Harvesting water from the air is not a new idea. Arid countries like Yemen are already using low tech watercones to funnel sea water to drinking water. Another funnelling device is being developed by an Italian designer to trap water vapor in a Warkawater tower to harvest potable water directly from the air.
Still another device, called the Roots Up Dew Collector, is now being developed for Ethiopia in a project together with the University of Gondar. The device, which can also be used to grow vegetables and other crops, is dew trapping and will be used in the country’s arid northern regions.
The dome-like structure uses plastic sheeting to trap water vapor during the day, turning it into dew which is then changed into water when exposed to cool evening air.
Roots Up is an organization based in northern Ethiopia that is working together with local farmers to help them use more sustainable agricultural methods to produce crops.
The greenhouses can be placed over planted crops to provide them wth water as well as producing needed drinking water. Due to not needing any mechanical components (motors, etc), the device can be quicky moved from place to place and then erected quickly without needing any external power sources. Their overall simplicity makes them a good solution in undeveloped arid regions.
Read more on ways to create drinking and irrigation water from water vapor:
Warka water towers pull drinking water out of thin air
Time to drink water from aircon units
Yemen funnels seawater to drinking water with the low tech watercone
Update 2024: looks like someone needs to make this happen.
The idea may well be good for the US state of California that has been so much ravaged by drought that it may go completely dry soon. Even desalination, now being finally acted upon, will take several years until the plants are built and working – with all their adverse environmental issues.
This dew collecting device is completely safe to use . What can be better than this?