Cynthia Koenig struggled to lift a 5-gallon bucket of water, much less haul it 2 miles back to her home in rural Guatemala. By the time she arrived, most of her daily ration for cooking and drinking had splashed away.
Though her ecotourism work had brought her to Guatemala unrelated to water issues, Koenig couldn't ignore the physical toll it took on community members, especially women.
Worldwide, more than a billion people lack reliable access to safe water, according to the World Water Council. The task often falls to women, who spend hours daily carrying heavy containers over long distances. On average, the round trip to a clean source exceeds 3 miles, with collection limited to inefficient, non-ergonomic plastic, steel, or clay pots—a reality Koenig experienced firsthand.
Years later, during a graduate course on water harvesting, Koenig asked: "How can we cut the time and physical strain?"
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Her answer was the WaterWheel, a durable 45-liter orb mounted on an axle that rolls effortlessly from water source to home. The design earned widespread praise, attracting investors to Wello, Koenig's India-based social enterprise.
Since 2012, Wello has delivered WaterWheels to over 75,000 people globally, helping them meet the UN's basic sanitation standard of 20 liters per person per day. Users report sharp drops in chronic pain from head-carrying heavy loads. For these communities, better health translates to prosperity—income rises of 20% to 120% after adoption.
"The WaterWheel cuts water collection time by nearly 50%," Koenig explains. "That frees up hours for work, school, or other opportunities."
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This story originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine. Photos courtesy of Cynthia Koenig.
