Kouzin Dlo

Product Description

Kouzin Dlo is a Haitian social enterprise funded by Jessica LaPorte that distributes a locally manufactured chlorine product for treating drinking water across urban Haiti through a network of female micro-entrepreneurs.

Target SDGs

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Market Suggested Retail Price

$1.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

This product is being implemented by Kouzin Dlo through a network of female micro-entrepreneurs.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include Klorfasil, Gadyen Dlo, and WaterGuard.

Manufacturing/Building Method

The disinfectant agent of this product, sodium hypochlorite, is manufactured and bottled by La Perle S.A. in Port au Prince, Haiti. This product is also sold under the brand name of AquaJif.

Intellectural Property Type

Trademark

User Provision Model

This product is distributed by a network of female micro-entrepreneurs in urban communities of Haiti.

Distributions to Date Status

As of 2020, around 57,000 bottles have been sold; treating almost around 1,000,000 gallons of water.

Active Chemical and concentration (%)

0.75% Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl)

Form

Liquid

Dosing method: Batch or flow-through

Batch

Dosing method: Automatic or manual

Manual

Dosing quantity

1 capful (6 mL) per 20 L (5 Gallon) bucket of water.

Contact time (min)

Target free disinfectant residual (mg/L)

Bacteria reduction

2 log

Virus reduction

2 log

Protozoa reduction

Unknown

Heavy metals and/or arsenic reduction

Unknown

Treatment lifespan (days)

24 hours if not stored in a covered container

Maximum recommended influent turbidity level (NTU)

Water should be low turbidity (<5 NTU) for best disinfection.

Design Specifications

The Kouzin Dlo is a 240 or 500 mL bottle that contains a 0.75% Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Technical support is provided by local women entrepreneurs or other Kouzin Dlo sales agents.

Replacement Components

This product does not require any replacement components.

Lifecycle

With 20 L/day of drinking water consumption and 6ml of product necessary to clean 20L/day, each 240 mL bottle can last for 40 (~1 month) days and each 500 mL bottle can last about 84 days(~ 3 months).

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

Manufacturers specify that this product is 90 times cheaper than other clean drinking water options available in communities through Haiti. The company also aims to recruit and train women micro-entrepreneurs to increase economic opportunities in low-income communities.

Vetted Performance Status

Hypochlorites have been widely used in disinfecting water supplies for nearly a century.

Safety

No known safety hazards are related to this product. However, water should be consumed (or re-treated) within 24 hours if not stored in a lidded container.

Complementary Technical Systems

Safe storage container

Academic Research and References

Namoos, B., 2010, Water Disinfection by Sodium Hypochlorite Solution. MSc. dissertation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.

Sobsey, M.D et al., 2003, Chlorination and safe storage of household drinking water in developing countries to reduce waterborne disease, Water Science and Technology, 47(3), pp.221-228.

Harshfield, E et al., 2012, Evaluating the sustained health impact of household chlorination of drinking water in rural Haiti, The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 87(5), 786-795.

Lantagne and Clasen, 2012, Use of Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Methods in Acute Emergency Response: Case Study Results from Nepal, Indonesia, Kenya, and Haiti, Environmental Science & Technology, 46(20):11352-60.

“Goal 6,” Sdgs.un.org. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6

Compliance with regulations

Unknown for this specific product. However, the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality lists liquid NaOCl with concentrations between 0.5% and 1% as a point-of-use water treatment method.

Evaluation methods

Sodium Hypochlorite has been used widely for centuries to disinfect drinking water.

Comments from the Community

2 Comments

Kelley Elahi says:

October 28, 2016 at 10:58 pm

Any more information on patents? Which countries?
Anna Murray says:

March 24, 2017 at 4:55 am

– Note: US EPA doesn’t actually “approve” products like this. They can be tested
against a guide standard protocol (link to document here: http://www.biovir.com/Images/pdf06..., and products or manufacturers can be
listed with EPA, but that’s not exactly the same as EPA “approving”
their performance or use.

There are many research papers that have documented the performance of the PUR/P&G Purifier of Water packets – although not the full system shown here. Some of these are listed below, in no particular order:

Chiller TM, Mendoza CE, Lopez MB, Alvarez M, Hoekstra RM, et al. (2006) Reducing diarrhoea in Guatemalan children: randomized controlled trial of flocculant-disinfectant for drinking-water. Bull World Health Organ 84: 28â€“35

Reller M. E., Mendoza C. E., Lopez M. B., Alvarez M., Hoekstra R. M., Olson C. A., Baier K. G., Keswick B. H., Luby S. P. 2003 A randomized controlled trial of household-based flocculant-disinfectant drinking water treatment for diarrhea prevention in rural Guatemala. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 69(4), 411â€“9. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov…

Crump J. A., Otieno P. O., Slutsker L., Keswick B. H., Rosen D. H., Hoekstra R. M., Vulule J. M., Luby S. P. 2005 Household based treatment of drinking water with flocculant-disinfectant for preventing diarrhoea in areas with turbid source water in rural western Kenya: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 331(7515), 478. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj…