Tayaba - H2O Wheels

Tayaba is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016, which addresses the grave concern of water-scarcity and associated problems of non-existent or poor infrastructure for water. We aim to introduce sustainable water interventions tailored to the socio-cultural needs of high-risk areas. Tayaba’s H2O wheel is designed as a rotatable water bottle carrying up to 40 litres at a time. This in turn alleviates physical strains which impact health as a result of water collection, saves travel time and is a hygienic storage option to prevent water borne diseases. Our project has redefined gender roles and has improved lives of marginalised women and children. Rural farmers have also been empowered to generate an income.

Whether needed in rural or urban areas, in labour intensive industries, or by whoever recognises it as a useful tool based on aforementioned benefits - we are eager to extend help to everyone, beyond just Pakistan!

Home to 4.5 billion people, the Asian population uses around 65% of the world’s water supply.

Pakistan's population is over 220 million with an urban share of approximately 77 million. Up to 70% of rural Pakistan has limited or no access to clean water. Pakistan also faces an alarming situation of water-borne diseases and compromised sanitation hygiene, which collectively are the major underlying determinants of child health and malnutrition.

According to a UNICEF report, contaminated water contributes to 40% of deaths in Pakistan. The problem is graver in informal urban settlements and rural areas like Thar which have inadequate health facilities, famine, and lack of basic infrastructure. With the COVID-19 crisis and hot summers, to collect and safely store water is the need of the hour. Therefore, apart from our main mission of distributing H2O wheels, we additionally aim to partner with organisations to collaborate on projects which improve living conditions of the most vulnerable areas in the country.

We are currently in talks to donate our H2O wheels to an organisation in Kenya, and hope to help people globally at this time of need.

Tayaba's H2O wheel is simple, but innovative. The design is that of a plastic wheel container which is connected to a metal bar. It is rotatable and so only requires minimum human effort to roll, compared to the physical stress of carrying large amounts of water from far away wells or water sources

Till date, Tayaba has successfully distributed over 5,500 H2O wheels in Pakistan; Tharparkar, Thatta (Sindh), Jacobabad, outskirts of Lahore and southern Balochistan while expanding the project to other areas both local and international wherever the demand and need is observed and reported. We have impacted around 30,000 lives. Recently, our prime focus has been to help as many people as possible in Tharparkar, which has a population of over 1.6 million people. We have local representatives and volunteers who engage with and record concerns of residents in need. Data is collected and we identify families in need of donations.

The H2O wheel has been a solution for those who have developed health problems while carrying/transporting water such as: Musculoskeletal disorders, Cervical Spine Degeneration, Spinal pain, Health risks during pregnancy and Regular neck and back pain.

It is a tool to collect and safely store up to 40 litres of water at a time, compared to just 8-10 litres in a clay water pot otherwise. It saves time and energy, making water easily available to the poverty-stricken and vulnerable population of Pakistan.

Barely 5% of Tharparkar's total population has access to usable water. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, creating ease to maintain hygiene and sanitation is our prime focus. For areas in Pakistan with a limited supply of clean water through wells, and with a need to stay indoors, it is extremely essential to safely store sufficient amount of water. Climate change further strengthens our mission of expanding efforts for vulnerable communities. Being a non-profit, Tayaba Organisation relies on donations to produce H2O wheels in high demand locally. During the pandemic, we additionally wish to assist areas facing similar problems internationally as well.

Having a degree in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from London School of Economics, my inspiration to venture into social entrepreneurship came during a visit to Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world. I was in Ouagadougou when I saw women there using wheel shaped containers to carry water from long distances. I asked them about it, and they said it was probably the best thing that had happened to them in a long time. Water rollers were first manufactured by Hipporoller.org catering to malnutrition due to famine which caused a major health disaster. An international team also founded the same concept in India called "Wello". But in Pakistan, no such initiative had been despite the situation being worse than women in Ouagadougou. In rural Pakistan, women faced a similar daily ordeal of having to fetch water from long distances, and used traditional clay pots carrying water in them on their shoulders or head.  The rampant associated health issues in Pakistan's rural areas were also alarming. Water rollers were only being imported from other countries, which was costly. Tayaba Organisation took up the challenge and managed to successfully replicate the water rollers in Pakistan's own manufacturing factories. Affordable water wheels were made accessible in Pakistan for the first time through Tayaba Organisation, ridding the additional costs of importing the product. Our H2O water wheel is durable and has a strong protective cap. It's metal bars assist smooth rolling.

