Water: the Currency of Life

Check out the bucket shower out back

(Alex) There is 2 % of fresh water on the planet. Out of that, 69% is ice. 30% is ground water and 1% of that is available to us in rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes. Only 8% of the 1% of the available fresh water is used for all different kinds of domestic use. Mostly for cleaning ourselves and our clothes.

Back at home, in Dover, many people consider water as a right, not a privilege. Long, hot showers just standing there singing; not turning off the water when brushing your teeth, getting rid of water when its not the perfect temperature for drinking. While camping in the Okavango River Delta in Botswana, with no running water for 5 nights, we learned that water is the most precious thing on the planet.

For 5 whole nights we used the long drop toilets when we had to go to the bathroom. The way that long drops works is that the staff digs a hole, puts a box over it, then they attach a toilet seat to the box. And that is where you go to the bathroom! We showered with bucket showers. The bucket held 20 liters of water for one day and two people. With water heated by the fire. Imagine two girls needing to shampoo, soap and condition with only 20 liters! Beyond possible for many people we know back home.

At the end of our camping, we realized that we don’t really need so much water. One trickle from the shower head goes along way. Emma and I even had half the bucket left after we finished our showers! Clean, fresh water is critical to every living thing in the world. We need to conserve more water or we will run out. Then what will happen?