WaterGenie
By WaterGenie
PledgeMe.Project
I want to embed this project somewhere
NZ $6,315 pledged
71 people pledged
Closed
NZ $6,000 minimum target
This campaign was successful and closed on 30/09/2013 at 1:56 AM.
Make a PledgeAbout
WaterGenie
Project 2013-08-17 23:40:44 +1200
WaterGenie is a social enterprise who's mission is to provide water technologies to help households more efficiently collect, harvest, use, and conserve water.
Water in New Zealand:
About 1 million kiwis are not connected to public water supplies, and most of them collect rain water for their homes. With the effects of climate change, kiwis are finding it more difficult to maintain safe water levels in their tanks. For some, this means spending hundreds of dollars to refill their tanks. For others, it means not having any water at all. We're a small team of passionate people looking to help our fellow kiwis save water and money.
The Current Problem:
Rural communities are the ones most affected by water scarcities because they typically rely on rainwater. The drought of 2013 hit hard in these communities. On Waiheke Island, some families went without water for weeks. One challenge in these communities is the disparity in wealth, and some struggle to pay for water when their water runs out.
How WaterGenie Can Help:
WaterGenie wants to help these families, and we need your help to do so. WaterGenie is a smart water management system that will allow households to better manage and plan their use. WaterGenie includes a smart meter that installs into a water tank. Information about water collected and water used is sent to the "cloud" via the Internet. WaterGenie then forecasts and predicts water usage as well as water yield (via climate forecasts) and sends that information to the user. Finally, WaterGenie communicates ways in which households can change their behaviors so they can save water and money.
Why WaterGenie will Succeed:
Our strategy is to focus on those communities that really need help. Our plan is to help households on Waiheke Island and the Far North as these communities are the ones that NEED this technology the most. A key problem on Waiheke is one of Logistics, and WaterGenie will solve that problem.
We're building key relationships with stakeholders on Waiheke. We also have key networks with the Far North community. We're currently working on solutions to put this technology in all homes, not just the ones that can afford it. We are a social enterprise, and we will help all kiwis!
Who's Behind Water Genie?
Comments
Updates 6
Aroha nui kia koukou kātoa
13/10/2013 at 1:47 AM
Thanks to you, we did it!
Kia ora koutou,
Thanks to your generous support, WaterGenie was successfully funded. It's been nearly a month since we were at the final stretch getting amazing people like you to help our cause. We are very humbled by the response and support for WaterGenie.
In the last day we raised over $1000 thanks to all the people who helped spread the word. Below is a graph of pledges versus time during our PledgeMe campaign, XKCD style. The graph shows the payoff of our efforts as well as a failed attempt ;).
What's Next
The journey has just begun! Over the next couple of months we'll be working on developing our water meters. There are a number of technical requirements to make these truly smart, much smarter than anything out there. The other challenge is making these meters affordable, and we've got some ideas and contacts that will make this possible.
Stay in touch
If you Pledged, we'll send you another email asking whether you'd like to receive newsletters from WaterGenie. This will be a great way to stay up to date on our progress. Otherwise, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook or send us an email.
Rewards
If you selected a reward, you will receive an email within the next week.
Once again, thank you very much for your support!
With great big hugs,
Keoni
Chief Genie
Stretch Goals
16/09/2013 at 4:50 AM
Kia ora!
We've reached our goal! Thank you so much for all your support! More formal thank yous will be in order, but right now we want to make some stretch goals for the remaining hour!
- $6500: If we get $6500 in pledges, we'll broad cast a public presentation for the world to see. The presentation will be about how science and innovation is creating amazing technologies that will help solve global water problems. The aim of the talk is to inspire kids, students, and the rest of the world.
- $7000: We'll give a live and broadcasted presentation at Te Papa. Same talk, bigger venue. We'll even try and get Te Papa to make a day of it. If you have contacts at Te Papa, let them know... perhaps they want to pledge!
Video Uploaded! 73% Funded!
14/09/2013 at 8:20 AM
Hey Everyone!
- We've uploaded a video! Check it out and spread the word. http://youtu.be/9-Ic0_PUq7M
- We're 73% funded! That's amazing! Only 27% more to go with 44 hours left!
- We need your help to make our goal, so please spread the word about WaterGenie.
Thanks again to all the contributors and everyone who's retweeting and liking on Facebook!
Mahalo,
Keoni.
1 Week to Go
09/09/2013 at 6:54 AM
Hey everyone!
Thanks so much for all your support! We really are humbled by the interest in WaterGenie and the support from the community.
We have only 1 week left, and we are still shy of $3,500 from our goal. Please spread the word. Contact your family, friends, colleagues, and anyone whom you think would love to support our cause.
Rewards
We have a few new rewards for local council members as well as MP members. We're helping society and the environment, and we're also going to create jobs! So, we thought it would be great to seek the support of our elected members of council and parliament.
There is also a reward for a public talk or lecture. If you know an organization or school that might like to host a talk, then please send them the link to our PledgeMe Campaign. This would be a great opportunity to inspire young students.
