Doing things properly and thoroughly … takes … time. Rushing to get done is so tempting. Start up culture says GO FAST. Grow as fast as possible so that you can make as much money as possible as quickly as possible, they say. They might say “make promises now to get the money you need, and figure out how to fulfill those promises later.” The challenge in any startup is that the product has to be ready to sell before you can sell it and make money. This might mean years of development with a full team of people working towards that product. The typical response to this conundrum is to find some wealthy people who have a couple extra million to play with. “GO FAST”, they say, “we need our money back soon.” But making the highest quality water filters requires a different kind of energy and effort. To invent the water filters and really get it right, I need to GO SLOW. I need to take the time to really fully think about what I’m doing. When the experiment does not go well, I need to take a deep breath improve the experiment and do it again, even though it is tempting to rush ahead to the next step.

Currently I am aiming at a water filter prototype, and let me tell you, I am very excited to have it done. Maybe as soon as the prototype is done then I’ll be able to raise the money needed to sort out all the other variables and start production. I would hire a stellar group of experts, who would compliment my knowledge, then make the water filter even more brilliant. Whew, I’d better SLOW down here. First I need to have a workable filter. If I don’t sort out enough of the variables to make the filter meet the minimum quality I will not have anything for anyone to work on! The variables I’m attacking are not intuitive, are fiddly, hidden, challenging, unknown, and expensive to sort out. I need a steady composure and a running start to get through some of them.

Luckily I have composure, funding, access to great researchers such as Bill Carty, and access to resources such as laboratories, libraries, the best academic journals in the world, more than one, microbiology expert, and most importantly the time to do the work thoroughly, and SLOWLY. It’s actually quite exciting and it feels like a grand adventure.

Now is probably a good time to mention that I have hired a local Ceramic Engineer to work with me a little each week. He is Tom Steere, and has been a positive force helping at every turn. His help enables a kind of thoroughness where the SLOW process fully blooms. Later this week an Intern in Microbiology, Cheyanne Smith, will be joining me for the rest of the summer. More on her in a later post. I also have received financial support from two families I’m close to. This will keep the work properly funded for a couple of months. Their financial support has enabled me to hire Tom, Cheyanne and also hire a microbiology consultant, Mary Merner.

Since January I have been struggling in the microbiology lab. I was getting contamination from multiple angles. This was muddying the data and giving some very confusing results. I did a lot of head scratching and had many ruffled brows before I even realized that there was a contamination issue. I now have a dandruff free, wrinkly head. The only way I was able to figure out that we even had a contamination issue was that I went SLOW designing the experiment and added some techniques that made it possible to go back and check for contamination. The lab notebook is another important part of the SLOW process. At the end of each day, even if it is a stressful one, I need to take a deep breath SLOW down and write everything down. Knowing exactly what happened has been extremely helpful as you might imagine. I was very successful in eliminating the bacteria contamination

Now some very good news. My most recent results suggest that I am extremely close to a working prototype. This has been giving me ample opportunity to take some deep breaths and go SLOW. The requirements that the filter have to meet are 1) Bacteria Killed 2)No harmful chemicals put into the water 3)Throughput (the amount of water produced per day) 4) Cost. The results from the last test are 7 of 9 samples meeting the bacteria requirement, most of the samples meeting the chemical requirement, but only one meeting the throughput and cost requirements. I have quite a number of ideas to improve the throughput and cost, but it will take a few more weeks to months to sort out those improvements. Don’t worry, I’ll go SLOW.

I have been reading, watching and listening to everything I can about the Startup Culture. Go FAST they say. Don’t sweat the details. If something doesn’t work out, just go out and get some more money to solve it. I’m not interested in that. I take my inspiration from the slow foods movement. I like healthier organic food even though it means that it takes more effort to produce, and more people. I want my food produced locally, especially if the farmers are part of my community. Also the money then stays in my community. The slow foods movement has character, integrity and really truly makes communities thrive. I also want to put the same pizzaz, care and effort into the water filters. Wish me luck!

