households to use fuel more efficiently, reducing household wood smoke and fuel consumption, achieving savings of around 70%. A key aim was that the Jompy be within financial reach of the majority of East Africans. Using the cost of mobile phones as a benchmark, a $30 purchase cost was set, making the device affordable and practical to manufacture.
In addition to the financial savings and health benefits, the Jompy also acts as a vehicle to empower and assist communities out of poverty. Purchase of the Jompy works via an individual rental scheme, whereby the boiler is paid off over an affordable eight month period. After this, the money paid through rental goes into a school fees fund which covers all future school fee costs.
David concluded: “The beauty of the Jompy is that it not only helps in the short term but also helps lay the foundations for the future of the children in these communities by providing a system for funding education, widening the net of career options open to young people.”
The invention has won the Siemens Empowering People Award, the BBC’s Down to Business Award, the BBC World Challenge, the John Logie Baird Awards and Imagine H20. The Jompy is now on display at the Science Centre in Glasgow.
