insurance, crediting, and norms for product guarantees were already in place due to
the multi-generational history between the stove distributors and producers.
12.4.2 Water Filter Case
Hydrologic Ceramic Water Purifiers (CWP), has distributed over 150,000 locally
produced clay waterfilters throughout rural Cambodia and is currently undergoing
its first validation for the Gold Standard voluntary credit stream. The project
initially received traditional donor aid from USAID in 2002 and partnered with
the Red Cross to develop the CWP model; since switching to carbon finance the
project is now views the Red Cross as a competitor (Hydrologic Social Enterprise
2012).
Hydrologic also utilizes an intrinsic revenue model, locating its single water
filter factory outside of the national capital, also in Kampong Ch’nang. This
location is not only strategic due to the localized expertise in clayware, but it is
also a more residential area than the textile factories outside of Phnom Penh where
the majority of the water filter factory workers previously worked.
The filters produce a greater emission reduction per unit and a significant health
benefit in terms of reducing cholera and typhoid. Factory wages are similar to
garment worker wages, yet laborers unanimously agreed that working at the
Hydrologic factory was preferable to working at the garment district due to strategic
positioning near their home (enabling mothers to remain close to their children and
spend the long lunch hour with their family) and the work conditions themselves.
However, unlike the NLS project where the majority of technology producers
owned their own company, the workers at the CWP factory were frequently paid
on commission leading to income uncertainty and distress, accounting for the lower
LI score. Only one factory worker of the 15 interviewed reported using a CWP at
home, which they had won at a company party. The remaining laborers interviewed
said that the CWP was “too expensive” and three of the laborers interviewed
mentioned that they had missed work due to “stomach and water problems.”
Hydrologic has created three distribution channels: direct sales; indirect sales;
and wholesale to NGOs for charitable use/emergency aid campaigns. A sales
coordinator manages inventory, communicates with headquarters and trains local
villagers in sales. Sales agents are paid on commission with a 5-dollar monthly
stipend for gasoline; the presence of a set gasoline reimbursement incentivizes the
sales agents to stick close to home and pocket the gasoline cost savings. A
problematic partnership with a microfinancing NGO also hinders sales: the
microcredit organization has little incentive to travel long distances to disseminate
the micro-technology widely, preferring instead to offer multiple loan types within
a single village for ease of administrative follow up. The absence of a reliable
financing partnership is likely to undermine the program’s resilience and long-term
capacity.
12 Unpacking the Black Box of Technology Distribution, Development Potential. . .
225
the multi-generational history between the stove distributors and producers.
12.4.2 Water Filter Case
Hydrologic Ceramic Water Purifiers (CWP), has distributed over 150,000 locally
produced clay waterfilters throughout rural Cambodia and is currently undergoing
its first validation for the Gold Standard voluntary credit stream. The project
initially received traditional donor aid from USAID in 2002 and partnered with
the Red Cross to develop the CWP model; since switching to carbon finance the
project is now views the Red Cross as a competitor (Hydrologic Social Enterprise
2012).
Hydrologic also utilizes an intrinsic revenue model, locating its single water
filter factory outside of the national capital, also in Kampong Ch’nang. This
location is not only strategic due to the localized expertise in clayware, but it is
also a more residential area than the textile factories outside of Phnom Penh where
the majority of the water filter factory workers previously worked.
The filters produce a greater emission reduction per unit and a significant health
benefit in terms of reducing cholera and typhoid. Factory wages are similar to
garment worker wages, yet laborers unanimously agreed that working at the
Hydrologic factory was preferable to working at the garment district due to strategic
positioning near their home (enabling mothers to remain close to their children and
spend the long lunch hour with their family) and the work conditions themselves.
However, unlike the NLS project where the majority of technology producers
owned their own company, the workers at the CWP factory were frequently paid
on commission leading to income uncertainty and distress, accounting for the lower
LI score. Only one factory worker of the 15 interviewed reported using a CWP at
home, which they had won at a company party. The remaining laborers interviewed
said that the CWP was “too expensive” and three of the laborers interviewed
mentioned that they had missed work due to “stomach and water problems.”
Hydrologic has created three distribution channels: direct sales; indirect sales;
and wholesale to NGOs for charitable use/emergency aid campaigns. A sales
coordinator manages inventory, communicates with headquarters and trains local
villagers in sales. Sales agents are paid on commission with a 5-dollar monthly
stipend for gasoline; the presence of a set gasoline reimbursement incentivizes the
sales agents to stick close to home and pocket the gasoline cost savings. A
problematic partnership with a microfinancing NGO also hinders sales: the
microcredit organization has little incentive to travel long distances to disseminate
the micro-technology widely, preferring instead to offer multiple loan types within
a single village for ease of administrative follow up. The absence of a reliable
financing partnership is likely to undermine the program’s resilience and long-term
capacity.
12 Unpacking the Black Box of Technology Distribution, Development Potential. . .
225