NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, May 16, 2016

The Drinkable Book was presented the Design Intelligence Gold Award at a ceremony in Hangzhou, China on Sunday, May 8. The inventor of the book’s water purifying pages, Dr. Theresa Dankovich, accepted the 1M RMB ($153,000) award on behalf of her company, Pittsburgh-based Folia Water, Inc.

“No one should be deprived of clean water, food or other basic needs just because they can’t afford to buy them,” said Dankovich, who collaborated on the Drinkable Book with the nonprofit WaterIsLife. “My commitment is to make clean drinking water accessible at the ‘bottom of the pyramid,’ so that the billion people living in poverty can gain control over their health, their lives and their future.”

The paper is treated with a silver solution that eliminates waterborne diseases by killing 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses.  A filter costing about 20 cents can purify up to 100 liters of water, enough for one person for a month. No plug, pump or charger is required and the spent filters are completely recyclable.