Hippo water rollers

On any given day, over 750 million women and children collectively spend 140 million hours hauling water for their basic household needs. The traditional method of collecting water involves carrying re-purposed, five-gallon buckets on the head. It’s a burdensome and time-consuming task that enslaves women to a cycle of poverty and tradition.

But this problem does have a solution: the hippo water roller.

The simple design of the hippo roller to transport water was a shift in thinking. Instead of carrying heavy buckets on their heads, the hippo roller places the weight inside its “wheel.” It can carry five times as much weight but since it is rolled on the ground, even a small child can easily manage a full roller. 

 This simple tool will change the lives of millions of women and children in rural communities. A single hippo roller carries enough water to meet the basic needs of seven people per day.  It gives them access to better hygiene, sanitation and living conditions. Families can now easily collect enough water to grow their own vegetable gardens.

The hippo roller, with its large drum capacity, frees women and children from this daily chore of hauling water for their households. Fewer trips to collect water means women and children can spend their time on more productive educational and economic opportunities.