Nepal 2025

Hello from Kathmandu Valley (Godavari), home of my hosts, CDO Nepal. John was fortunate to have mad a new contact (prior to arriving) with a pottery family in Kathmandu and had a great afternoon visiting with Gopal and Shushank Shrestha. Father and son ceramic artists who were very helpful with finding products and resources needed for our filter production here in Nepal. This saves us time and money not having to bring these products from the US and very much appreciate their help and friendship. Anyhow, it was a quick couple days in Godavari with Arati, Pratik, and Niva as his beautiful hosts, then off to Biratnagar to help Pradeep at their newer filter facility there.  

So, a quick 1 hour flight from Kathmandu and Ceramic Water Filter Solutions is back in Biratnagar! Always wonderful working again with our good friend Pradeep & staff of CDO Nepal making ceramic water filters in his facility in Biratnagar, Nepal. The city of Biratnagar is close to the India border in South East Nepal and is home to many poor and marginalized groups of Nepalis and refugees from India where the need for safe, clean water is vital to daily living. 

We (CDO Nepal & CWFS) have been making filters here for 2 years now and have distributed filters in this area for the last 5 years. Our goal is to continue to improve the quality and efficacy of the ceramic pot filter and to get them into the many homes that desperately needs them. We know these filters work! We know that families are healthier and their health care expenses are lowered because dysentery and other associated diseases are eliminated. We know children are healthier and go to school regularly and become better educated. These are just some of the benefits of having safe affordable water in the home.  

This year we are collaborating with CDO Nepal in coordinating a 4 year study that will allow us to test and record these filters and to monitor their efficacy in the homes of all the families and users. It will allow us to determine better their life span and their ability to be effective for everyone and when they need to be replaced so that the benefits of having safe, clean water are always there. Pradeep, Tulsa and John have been able to spend one day so far testing filters and water sources in 10 homes (20 tests) and had a couple small educational sessions while also distributing 2 new filters on their first trip. 3 more days are scheduled like this in the next week or so with up to 60 more water samples to be taken and test to be processed and analyzed. More people to educate, more filters to make & distribute and more to come in the next few weeks in Biratnagar!