This post is brought to you by Bryan Papé, Founder and CEO.
What a year it’s been. In the past year and two months we’ve experienced the joy and struggle of unwavering giving at MiiR, and you have helped us do more than we ever thought possible. In a short fourteen month period, together we have raised $32,183.75 for clean water! I’ll be honest, I expected about half this amount for year one. We didn’t anticipate our message would be received so strongly (call me a nay-sayer). But you stepped in, supported our cause, and spoke well of us to others. Together, one conversation at a time, we are raising awareness for the global clean water crisis and are in turn inspired by your stories, the ones that come full circle for us all to share.
Looking back on the year I am in awe of what has transpired. We visited Liberia and documented our first two clean water wells being built. We built another well in Laos. We partnered with One Day’s Wages. We partnered with Dale Chihuly and auctioned off an original hand painted MiiR. Our team managed to summit Mount Rainier. And we produced our first documentary film Beyond the Bottle. Whew!
Our model is simple. Every bottle you purchase provides one person with clean drinking water for an entire water. Some ask, how is this possible? Well, here’s how it usually breaks down. A typical clean water project costs between $2,500-5,000 and serves about 125-500 people for 10-20 years. An actual example is the well we built in the Dark Forest community in Buchanan Liberia. The well project cost $2,500 and is serving close to 1,000 people. We’ve worked with a great partner on the ground to ensure the longevity of the project.
Remarkably, we are discovering that many of our projects provide more than a year of clean water for the $1 invested from each bottle sold. And even better news: on average, every $1 invested in improved water access and sanitation yields $12 in economic return (UN). This is why we refer to our water projects as an investment, rather than an expense.
As we continue into the next year we have many exciting products and projects on tap. In particular, we have one project in the wings that we think just might change the world, again. So keep your ears to the ground and eyes tuned, as we’ll reach out for your help, voices and loyalty, again.
