Soon Zimba will start working with a micro-entrepreneur (ME) based business model. Just as we have gone through several iterations of the technology before we came up with the current design we know that we will also have to go through several iterations of our business model before we know what works and what does not.
We have identified and trained two possible MEs who would take responsibility of maintaining Zimbas in the field and also collect payment from the communities that would be using Zimba treated water. In addition, we have set up an interesting and rigorous in-house testing protocol to ensure that each unit that goes out in the field in free from manufacturing defects.
We also feel very encouraged that for Metropolis magazine's Year 2013 in review, Caroline Baumann, Director of Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum picked Zimba as one of the most significant developments having ramifications for the future. She writes:
"Water purification really equates to medicine in large parts of the world. Delivering clean water to communities is a serious design challenge. While there are many solutions, I admire Zimba’s automatic chlorine dispenser, designed by Suprio Das. The device delivers clean water by precisely mixing chlorine at the required levels. The scale, safety, simplicity, and low cost of this initiative is impressive."