Our core technology involves in the manufacturing of the product. Tayaba's product relies on the fundamental values of a wheel and implements a solution for the very basic need of a human. They did say the wheel revolutionized the world, and our wheel is changing the way of life for those who are most affected; people in water-deprived communities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmRTsJm7Xwo

The solution is often used in other communities around the world who don’t get access to water.

Tayaba's initiative aimed to solve the problem of the people who couldn't access clean water near their homes, so it started providing H2o wheels to them. This helps them carry 40 litres of water in a single run from the source to their homes instead of multiple runs which caused them physical stresses, mental health issues and lack of time to invest in other parts of their lives. This wheel brought a significant change to their lives, as they can now manage their time to invest in their children and address to activities, which they previously couldn't. 

This cycle will continue after everyone has access to a secure way of finding their water, and it will move them to step into the next best thing in their lives. Parents would now want for their kids to get education, giving them hope to get out of poverty. We are in talks to collaborate with organisations who help with offline remote education, eco-toilets and other cooking facilities to improve the living conditions of people in rural areas.

The cycle of events will continue with more people getting aware of these communities which are deprived of their basic right, while we are only a tap away from a water source. 

We have managed to improve the lives of over 30,000 families in water-deprived areas with our H2O wheel. We aim to serve at least 20,000-25,000 more in one year, and a minimum of 100,000 people in the next five years.

This year our agenda definitely includes providing wheels to more communities who are not able to provide water for their family and close associates. In the next five years, Tayaba aims to accomplish multiple solutions which will address the problem of water scarcity around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected our lives, the way humans live and our social habits. It will now be more difficult to reach people facing a water crisis, as more health and safety precautions are to be taken. However, we intend to take these challenges head on and continue our mission. Water scarcity is a very serious issue and in the next five years, we look forward to implement solutions which help to solve and ease existing problems.

As we are in our daily lives already, we will take extra precautions while visiting communities to distribute our wheels. We have begun to further educate people on health measures they need to take in order to stay safe from the virus, and will work towards training for better implementation of these measures. In addition to distributing our H2o wheels during these visits, we will ensure we distribute sufficient reusable protective masks, sanitisers, etc.

In the next five years, we are looking to expand our branches of service beyond just water wheels, and will collaborate with the most innovative organisations around the world. Tayaba's efforts will however always integrate our main mission to solve the global crisis of water scarcity.

We currently have three employees and five volunteers, apart from volunteers situated in our target areas who help us collect and update data. 

I founded Tayaba Organisation while still pursuing my MSc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at London School of Economics, and it is purely a passion project where I put acquired skills to use with like-minded people equally passionate to make a difference.

We are a team of Pakistani alumni & students from Oxford University, King's College London, City University London, University College London & Imperial College who have come together to bring change in the lives of those whose basic needs remain unattended.

The ongoing challenge of water scarcity and access to clean water has had a severe impact on the lives of millions of households in Pakistan. We aim to make a difference in the lives of people who are deprived of this basic necessity of life: Clean water - through the provision of an H2O Wheel per household.

With our skills, knowledge, experience, and sincerity to the cause, we ought to bring a change to the world.

We have collaborated with multiple non profit organizations over the years. Our latest collaboration is with Team Justajoo, who are working for the people effected by COVID-19. Our collaboration is to encourage Plasma donations and a 24/7 COVID-19 Helpline.

We are among the privileged, so Tayaba aims to give back to society and make an impact on the lives of people in need. Being a non profit organization, we operate without any financial incentive. 

