Cow Sh*t to Clean Water

Over 1.1 billion people in the world don't have access to clean drinking water. When I heard of a nanotech water purifier that can be used to purify water from even fecal matter contaminated sources, I couldn't help but test it out the "uncultured" way.

Thanks for getting this on the Digg.com Frontpage everyone! Hope this spreads the word about my project...

The "Uncultured Project" is just a funny name for the journey I've started. It's not a charity, organization, or anything formal like that. I'm just a guy who liquidated his life savings, bought a camera, and went abroad to try and help the poorest of the poor. For more, info check out:

http://uncultured.com

If you would like to fund this project, which is just something I am doing as an individual, please check my donation page at:

http://www.uncultured.com/donations

For more information about the LifeStraw Family, check out:

http://lifestraw.com

The LifeStraw Family uses nanotechnology (called hollow tubes) to filter water down to 25 nanometers and meets US EPA guidelines as a microbiological water purifier. They claim that one LifeStraw Family can purify enough water for a family of five for up to three years.

For those asking for tech info, here are the results from a study by the University of Arizona:

http://tinyurl.com/LifeStrawResults

Full Disclosure: This is not a paid endorsement of LifeStraw Family. The manufacturers helped me come to Kenya and and provided some equipment to help me film this, but I was under no obligation to endorse them or their products.

Music used in this video include "How Far" by Jamison Young and "Look And Feel Years Younger" by Brad Sucks. You can find more about them here:

Jamison Young
http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/18714

Brad Sucks
http://www.bradsucks.net

This video uses the song "How Far" by Jamison Young from the album "Shifting Sands of a Blue Car". This song is licensed under the Creative Commons under an in perpetuity "attribution-only" license.

I'd like to thank my friend Alan (fallofautumndistro) for his invaluable feedback and support as I was struggling to edit this video in a timely manner. You can check out his channel here:

http://youtube.com/fallofautumndistro

This video is licensed under the Creative Commons. Please contact me for more details.

• Category

  News & Politics

[bobdobb1088]

I want to use that filter, but now you're saying I have to take a dump in my water to use it?!?

Ok, ok, I'll just hook it up to my toilet bowl. Coincidentally, I discovered a way to make delicious raspberry torte out of explosive diarhea. I am opening a chef's school called the Cordon Poo Academy. We're gonna have a lot of crap there; I mean all kinds of shit. Wow, your water is sooo delicious, what's your secret?...My secret, is my ass.

[UnculturedProject]

lol - pooping in the water isn't mandatory. It's just to show how effective the filter is :P

[squidb8]

The actualy test isn't whether it's clear or whether or not it's smells or taste bad. The proof is 24 hrs later when they're double over in pain from fecal related infections.

Or they could use a microscope to observe the bugs, probably a less dangerous method than tasting the water.

[UnculturedProject]

1) We were fine 24 hrs later - and have that filmed as well, 2) The product was tested in a lab setting prior to doing this, so the microscopic results you talk about were already known before tasting the water. That's why I was gutsy enough to try this :P

[ThExRiZzLe]

you had two up there... nice try!

[UnculturedProject]

Yeah I was worried someone would suggest or imply that since there was another one hanging up there. But I did film all this in one continuous take so, if this comes into serious question, I do have the proof. Also, this was monitored by locals and Kenyan Government officials - as you can clearly see they saw the whole thing.

[UnculturedProject]

The unit I tested wasn't owned by a family - I used a filter provided by the company that makes them. After the test was complete, it was thrown away so that no family had to use such a messy filter.

[vistigioful]

Let's find ways to have sections of water repel other sections of water.

[umcarainteressante]

This is so fucking useful.

[cocosweetheart11]

That is so fucking nasty

[Arturo Stojanoff]

Awesome!

[SomeoneBeginingWithI]

I doubt it. You shouldn't drink piss because it has your waste salt and urea disolved in it. She said that it can't remove salt or chemicals disolved in the water, so I doubt it would be able to remove the urea either.

[Springfairy92]

EW. neverr...

[Laurynas Stanevicius]

can it make my piss drinkable ? :D

[infintiyward]

Could i potentially piss in it and live off a recycled supply of water... (obviously i would still have to drink from an outside source occasionally to compensate from water lost form sweat)

[Arnold Moses]

Did he say kakamaka? How ironic..