The Abundant Water project was initiated by Sunny Forsyth, an Australian engineer and AW project manager. In 2007, whilst working as an Australian Government Youth Ambassador, Sunny became aware of the lack of access to safe drinking water in rural communities in Laos. In 2008, using his engineering skills and contacts in Laos, Sunny successfully built a low-cost methane digester power plant for a rural hospital in Lao. This demonstrated to Sunny, the possibility of low-cost autonomous development projects.

Seeking to address the need for villagers to filter their water, Sunny sought advice from Dr Tony Flynn at the Australian National University (ANU). Dr Flynn’s research demonstrated that innovative low-cost clay-pot filters, made from natural materials found everywhere, removed over 95% of the pathogens in unsafe drinking water.

From his prior experience in development aid, Sunny realised that a project manufacturing clay-pot filters would require a grassroots approach and local support in order to succeed. Also, village potters would need to not only successfully train in the technology but would need to make the pots in the local style and educate users of the hygiene practices required to filter clean water.

In August 2008 Sunny established abundantwater.org, a website where he canvassed support for the project, which he readily received from friends and family. A friend in Laos, William Elsum, began discussing the concept with local potters in the Laos capital, Vientiane. After obtaining AUD$2000 in November 2008 from Canberra Rotary for seed funding Sunny returned to Laos, and with William, began the process of making clay-pot filters with local potters.

Sunny and Will soon became aware of the interest in the project, both in Laos and abroad. A Board was constituted in February 2009 and Abundant Water was incorporated in April. Volunteers from around the world began to offer their skills to promote and facilitate the training of the village potters in Laos. After advice from experts in the fields of project management and organisation structure Sunny formed a loose knit project team into hubs to allow individual volunteers to coordinate and collaborate on essential project tasks. Today these hubs are responsible for all project activities, such as the building of this website and its content.

Following a cholera outbreak in southern Laos in early 2009, Sunny approached the Laos Government with the initiative of using filters in affected areas. The Laos Government enthusiastically supported the project and made its Health Department laboratories available for filter testing. This support ensured by mid-April 2009, local potters and Abundant Water project managers had produced a viable filter.  By late 2009 Sunny and the potters had successfully manufactured and tested 3 different iterations of the ceramic filters as part of developing a design to address the specific needs of the Lao domestic situation.

Subsequently, Sunny and the potters have established a filter demonstration center within the Lao Techno Engineering compound. This will not only facilitate the training of Lao potters but also allow Australian Engineers Without Borders (EWB) volunteers to participate in the project.  It will also enable Abundant Water to provide technical assistance to other filter projects around the World.  Currently, a training regime is under development to share the technology and model with Fremma, a Ugandan national, to introduce the Abundant Water model to the Nakivale Refugee Camp in Uganda. A training regime is also being developed with the Yurauna Centre at the Canberra Institute of Technology to share the technology and model with Indigenous Australian potters.