We rely on donations given by people, around the world. To further raise awareness and funds, we often collaborate with other organizations.

Since COVID-19 has resulted in major financial loss globally (shutting down of businesses, furloughs, etc) the impact on a lot of our donors is very apparent. We are relying on a very limited stock of wheels and funds we currently have, but to help as many people as possible, we require generous donations to maximise our efforts. Also, at this time of need our intentions of distributing protective reusable masks and sanitisers along with our wheels, is an additional cost apart from the manufacturing cost of the H2O wheels. We are aware of other areas nationally and internationally which require help, but have collected data and identified 1,500 families in Tharparkar who are in dire need of H2O wheels as soon as possible. This demand with health and safety measures can only be met with a generous grant offered through Solve's platform. Our team is very hopeful for a positive response!

There is always room for improvement, and we want to work on our product's features as much as possible. Our current model is locally manufactured, can store up to 40 litres of water, is rotatable, has one protective cap and a metal bar which assists to roll the wheel. We are open to suggestions of improvement and will put in effort to act upon given suggestions.

Most importantly, we seek funding for smooth operations to meet demands.

Additionally, Tayaba intends to expand operations into countries facing similar problems. Our wheel costs just $30, which is affordable considering durability and the long-term benefits it serves. We also look to expand beyond just water, addressing problems rural and urban populations face nationally. This includes remote offline education, training, medical assistance, improving housing, eco-toilets and provisions to improve cooking facilities. We will branch out while prioritising health and safety concerns owing to the pandemic.

Though we specifically need monetary support, our expansion plan welcomes every organisation that is willing to come on board to collaborate. The organisations could be addressing water, water scarcity, sanitation, hygiene, medical assistance, COVID-19 related organisations; reusable masks and sanitisers, improving housing, etc. Anyone and everyone who thinks they can contribute to our cause whether by donating or working on a mutual goal not just in Pakistan but globally as well, Tayaba Organisation would be more than happy to partner with them! H2O stands for "Help 2 Others" for us, and we would like to help as many people around the world through our affordable solution.

I am a Social Entrepreneur and clean water, hygiene and sanitation although has always been a grave concern, it is more so owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forbes recognised Tayaba's efforts and featured me in their 30 Under 30 list for Asia 2020. Despite relying on just donations to operate our non-profit organisation Tayaba, our H2O wheels have managed to positively change the lives of over 30,000 families. The Elevate Prize will have a huge contribution to maximise our efforts of not just meeting high demands of H2O wheels, but we will additionally be able to meet other health and medical needs of people and provide additional provisions necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of funds limit our intentions to provide extra help, but the elevate prize would really boost our ability to serve more people during this time of crisis! 

Our initiative has helped women and children in rural areas of Pakistan. The provision of H2O wheels has not just saved their time to earn a livelihood, take care of their homes, educate themselves, but has helped women battling major physical disabilities and other health problems. Traditional gender roles have also been redefined; women were assumed responsible to fetch water using clay pots, but ever since the introduction of the H2O wheel, the roles have changed and even men have started collecting and transporting large amounts of water for their families and for farming purposes.

Our product has therefore created ease and strengthened the role of women, breaking traditional roles in rural areas. For years, this was a norm. But the H2O wheel brought about this drastic change for rural women and girls.

Tayaba is a non-profit organisation solely depending on donations and we seek funding to ensure smooth operations which meet high demands of our H2O wheels.

Additionally, Tayaba intends to expand operations into countries facing similar water related problems. Our wheel costs just $30, which is affordable considering durability and the long-term benefits it serves for the physical and mental health of people, the time and energy it saves, and the ease it creates.

It is essential to be able to manufacture more wheels in 2020 owing to the global pandemic, considering our stock is very limited at the moment. Since business and industries have resumed operations in Pakistan, we will be able to manufacture our H2O wheels and meet demands to help people if we have funds available to do so. Our mission is to help as many people as possible, and that entirely depends on crowd-funding.