Amana Katu is a social business created to provide universal and sustainable access to drinking water in the Amazon through rainwater systems for homes and agriculture, built by at-risk youth who receive entrepreneurial education and an income generation opportunity. Our systems cost $85.00, and are sold for $140.00 - that's 52% cheaper than our competitor's prices. Our 5-for-1 pay-it-forward model allows clients to sustainably sponsor systems for low-income homes in the Amazon.

Water in the Amazon is a paradox: while the region has abundant rainfall and more freshwater than the rest of the world, over 10 million people lack access to clean water in the Brazilian Amazon. Despite this, Brazilian agriculture consumes over 7,28 trillion liters of water per year, about half of which (3 trillion liters) is wasted by unsustainable agricultural practices and irrigation systems. Enactus UFPA's answer is Project Amana Katu. We used design thinking to develop sustainable, low-cost rainwater collection systems for homes and agriculture, and we're working with at-risk youth to build and sell these systems in a 5-for-1 business model: every 5 systems sold, a low-income family with no access to drinking water receives a free home system. Our systems capture, store and purify rainwater, reusing 240l cisterns from a regional food industry giant, reducing waste generation and lowering costs.
This way, our systems cost about $70 each, and have a selling price that's 52% cheaper than alternative products. Amana Katu's social business model provides 24 at-risk youth from MRE, a local NGO, with an income generation opportunity and professional development in skills like marketing, sales, management, production lines, social business and applied hydraulics. These youth revealed gaps in interpersonal relationships and lack of access to information about college and professional careers, so we structured a year-long program to bring access to information about university and careers to 444 of them, further enabling their social mobility. In less than 6 onths,
our systems have reused more than 146,050 liters of rainwater, economizing more than $1,725.00 dollars on water and electricity bills, and providing 86 people with better access to clean water - including a riverside community, who received our first donated system via the 5-for-1 model. To expand our social impact, we've inspired 1460 people in our SDG 6-themed Environmental Education activities, teaching locals about sustainable water use We're testing our first hybrid rainwater system for agriculture, which will be able to use 95% less water than traditional irrigation. The hybrid technology allows the system to identify when no rainwater is collected and automatically switch to groundwater, ensuring water supply even in months with less rain. All this has garnered the media's attention, allowing us to inspire more than 56 million people through our media reach.

Amanco supports Ak by providing in-kind donations of rainwater system components and technical mentoring. Mariza Foods sponsors AK’s institutional trips to events and competitions and provides in-kind donations of cisterns. BR ENGENHARIA provides in-kind donations system components, and technical mentoring via a chief engineer. FORD C3 grant provides financial support for AK’s activities. Sempre Sustentável provides technical advice and mentoring. Movimento República de Emaús - MRE is AK’s community partner and provides institutional support and physical resources. Instituto Evandro Chagas is a technical-scientific partner that tests our system's water quality.

The first step is to provide technical and behavioral training to young people, who will become producers and assemblers of rainwater harvesting kits. It then consists of marketing the kits. To do so, marketing strategies have been devised: partnerships will be established with construction stores, which will purchase the systems directly from Amana Katu, and will be able to resell them to the final consumer. Direct sales will be worked, through which low-income consumers will be reached, without easy access to construction shops and e-commerce, through e-commerce. The third step is to foster a culture of rainwater harvesting through sustainable actions in schools, companies and partner institutions. At the end is the universalization of access to quality water by communities without access or with impaired access to water. To this end, systems will be supplied at prices of 50% to 80% lower than the cost value of the tank. The first differential of the project lies in its structural innovation: because it is a social business, Amana Katu stands out from its competitors by offering an income-generating opportunity to socially vulnerable young people. Young people will be trained to build systems, as well as access to the Individual Development Program, to enhance their interpersonal and entrepreneurial skills. With the income, the young people will be able to pay for their academic studies and, at the end of a cycle of 2-3 years, allowing their real empowerment. Because of the first differential, the second follows: the price. Since it is a low-cost system and has subsidies for the purchase of inputs from the project partners (eg Amanco), it was possible to achieve a 75% reduction in system cost. In a competitive analysis, it was found that, with such a reduction, the systems sold by the Project have more advantageous prices to the customer.

