Named G-Filter, it has high e-coli bacteria filtration efficiency and can filter 900 ml per hour

A collaboration between an IIT-Jodhpur graduate and a traditional artisan has resulted in a clay water filter, that isn’t powered by electricity, but gravity!

Christened the G-Filter, the pot doubles up as a micro-filter. Once water is poured, it seeps into the pores on the pot. Here, it is filtered and collected in another container.

R.K. Satankar, a mechanical engineer from the premier institution, explains, “Made with clay, sand and sawdust, the pot itself is the filter. The pore size is 0.2 microns which makes it a micro-filter. It has a high e-coli bacteria filtration efficiency and can filter 900 ml per hour. If a family leaves a few litres in the pot at night, they’ll have water fit for consumption in the morning.” The objective behind designing the G-Filter is to give people in rural India better access to potable water at a low cost and with materials available locally, says Mr. Satankar.

“I realised that many from rural areas do not have access to direct water supply and have to rely on surface or groundwater. Therefore, there was a need to develop a cheap filtration system. The G-Filter is priced at ₹350,” he says.

Driven by the idea, Mr. Satankar eventually met master-potter Abdul Razak. “He is the man who knows pottery techniques. I sat with him for many days and then went back to the IIT lab and came up G-Filter,” he says. Mr. Satankar says IIT-Jodhpur has developed a G-Filter moulding machine. Three of these have already been given to potters from the area. The beneficiaries, around 100, have been trained to operate it.

“The machine costs around ₹50,000. We have requested the government to help farmers procure it and are awaiting a response,” Mr. Satankar says.