Following the success of the Sail for Water mission, Arkema is supporting a new NGO, No-Thirst Initiative, to promote universal access to safe drinking water for people living in remote areas of Nepal.
Cast your mind back to between 2015 and 2017, when three young French people, through their association Sail for Water, sailed around the world to help local populations during their many stop-overs who did not have access to drinking water.
Because water treatment is a major issue for Arkema's research, it was quite natural for the Group to become a partner of the NGO. This partnership entailed the supply of ultra-filtration cartridges, developed jointly with the company Polymem which specializes in membrane filtration for water treatment. These filtration cartridges comprise hollow fiber membranes made from an Arkema fluoropolymer marketed as Kynar® PVDF. These membranes allow the ultra-filtration of suspended particles as well as germs and viruses present in the water, which therefore makes the water safe to drink and without any health hazard.
In total, the Sail for Water mission across the oceans distributed nearly 1,000 filters and helped some 30,000 people in 10 countries.
The adventure does not stop here
In 2018, Sail for Water passes the baton to another French NGO, No-Thirst Initiative, for a new mission, also backed by Arkema.
It is in Nepal that the No-Thirst Initiative team will distribute 300 water filtration kits to people, including schoolchildren, living in remote areas of the country, North East of Katmandou.
The mission has only just begun and will last until December 2018.