FOR EVERYTHING BAD, MEZCAL; FOR EVERYTHING GOOD, MEZCAL
Oaxaca has woven itself into the fabric that makes up the inviting and heartbreakingly beautiful country that is Mexico. The state of Oaxaca is known for its art, cuisine, spiritual/religious traditions, and its mezcal. Mezcal is an ancient Mexican, agave based distilled alcoholic beverage. For centuries now, mezcal has been handcrafted by small-scale producers. A village can contain dozens of production houses, called fábricas or palenques, each using methods that have been passed down from generation to generation, some using the same techniques practiced 200 years ago. The simplicity of the practiced techniques in the mezcal industry can be done by almost any person from every walk of life, not matter their education. Oaxaca is the third poorest state in Mexico, being in that current economical standing point, it has become very difficult for not only the national government, but the state government to fund simple infrastructural projects. Although Oaxaca gets an extensive amount of rain during the wet season (early summer through late fall), the city does not have the structures or sanitation necessary to catch the water and use for domestic purposes and so this precious resource just becomes run off.
Updated Final Product Proposal
Keeping in mind the Oaxacan mezcal production techniques and the simplicity of the tools used I found my inspiration for my water filtration mechanism. The structure of the stone wheel used to make mezcal; the large stone wheel is turned by donkeys as it pivots in a circular space (often a cement well) to mash the pulp of the agave into a coarse paste and extract the juice (aguamiel), this is diluted with water to give it the necessary consistency for fermentation. Using the concept of a big solid spinning wheel I designed a wheel that filter out the runoff rainwater and collect the end product; instead of a donkey creating the kinetic energy to spin the stone wheel, this filter will use centrifugal force of a "lazy susan" to spin and cleanse water. Having the same structure as the common top loader washing machine, this filter will have a series of horizontal layers that resemble a set of Russian nesting dolls. This filter will have 5 layers total, each layer will increasingly get bigger and will include charcoal, gravel, coarse sand, and or fine sand. Thanks to the small holes in each layer, which structurally made up of a plastic container, the water spins it will "drain" horizontally and go through each layer until reaching the final collection layer. As the runoff water is being poured into the wheel centrifugal force will make it spin and pour out the water that has gone through the first filter layers will be forced through a copper tube and then into a final water collector. A large part of the bacteria will be reduced by the natural filter layers and any remaining bacteria will be subsided by the copper tube because of copper ionization.
The simplicity of this product can accommodate a range of domestic water needs and can be easily built and maintained by the indigenous people of Oaxaca. In the cost analysis below I included the materials needed for a small scale filter that could be used for a single family and the materials for a larger filter that could benefit a neighborhood and or small village.
The simplicity of this product can accommodate a range of domestic water needs and can be easily built and maintained by the indigenous people of Oaxaca. In the cost analysis below I included the materials needed for a small scale filter that could be used for a single family and the materials for a larger filter that could benefit a neighborhood and or small village.
Product/ Product category/ Key thing it does
Keeping in mind the Oaxacan mezcal production techniques and the simplicity of the tools used I found my inspiration for my water filtration mechanism. The structure of the stone wheel used to make mezcal; the large stone wheel is turned by donkeys as it pivots in a circular space (often a cement well) to mash the pulp of the agave into a coarse paste and extract the juice (aguamiel), this is diluted with water to give it the necessary consistency for fermentation. Using the concept of a big solid spinning wheel I designed a wheel that filter out the runoff rainwater and collect the end product; instead of a donkey creating the kinetic energy to spin the wheel my filter will use the energy of a concentrated flow of rainwater. This wheel will have multiple layers that include charcoal, rocks, fine sand coarse sand, and a canvas fabric liner. As the runoff water is being poured onto the wheel the force of the downpour will make it spin and pour out the water that has gone through the first filter layers will be forced through a copper tube and then into a final water collector. A large part of the bacteria will be reduced by the natural filter layers and any remaining bacteria will be subsided by the copper tube because of copper ionization.
I could not find any alternatives to my filter, but my initial idea is derived from simple concepts. The actual filter stand itself was derived from a compost bin stand, I built this a few months back and thought the the structure would function very well for the project at hand; the structure of the filter itself was borrowed from a layered filter concept I've seen many times before.
The simplicity of this product can accommodate a range of domestic water needs and can be easily built and maintained by the indigenous people of Oaxaca. In the cost analysis below I included the materials needed for a small scale filter that could be used for a single family and the materials for a larger filter that could benefit a neighborhood and or small village.
I could not find any alternatives to my filter, but my initial idea is derived from simple concepts. The actual filter stand itself was derived from a compost bin stand, I built this a few months back and thought the the structure would function very well for the project at hand; the structure of the filter itself was borrowed from a layered filter concept I've seen many times before.
The simplicity of this product can accommodate a range of domestic water needs and can be easily built and maintained by the indigenous people of Oaxaca. In the cost analysis below I included the materials needed for a small scale filter that could be used for a single family and the materials for a larger filter that could benefit a neighborhood and or small village.
Key for filter sketch
A- Water filter itself
B- Wooden structure
C- Copper pipe
D- Water collector before copper ionization
E- PVC water wheel axel
A- Water filter itself
B- Wooden structure
C- Copper pipe
D- Water collector before copper ionization
E- PVC water wheel axel
Budget analysis
Total Cost for one haul of materials:
- Large scale filter: $120
- Small scale filter: $54