I’ve been spending a lot of time wrestling with some questions: What kind of company should I do water filter work under?  Should it be for-profit or non-profit? Can a for-profit company be a force for good?

Black and white thinking is not always helpful. . .

Some of you may have noticed I’ve had some black and white thinking around non-profit and for-profit organizations. In my mind, it was non-profit = good and for-profit = evil. I was thinking that non-profits gave things away for the good of all people, and for-profits were set up to take people’s money and line the pockets of a wealthy few. I wasn’t alone in this way of thinking.

I’m realizing that the truth is much more complicated. It’s more like a spectrum, with all colors.

I cannot judge if a company is a good one or not just based on their profit motives alone. Some incredibly wealthy organizations are non-profits such as Cleveland Clinic Hospitals and the National Football League (NFL). At the same time there are amazing positive organizations set up as for-profit. For example, some for-profit companies have donations built into the sale of each product. You cannot tell an organization’s social impact just from the structure of their organization.

I’m not wild about some traditional for-profit companies. These are owned by shareholders, small groups of individuals, or even a single person. There is an acute demand from these stakeholders to make large profits. For-profit companies do many great and wonderful things, but only after they have taken care of their bottom line: PROFIT.  Sometimes even turning a profit isn’t enough. Often they need to perpetually increase their profit to keep their stock price up.  Apple Computer has been in the news recently–lets use them as an example. Apple in 2015 posted revenue of $234 billion, the most it has ever posted. . . by a lot. But even that isn’t enough to keep the stock value high. Apple just released information suggesting that it will have another fantastic year in 2016, albeit with slightly lower revenue.  Now the stock value has plummeted.  Not only does Apple need to make large profits, but they need to constantly increase profits for the stock value to remain high. I’m not eager to enter that world.

Ideally non-profits would be set up to do some kind of social good, but they can also end up straying from their noble goals of benefiting the society. For example, many non-profits now compensate their top executives in excess of ONE MILLION dollars. Not one million pennies. Not one million Japanese Yen. Not one million Algerian Dinar. We are speaking of US Dollars. Massive compensation packages for nonprofit executives are common and legal, but are they right?

. . .When it comes to the type of corporation Triton Ceramics should be, there is a whole spectrum available

What if Triton Ceramics could avoid the negatives of for-profit organizations? What if we could create some of the good that non-profits strive to do (and avoid some of the bad)? What if we could do that by having multiple bottom lines, with most of those bottom lines having nothing to do with profit? Well we can. Luckily the path has already been blazed for us. Let me introduce a recent discovery of mine: A social enterprise.

What is a social enterprise? Well, it is an enterprise that seeks social goals as well as profit. These type of companies see profit as a necessary function to be sustainable and repeatable, but they want to use the bulk of their efforts to benefit the society. They seek a social impact.

Companies should have goals for the social impact they strive to make. What if all companies agreed on a set of standards that represented these goals? Well there already are many sets of standards available.  One example of social impact standards is the B-labs assessment.  B-labs looks at your company’s social impact on employees, the environment, community, and other things too. Every year, Triton Ceramics can take the B Impact Assessment, and B-labs will rate the social impact that we’re having. There are more than a dozen organizations performing similar assessments, and I’m not sure which will be the best fit for Triton Ceramics, but we will be finding one or more and be performing assessments annually. The results will be published publicly on the webpage. As I determine exactly which one is the best fit, I will write about it.

Another option which was just signed into law in New York is the B-Corporation. This is a type of corporation operating similarly to a for-profit, but with a mission for social impact as well as profit. These corporations are then held accountable and required to have transparency. They are required to have an external assessment such as the B Impact Assessment we already discussed.

I am currently doing the water filter work under Triton Ceramics, which I set up as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC).  It might be best to move Triton Ceramics to a B-Corporation, or might be best for Triton Ceramics to remain an LLC. LLCs are special because they are allowed to be very creative in their corporate structure. We could write our own excellent LLC corporate structure, which meets these social impact goals. I’m not sure yet what option will be best for Triton Ceramics, but I’m not scared. Either option looks good.

