SPOUTS of Water is a social enterprise launched in 2012 by Harvard students Kathy Ku and John Kye, headquartered in Kampala, Uganda. Its 'Purifaaya' is a ceramic water filter made by firing local clay mixed with sawdust and silver nitrate. The porous pottery passes water while trapping pathogens and impurities, and Uganda's Ministry of Water and Environment certified its 99.9% removal rate and drinkability in 2015. At about $25 it lasts two years and needs no boiling, fuel or electricity. SPOUTS is Africa's largest ceramic-filter maker, combining commercial sales with carbon credits (Gold Standard, Uganda and Rwanda) to reach even low-purchasing-power households, along with improved cookstoves. In a partnership with Save the Children, over 1,600 filters were distributed to schools, bringing safe water to roughly 30,000 children. Schools with filters reportedly saw diarrhea and illness visibly fall.
●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
SPOUTS of Water: Safe water without boiling, from local clay. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q3; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
In Uganda, waterborne disease is a leading cause of death for under-fives, and many schools can't provide boiled/chlorinated drinking water. Through the Save the Children partnership, over 1,600 Purifaayas were distributed to schools from November 2015, bringing safe water to about 30,000 children. Schools with filters saw diarrhea and illness visibly fall.
Source nature: United Nations(SDG blog) / P2 Independent (UN). Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The Purifaaya ceramic filter made from local clay (99.9% removal, about $25, lasts two years, no boiling/fuel/electricity). Households report 85% less diarrhea, about $680 saved in boiling fuel, and carbon cuts from less firewood/charcoal. Both People (health) and Nature (forests/carbon).P2 Independent (third-party) / World Centric
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
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- Expanding household/school reach; sustainability not dependent on carbon credits; independent quantification of health/forest effects; ongoing filter replacement/maintenance; price access for the poorest.
A second look
The plus has two faces. On the People side—safe drinking water without boiling, reduced diarrhea and waterborne disease (one evaluation, 85% less diarrhea), and saved boiling-fuel costs (about $680/household). On the Nature side—less need to boil water with firewood or charcoal, curbing deforestation and carbon emissions (using local clay, it is also circular). It is strong that the government certified 99.9% removal and it is made locally. Caveats: it is a model dependent on commercial sales and carbon credits, and some diarrhea-reduction and savings figures are partly self/partner-reported. Recognizing the genuine plus on both People and Nature sides, B/medium.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q3 | Back to top