To create The Drinkable Book, Water is Life partnered with scientists at Carnegie Mellon University. There, we discovered that soaking blotting paper in a silver nanoparticle formula resulted in a new type of water filter. One that’s capable of killing deadly water borne diseases, such as hepatitis, cholera and E. coli.

After the initial discovery and lab testing, the new filters were brought to South Africa for testing in the field. We confirmed that it kills 99.99% of the deadly bacteria that is filtered through it. And that each 4x4 inch sheet will provide someone one-month worth of clean water.

Water is Life is a charity that provides clean water solutions to impoverished areas around the world. But for all they do as a charity, 3.4 million people will still die from drinking unsafe water within the next year. And most of those people won’t even know their water is unsafe to drink in the first place.

Our goal? Solve both of these problems with one revolutionary tool.

The Drinkable Book is all about functional design. Using binding posts allows you to easily tear each filter out. Each book is printed in multiple languages, dependent on the village it’s being sent to.

Since the papers' rust color is a result of a chemical reaction, we reflected that by printing with a silver, food grade ink, that’s 100% safe for consumption.

And the biodegradable, 3d printed box that the book comes in isn't just a nice place to store the book. It's also a water basin and drain, allowing gravity to naturally push contaminated water through each filter.

For this project, success has to be viewed on the global impact of this amazing new product. These filters open up a brand new revenue stream for WATERisLIFE and have the potential to revolutionize water purification as a whole. Each filter costs just pennies to make and is extremely sustainable. One book alone will provide in the developing world with clean water for up to four years. It places WATERisLIFE in a new place among non-profits. And has the potential to take them to the next level of success through innovation