I am building a company that makes the world a better place. A tall order, but accomplishable. The actual product we manufacture will make the world a better place. My product does just that. It provides clean high quality water while reducing reliance on fossil fuels for boiling water.  The details matter. The sourcing of the materials matters. The way the employees are treated and paid matters. The selling price matters. Having quality control matters. The waste from the manufacturing facility matters. If we don’t get these details right, they cloud our successes.

The following values are the ways I would like Triton Ceramics to have a social impact. (These come directly from the webpage):

• Manufacture a product that is safe for use all over the world, including in our own homes
• Create a product that is affordable for those in need
• Strive for a more peaceful world, only supporting that which is positive and erodes the need for war
• Practice ethical business models, e.g. conscionable investment enabling proper treatment of people
• Participate in an economy providing non-military jobs.
• Celebrate diversity in all ways in the workplace including: Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, Age, Sexuality, Political Beliefs, Religious Beliefs, and other marginalized identities
• Implement equitable treatment of all genders in the workplace
• Practice of environmental stewardship
• Serve as an ambassador in the local community
• Perpetuate right sharing of technological wealth

With careful attention to details, Triton Ceramics will have a great impact. We will make the world a better place!

Before: Able to test 4 samples at a time, and very limited information besides how much bacteria was killed.

I’ve upgraded the microbiology lab, and it’s a big upgrade!  So, when you make filters you need to know how good they are at killing bacteria.  I have my own microbiology lab built for just that purpose.  Every material that I make is tested in this lab, and It tells me exactly the effectiveness of the filter versus live bacteria.

Before I was only able to test 4 samples each week. That setup was excellent for understanding the bactericidal effects, but I couldn’t take any other complimentary data.  And it was so few samples per month! On top of all that had to frequently throw away the samples to be able to re-use the testing holders, and thus couldn’t go back if I had later questions.

Now I can run 22 samples at a time with my new setup!  I can also run more water through and take data on more variables while I run the bacteria through the filter.  The whole reason for the upgrade is to run Statistical Experimental Design experiments, which are awesome.  Basically they use statistical magic to help you tease out differences between the filters.  This all means faster research, and much more data.  This is what your donations are supporting.

Bottom line: Now I can do about 5 weeks of work in 1week!

After: The new testing setup can take 22 samples while being much much more accurate, and giving more data in addition to bacteria killed.

Me with the donation barometer, photo taken in Alfred University labs

The last 5 years working on these water filters have been marked by good news followed by better news! So far we have accomplished many major milestones, including proving that the filter is killing bacteria, and ensuring that the water produced is free of harmful chemicals. We have created two generations of research filter that are both meeting microbiological standards. The first generation was called Alfa, and the second generation is called Beta material. We found ways to easily manufacture both of these materials and keep tight controls on quality. We have also made multiple “bench prototypes” which have taught us about how to make a device that is durable and easy to use. I have also been making great strides maturing as a young professional. This week I’ve been putting on my accounting tophat and learning about the different IRS accounting methods, as well as business tax law.

Currently the bench prototype using Beta material is working extremely well, but it is too expensive. The Alfa generation of material is less expensive, but has other problems. It’s hard to predict research timelines, but my best guess is that for at least the next six months, we will work on refining the material. Then we will take those lessons and create a Gamma material. When we finish, we will have a product that is efficient, easily manufactured and inexpensive.

All summer I worked hard painting and doing home repairs to make enough money to pay for my simple personal life. This left only about 5-10 hours per week to work on the filters. At the end of the summer I realized I did not have enough money saved to allow me to stop making income and just concentrate on the filters. I’m not released to do the work, because the need to make enough money to support my family has taken me away from it.

The way I’ve structured my life and the Triton Ceramics company is perfect for the next steps on this technology development odyssey. I do not have any work commitments outside of the filters, and I can easily slide into working on them full time. Also, since I don’t have any employees, overhead, or financial commitments that Triton Ceramics needs to meet, the research can continue at its own pace. We don’t need to rush out and start producing filters to pay the bills. Because we are going at the right speed, we can get everything right. It would be very costly to start manufacturing and then run into an issue that takes months to solve, while our people are being paid and everyone is waiting around until a solution is found. It’s like barbecue. The more patient you are, the more time you have to cook those meats into the most juicy and delicious meal. Apologies to my vegetarian readers.

