Carbon for Water

Co-directors Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa López's short documentary profiles a plan to bring clean water to Kenya's poor. Although boiling contaminated water helps, firewood is scarce, and cultural tradition stipulates that women must do all the collecting—dangerous work that exposes them to sexual assault and animal attacks. And, as University of Nairobi climatology professor Richard Odingo explains, deforestation contributes to a decrease in precipitation, which can give rise to medical complications and tribal skirmishes, creating a vicious circle, with those who drink untreated water suffering even greater health problems, including dysentery, cholera, and typhoid. In 2011, the Swiss company Vestergaard Frandsen decides to use carbon credits to help alleviate these problems, installing home filtration systems throughout the Western Province. After partnering with a variety of non-governmental organizations and 4,000 community health workers, they implement a project designed to improve the lot of some 4.5 million people. Aside from townspeople, such as 9-year-old Anzelma, speakers include Bishop Titus Khamala of the Cornerstone Mission and Dr. Julius Kipng'etich of the Kenya Wildlife Service. In a few brief strokes, Abramson and López document the 25-day installation process, but while the recipients do immediately seem happier, the story ends at that point, with no epilogue offered to show whether this ambitious campaign did or did not work out. Still, the inspirational Carbon for Water should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)