Amana Katu's social business model provides a group of at-risk youth from a local NGO with an income generation opportunity and professional development in skills like marketing, sales, management, production lines, social business and applied hydraulics. These youth revealed gaps in interpersonal relationships and lack of access to information about college and professional careers, so we structured a year-long program to bring access to information about university and careers to 444 of them, further enabling their social mobility.
Since Amana Katu emerged in November 2017, we contributed to the development of the ODS 4, 6, 8. Our systems have reused more than 500 thousand liters of rainwater, economizing more than $6,920.25 dollars on water, electricity and medical bills, and providing 850 people with better access to clean water - including riverside communities, who've received our donated systems via the 5-for-1 model. To expand our social impact, we've inspired over 7800 people in our SDG 6-themed Environmental Education activities, teaching locals about sustainable water use.
We're testing our first hybrid rainwater system for agriculture, which will be able to use 95% less water than traditional irrigation. The hybrid technology allows the system to identify when no rainwater is collected and automatically switch to groundwater, ensuring water supply even in months with less rain. All this has garnered the media's attention, allowing us to inspire more than 56 million people through our media outreach.

Amana Katu counted on partner companies, mentors and financiers who believe in the mission of the project: Universialize access to drinking water in the Amazon. such as: Mexichem Brasil - Acting via its Amanco brand, Mexichem Brasil supports Amana Katu by providing in-kind donations of pipes, tubes and connections necessary to build the rainwater systems; as well as technical mentoring along with Amanco engineers. In the future, Mexichem Brasil may donate a complete hydraulics laboratory to Amana Katu’s production center in Movimento República de Emaús’ building. Mariza Foods - Mariza Foods supports Amana Katu by sponsoring institutional trips to represent Amana Katu at national and international events and competitions and by providing in-kind donations of cisterns that are reused as water reservoirs in AK’s rainwater collection system. These cisterns are used by Mariza Foods to transport olives from Chile to Brazil, and lack reverse logistics: this means that, once they arrive in Mariza’s factory, this cisterns either remain unused or end up in trash dumps. In order to avoid the unnecessary transformation of this material into solid waste, Mariza Foods makes monthly donations of this cisterns to be reused by Amana Katu.

BR DA COSTA ENGENHARIA - BR DA COSTA ENGENHARIA provides in-kind donations for rainwater collection systems to be donated to at-risk families, as well as technical mentoring via one of the company’s chief engineers.

FORD C3 / FORD MOTOR COMPANY FUND - The FORD MOTOR COMPANY FUND, via the FORD C3 grant, provides financial support for Amana Katu’s activities during the 2018-2019 cycle. Sempre Sustentável - Sempre Sustentável provides technical advice and mentoring. Movimento República de Emaús - Movimento República de Emaús - MRE, a local NGO, is Amana Katu’s community partner and provides institutional support for the at-risk youth that Amana Katu trains and employs. MRE also ceded a storage area for Amana Katu’s production material and insumes, an adapted classroom to serve as AK’s production center (along with light, electricity and other non-physical resources), as well as provided use of an auditorium and classroom for larger Amana Katu activities. In the future, Amana Katu’s products will be sold through MRE’s local community market. Instituto Evandro Chagas - Instituto Evandro Chagas is a technical-scientific partner that is conducting water quality studies on the water collected, stored and purified by Amana Katu’s rainwater collection systems. Based off the results of these tests, Amana Katu will be able to begin development of a proper, low-cost filter adapted for rainwater purification.

Environmental: We created a simple, low-cost, sustainable rainwater harvesting system, reusing cisterns from the food industry to reduce waste..It’s highly adaptable, with both compact and modulated versions, perfect for any type of environment. nIn less than 12 months of activity, we’ve already reused +500thousand liters of rainwater and inspired more than 7800 people to adopt sustainable water use practices in our Environmental Education campaigns.
Social: We empower a group of 24 at-risk youth from an urban slum, training and employing them to build our systems.
These youth gain valuable income, allowing them to remain in school, rather than be forced into crime.
We also coached 444 of these youth in university and career options.
Our systems have already improved access to clean drinking water for more than 850 people. Economic: At-risk urban slum youth receive jobs, training and income.
Our system is truely low-cost: our selling price ($140) is 52% cheaper than alternative products.
Our systems have saved more than US$6,900.00 in electricity and water bills.
In order to expand sustainably, we created a 5-for-1 business model: every 5 systems sold, we donate a free system to a low-income home with no access to clean water

AK transfers knowledge and skills to 24 MRE at-risk youth through general training (entrepreneurship, sustainability, water management, Google Design Sprint, marketing, sales, social business, etc.) and technical training (applied hydraulics, soil management, sustainable technology and rainwater system production). In addition, 444 MRE youth receive career university access advice in open events. AK also provides environmental education to schools and all interested parties in on-demand events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkb_u8XiE7o