Trip to Bintaro Lama

On November 12th, the P module went to Bintaro Lama, to see how local people cleaned water. I went to station 2, 4 and 6. Even though the local people didn't have all the filters and machines like the water treatment plant, they could still make it clean. I thought that was pretty smart.

Station 2.

Station 2 was where the people taught us why we had to wash our hands. The water was mostly contaminated by open-waste, and people who drank and used the contaminated water afterwards got diarrhea. The WatSan people told us that babies under five would die in two days after getting diarrhea, and that millions of babies die every year because of contaminated water. They showed us a diagram of how the water was contaminated, and how people became sick. Washing our hands is important!

Station 4.

Station 4 was where the WatSan people demonstrated how they cleaned the water by using Pur, a packet of chemicals they put in to clean the water. It was really quite simple. All you had to do was pour in the Pur, then wait for 30 minutes. Between the 30 minutes, sedimentation happened. Then, you pour the water through a filter made out of a handkerchief, and voila! The water was drinkable. But the Pur was only for emergencies, like when there was a flood. The other way to clean water was through this filter, but it took 12 hours to clean water using the filter.

Station 6.

Station 6 was where AquaTabs and AirRahMat was introduced. AquaTabs were these tablets to put in the water. The tablet dissolved, and cleaned the water while dissolving. The tablet was used to clean flood water. One AquaTab can clean 10L of flood water, and 20L of ground water. The AirRahMat was a liquid. You would put in a few drops of AirRahMat, then shake it for 15 seconds. Then it was drinkable. AirRahMat was 3,000 Rp., and AquaTabs were 1,000 Rp. per tablet. 

The way of cleaning water was really smart. I learned how to clean water three different ways. From both trips to Bintaro and the water treatment plant, I thought how fortunate I was to get clean water so easily. After the field trips, I think I now know a bit more about how important clean water is.