Thai students win prize for drought-fighting device

Thai students win prize for drought-fighting device

HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, right, presents the Stockholm Junior Water Prize to, from left, Thidarat Phianchat, Kanjana Komkla and Sureeporn Triphetprapa. (Photo from the  Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology)
HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, right, presents the Stockholm Junior Water Prize to, from left, Thidarat Phianchat, Kanjana Komkla and Sureeporn Triphetprapa. (Photo from the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology)

Three secondary school students from Suratpittaya School in Surat Thani province won the 2016 Stockholm Junior Water Prize with their water retention invention that mimics the Bromeliad plant.

The winners are Sureeporn Triphetprapa, Thidarat Phianchat and Kanjana Komkla. HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden presented the prize during World Water Week in Stockholm on Tuesday.

Pornpun Waitayangkoon, president of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, said on Wednesday that the anti-drought Bromeliad-shaped device was made from aluminium and it was cold enough at night to allow water vapour to condense.

The students greet visitors at their booth showing their invention in Stockholm.

Such devices were tested by being attached to rubber trees and their water tubes were plugged into the soil one metre from the trunks. That soil ended up being 17.65% more moist than soil near rubber trees that were not watered. With the equipment, soil was 9.8% less moist than watered soil.

Rubber trees fitted with the equipment produce 57.5% more yield. At a cost of just 25 baht per device, break even would be reached after just six days of usage, Mrs Pornpun said.

"The theme of the 2016 World Water Week is Water for Sustainable Growth. The winning project addresses future water security and rural livelihoods using an elegant leap-frog technology which looks simple, but its beauty masks its complexity. The project embodies the theme well through its journey from the idea to application," the event jury said in its citation.

"This shows that to make real progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals, we need to start at the local level. This is a very good example of that; a simple, smart and scalable solution, making a big difference," said Torgny Holmgren, executive director of Stockholm International Water Institute which organised the World Water Week and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

This year, thousands of participants in countries all over the globe joined national competitions for the chance to represent their nation at the international final held during the World Water Week in Stockholm from Aug 27 to Sept 1. Teams from 29 countries competed in the 2016 final.

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