For the last 3 weeks or so I have been asking for support from people that I’ve encountered. So far in those weeks I have received $7707! We only need a little more from a few of you to complete our goal of $10K. Every little bit counts!

Why would you want to donate? Because you are supporting a socially responsible technology, and you are helping make peace in the world. This work is life affirming and takes away the occasion for war. You are also contributing to support me, a young adult adventuring down a positive nonviolent career path. Having another healthy young professional engaged in the work of the community is something we can all support.

Many thanks to the people who have generously donated to this campaign so far: Keith and Suzanne Blackburn, Ted and Debra First, Gay Howard, Alfred Monthly Meeting, Friends Peace Teams, John Edminster, Farmington Scipio Regional Meeting’s Conscience and War committee, Evelyn Kennenwood, Daniel and Kathryn Slining-Haynes, Jens and Spee Braun, Charles Mohler, Loraine Hoyt, and John Fitzgerald.

Make donations to Alfred Friends Meeting, P.O. Box 773, Alfred NY 14802. Alfred Friends Meeting has decided to support me personally through the next few months.

100 000 bacteria went in the filter, zero came out! Good news from Triton Ceramics, and wow is it good news. With this news
we now feel safe knowing that the filter is doing it’s job protecting from harmful bacterial. I’m feeling good, it’s been a 5 year process to get to this point. I have hard work, a little luck, and many supportive people to thank for getting us here!

When I drink a glass of water in the United states, I never question how much bacteria is in the water. I am so confident that I won’t get sick, that I just pour a glass straight from the tap, and drink it the way it comes out. I can drink it because it’s clean and free of harmful bacteria.

When I drink a glass of water in the United states, I never question how much bacteria is in the water; I am so confident that I won’t get sick that I just pour a glass straight from the tap, and drink it the way it comes out. I can drink it because it’s safe.

The utter and complete confidence I have in US tap water being safe comes from stringent standards and rigorous testing. The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) in the US sets drinking water standards for community systems that are so high that if followed properly people will not be ingesting harmful bacteria. Couple that with quality control on every drop of tap water produced in the US, and you have the basis for confidence. Then take that quality control and keep up the good behavior for 100 plus years (3 generations or so) and you can get very solid confidence. Confidence is so high that many people aren’t even aware of what goes on to make their tap water drinking water.

Triton Ceramics is committed to developing a similarly high level of confidence in our filters and the drinking water they provide. Using the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (2011), we have met the standard of removing 99.999% of bacteria from infected water with our filter media. As we continue to test filters, we are simultaneously developing protocols to ensure consistently reliable filters in the field. With these protocols met and regularly verified, we will help people all over the world to be healthier just by pouring a glass of water straight from the tap.

What about good bacteria? That comes from your mother, your food, and your environment. Bacteria from these sources is much more restrained than through water. When you get bacteria from unimproved water, it can contain anything and everything. From the most healthy bacteria to the most destructive disease-causing bacteria, it’s all in there. It is much healthier to get good bacteria from sources other than your water.

Heartfelt thanks to all the supporters of this work: Bethany Rees for microbiology advice that helped get the microbiology lab set up and running, Joe Dosch and Nancy Evangelista for providing space for the laboratory. Dr. Bill Carty and Paul Culley for providing the finances to put me to work full time. And Michael Putnam for helping keep the microbiology lab running.

By Esther Buckwalter

2011: In Yogyakarta Indonesia showing samples to Wuri, a SHEEP staffer. Testing silver in the effluent water was on my mind, but a long off goal at this stage. From Left: Wuri, Esther, Nick

Approximately 2.6 years ago, I got on a plane to Indonesia to spend a summer working towards building an inexpensive and effective ceramic water filter.

Despite my interest in the matter, Nick and I realized it was not yet time to research silver in the effluent. First we needed to build a relationship with SHEEP Indonesia and set up working microbiology and ceramic labs. And that we did.

