AW has adopted an ‘open source’ approach in response to optimising volunteer contributions from a dispersed group.  ‘Open source’ is a new way of managing and executing project tasks and can be represented as different things to different projects.  In this project ‘open source’ allows volunteers the freedom to contribute their expertise, whatever that may be, as well as collaborate and review with their peers. This has been made possible through the internet and software coders, such as Linux and Open Office.

The ‘open source’ nature of AW creates a democratic, inclusive, community. Abundant Water is an umbrella for coordinating and facilitating diverse teams in this “ground-up” activity; who provide troubleshooting, advice and support for the activities taking place on the ground.  The teams are fluid and decision making is decentralised – whoever does the job makes the decisions. As a result we have developed proactive and dynamic teams who are constantly redefining the boundaries and seeking innovative ways to achieve our goals.  Beyond this, the AW team strives to consult, collaborate and review our work in order to improve the project.  This allows us to pool the talents of our volunteers to realise a common cause; the production and provision of clean drinking water through the manufacture of clay pot water filters.  All knowledge and experience gained in this project is freely shared; this has encouraged our partnerships with groups with similar outlooks and goals, and has enabled individuals to create their own niche to make meaningful contributions to the project, despite otherwise busy lives.