We Have a New Website!
We've updated our website. It provides more information on WaterGenie and some of the water problems in NZ, and it also looks way cooler! http://www.watergenie.org/
WaterGenie Competition
04/09/2013 at 11:25 PM
Kia ora tātau,
WaterGenie is looking for 3 homes for our pilot project!
We want to hear your story. Tell us what your current water problems are. How often do you run out of water? How much money do you spend filling up your water tank? Do you struggle to provide safe drinking water for your whānau?
Winners will be decided on how severe their water problems are and who will benefit most from a WaterGenie.
Either tell us your story in the comments below, or email your story to [email protected]. Pictures and videos are a plus!
Entries close this SUNDAY 11:59PM!
Help us help you by getting friends and whānau to support our Social Enterprise. Please go to https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/1339 and contribute.
Some Terms and Conditions:
1. You must live in a home that relies on rainwater for its supply.
2. Your house must have internet to use WaterGenie. If it does not, we may be able to help you get internet through the Computers in the Homes program.
3. By entering this competition, you allow us to publicly share your story including any videos and pictures on our website, pledgeme campaign, social sites such as facebook and twitter, and other media.
Summer Pilot
02/09/2013 at 10:25 PM
Kia ora tātou,
Thanks for all the support! We're amazed to be nearly 1/3 funded, but we still need your help. Please spread the word to help us reach our goal!
Summer Pilot
We're amazed by the interest in WaterGenie from the community, and we can't wait to get everyone a WaterGenie. Our first stage of execution is to launch a pilot project in the Far North and Waiheke Island. The goal is to put WaterGenies in the homes of people who will benefit the most. We aim to launch this pilot project mid-summer of this year! So, we'll need everyone's help to make sure we can fund the meters - please spread the word and chip in!
Meters
We've investigated possible technologies for our water tank meters, and we talked to an innovative kiwi company in Wellington that provides remote monitoring solutions. At this stage, we feel it's best to build our own meters using the Arduino platform. This will be the most cost-effective way initially and will allow some room for prototyping and development. We also know this will work, a local kiwi has made his own water meter using the Arduino platform!
Thanks again!
-The Genie
Pledgers 71
05/09/2013 at 6:12pm
05/09/2013 at 4:30pm
31/08/2013 at 5:50am
28/08/2013 at 5:24pm
28/08/2013 at 10:42am
25/08/2013 at 10:45pm
23/08/2013 at 10:26am
23/08/2013 at 8:34am
21/08/2013 at 8:09pm
21/08/2013 at 6:43pm
18/08/2013 at 2:08pm
Followers 7
Followers of WaterGenie
WaterGenie
Project 2013-08-17 23:40:44 +1200
WaterGenie is a social enterprise who's mission is to provide water technologies to help households more efficiently collect, harvest, use, and conserve water.
Water in New Zealand:
About 1 million kiwis are not connected to public water supplies, and most of them collect rain water for their homes. With the effects of climate change, kiwis are finding it more difficult to maintain safe water levels in their tanks. For some, this means spending hundreds of dollars to refill their tanks. For others, it means not having any water at all. We're a small team of passionate people looking to help our fellow kiwis save water and money.
The Current Problem:
Rural communities are the ones most affected by water scarcities because they typically rely on rainwater. The drought of 2013 hit hard in these communities. On Waiheke Island, some families went without water for weeks. One challenge in these communities is the disparity in wealth, and some struggle to pay for water when their water runs out.
How WaterGenie Can Help:
WaterGenie wants to help these families, and we need your help to do so. WaterGenie is a smart water management system that will allow households to better manage and plan their use. WaterGenie includes a smart meter that installs into a water tank. Information about water collected and water used is sent to the "cloud" via the Internet. WaterGenie then forecasts and predicts water usage as well as water yield (via climate forecasts) and sends that information to the user. Finally, WaterGenie communicates ways in which households can change their behaviors so they can save water and money.
Why WaterGenie will Succeed:
Our strategy is to focus on those communities that really need help. Our plan is to help households on Waiheke Island and the Far North as these communities are the ones that NEED this technology the most. A key problem on Waiheke is one of Logistics, and WaterGenie will solve that problem.
We're building key relationships with stakeholders on Waiheke. We also have key networks with the Far North community. We're currently working on solutions to put this technology in all homes, not just the ones that can afford it. We are a social enterprise, and we will help all kiwis!
Who's Behind Water Genie?
Comments
Aroha nui kia koukou kātoa
13/10/2013 at 1:47 AM
Thanks to you, we did it!
Kia ora koutou,
Thanks to your generous support, WaterGenie was successfully funded. It's been nearly a month since we were at the final stretch getting amazing people like you to help our cause. We are very humbled by the response and support for WaterGenie.
In the last day we raised over $1000 thanks to all the people who helped spread the word. Below is a graph of pledges versus time during our PledgeMe campaign, XKCD style. The graph shows the payoff of our efforts as well as a failed attempt ;).