But I am happy to announce to you that the time to study the silver in the effluent is now, and so far the results are excellent! In experiments just conducted by Nick, silver levels were 20 times below the World Health Organization’s standard of 0.1 mg/L. A picture of the experimental setup is below.

December 2013: testing the amount of silver in water

Often the filters that use silver to kill bacteria end up putting silver into the water, so it is exciting that the levels are so low initially! These positive results are an encouragement and a testament to all of the support to Triton Ceramics, by Friends Peace Teams to Asia West Pacific, SHEEP Indonesia, and professor Bill Carty! It takes a community to develop a filter

With Love,
Esther Buckwalter

Nick Rozard in the recently completed microbiology lab in Alfred, NY!

The newly completed Microbiology lab allows Triton Ceramics to test ceramic filters created right in Alfred.  The location of the lab in Alfred, NY, USA keeps Nick close to many professionals and resources necessary to research this new water filter technology.  The new lab puts us in an excellent position to both continue research on the technology, and to support SHEEP Indonesia.  SHEEP are our partners in Indonesia, and previously we helped build microbiology and ceramics labs at their location in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  The Indonesian and US labs are similarly set up.  Because of their location, the labs in the US have external access to ceramics, and microbiology experts.  They also provide easy access to the extensive array of testing machines located in Alfred.  The US lab will be the seat of the research being done on the technology, while the Indonesian labs will support the development and manufacture that will eventually be done in that location.

Thanks to Jane and Paul Simkin, Poplar Ridge Monthly Meeting, and Ruth Hyde, Rochester Monthly meeting for donating the money used to buy supplies.  Thanks to Astuti Bijlefeld for donating the pressure cooker we use to sterilize the lab equipment.  And Joe Dosch and Nancy Evangelista for providing the space that the lab is in!

Just Believe.

17 March 2013

The last water filter update introduced people involved in the work, Today we have accomplishments from the last 9 months since Nick Rozard has been home from Indonesia:

Accomplishments in Alfred, New York, USA:

• Completed Senior Thesis with Alfred University student, Nate Halverson.
• Nick completed an experiment set on residence time. Residence time is the amount of time that water in the filter contacts the catalyst responsible for deactivating bacteria. This study gives us a deeper understanding about how to precisely control how much time the water contacts the catalyst. The catalyst coats the surface of the pores in the filter.
• Compared residence time vs ability to kill bacteria.
• Developed a residence time equation, based on residence time vs bacteria, that allows us to calculate how thick to make the filter.
• Established relationship with Dr. Tony Wren, a professor at Alfred University.
• Started our own microbiology lab in Alfred, NY, allowing on-going microbiology work and easy access to individuals and labs at Alfred University.
• Met weekly to support Rina, the director of water filters at SHEEP, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
• Established a support group, consisting of Esther Buckwalter, Kristina Blank, and Morgan Kube, to support Nick in his water filter work.

Nick and Nate Halverson pausing from lab work for a photo-op

Accomplishments By SHEEP in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

• Rina sought out local experts in microbiology where she attained proper training in techniques including basic lab techniques, sterile techniques, testing water from wells, Most Probable Number Test (MPN), and others.
• SHEEP assisted with the first and second microbiology testing phases of Ari’s PhD. Thesis.
• Rina started working with and training a laboratory technician, Pak Ardi.
• Alfatoni (Toni) built a jig for holding the water filter in place on the bubble point tester, allowing SHEEP to measure the size of the largest pore in the filter.
• Rina, Toni, Ari, and Ardi developed a testing procedure to measure how effective the test filters are at killing bacteria.
• Rina has been meeting weekly with Nick.

Upcoming Work

Microbiology training in full swing-From Left: Indonesian Expert, Pak Toni, Pak Ardi, Pak Ari

Ongoing work in the US will concentrate on developing engineering equations for the variables that effect the safety of the filters. The residence time equation is one of the engineering equations. Once we have these equations, the goal will be to train SHEEP on these equations, and together produce a prototype.

Next week’s Post: Nate Halverson’s thesis in full and unabridged.