What's Next
The journey has just begun! Over the next couple of months we'll be working on developing our water meters. There are a number of technical requirements to make these truly smart, much smarter than anything out there. The other challenge is making these meters affordable, and we've got some ideas and contacts that will make this possible.
Stay in touch
If you Pledged, we'll send you another email asking whether you'd like to receive newsletters from WaterGenie. This will be a great way to stay up to date on our progress. Otherwise, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook or send us an email.
Rewards
If you selected a reward, you will receive an email within the next week.
Once again, thank you very much for your support!
With great big hugs,
Keoni
Chief Genie
Stretch Goals
16/09/2013 at 4:50 AM
Kia ora!
We've reached our goal! Thank you so much for all your support! More formal thank yous will be in order, but right now we want to make some stretch goals for the remaining hour!
- $6500: If we get $6500 in pledges, we'll broad cast a public presentation for the world to see. The presentation will be about how science and innovation is creating amazing technologies that will help solve global water problems. The aim of the talk is to inspire kids, students, and the rest of the world.
- $7000: We'll give a live and broadcasted presentation at Te Papa. Same talk, bigger venue. We'll even try and get Te Papa to make a day of it. If you have contacts at Te Papa, let them know... perhaps they want to pledge!
Video Uploaded! 73% Funded!
14/09/2013 at 8:20 AM
Hey Everyone!
- We've uploaded a video! Check it out and spread the word. http://youtu.be/9-Ic0_PUq7M
- We're 73% funded! That's amazing! Only 27% more to go with 44 hours left!
- We need your help to make our goal, so please spread the word about WaterGenie.
Thanks again to all the contributors and everyone who's retweeting and liking on Facebook!
Mahalo,
Keoni.
1 Week to Go
09/09/2013 at 6:54 AM
Hey everyone!
Thanks so much for all your support! We really are humbled by the interest in WaterGenie and the support from the community.
We have only 1 week left, and we are still shy of $3,500 from our goal. Please spread the word. Contact your family, friends, colleagues, and anyone whom you think would love to support our cause.
Rewards
We have a few new rewards for local council members as well as MP members. We're helping society and the environment, and we're also going to create jobs! So, we thought it would be great to seek the support of our elected members of council and parliament.
There is also a reward for a public talk or lecture. If you know an organization or school that might like to host a talk, then please send them the link to our PledgeMe Campaign. This would be a great opportunity to inspire young students.
We Have a New Website!
We've updated our website. It provides more information on WaterGenie and some of the water problems in NZ, and it also looks way cooler! http://www.watergenie.org/
WaterGenie Competition
04/09/2013 at 11:25 PM
Kia ora tātau,
WaterGenie is looking for 3 homes for our pilot project!
We want to hear your story. Tell us what your current water problems are. How often do you run out of water? How much money do you spend filling up your water tank? Do you struggle to provide safe drinking water for your whānau?
Winners will be decided on how severe their water problems are and who will benefit most from a WaterGenie.
Either tell us your story in the comments below, or email your story to [email protected]. Pictures and videos are a plus!
Entries close this SUNDAY 11:59PM!
Help us help you by getting friends and whānau to support our Social Enterprise. Please go to https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/1339 and contribute.
Some Terms and Conditions:
1. You must live in a home that relies on rainwater for its supply.
2. Your house must have internet to use WaterGenie. If it does not, we may be able to help you get internet through the Computers in the Homes program.
3. By entering this competition, you allow us to publicly share your story including any videos and pictures on our website, pledgeme campaign, social sites such as facebook and twitter, and other media.
Summer Pilot
02/09/2013 at 10:25 PM
Kia ora tātou,
Thanks for all the support! We're amazed to be nearly 1/3 funded, but we still need your help. Please spread the word to help us reach our goal!
Summer Pilot
We're amazed by the interest in WaterGenie from the community, and we can't wait to get everyone a WaterGenie. Our first stage of execution is to launch a pilot project in the Far North and Waiheke Island. The goal is to put WaterGenies in the homes of people who will benefit the most. We aim to launch this pilot project mid-summer of this year! So, we'll need everyone's help to make sure we can fund the meters - please spread the word and chip in!
Meters
We've investigated possible technologies for our water tank meters, and we talked to an innovative kiwi company in Wellington that provides remote monitoring solutions. At this stage, we feel it's best to build our own meters using the Arduino platform. This will be the most cost-effective way initially and will allow some room for prototyping and development. We also know this will work, a local kiwi has made his own water meter using the Arduino platform!
Thanks again!
-The Genie
05/09/2013 at 6:12pm
05/09/2013 at 4:30pm
31/08/2013 at 5:50am
28/08/2013 at 5:24pm
28/08/2013 at 10:42am
25/08/2013 at 10:45pm
23/08/2013 at 10:26am
23/08/2013 at 8:34am
21/08/2013 at 8:09pm
21/08/2013 at 6:43pm
18/08/2013 at 2:08pm
Followers of WaterGenie
I want to embed this project somewhere