They don’t need us anymore (and that’s a good thing!)

We’ve got something really exciting to celebrate with you!

Actually, two exciting things.

First thing. Millions of Cambodians are drinking safe, clean water by using a simple table-top water filter.

Second thing. That water filter is produced and sold by Hydrologic, a social enterprise formerly owned by iDE, that is now a 100% Cambodian-owned company!

A little background…

In the early 2000s, Cambodia was facing a crisis. Untreated drinking water and poor sanitation was causing thousands of deaths every year, many of them children under the age of five.

Thanks to the unwavering support of our donors, the iDE Cambodia team was able to take action and introduce a simple but effective technology: a ceramic water filter that removes harmful bacteria.

To get this life-saving product into the homes of millions, they built a business that treated people as customers, not charity recipients. And so, Hydrologic began.

The water filter is made in Cambodia by local workers, using local materials. Then it’s sold in rural communities by a sales team. The sales team connects to customers with understanding and a shared problem-solving approach. One problem they solved together was creating a payment plan for customers, so that more people could afford to buy one.

This approach has led Hydrologic to sell over 700,000 filters, improving the lives of more than 2 million Cambodians.

Donors like you gave Hydrologic the support and safety-net they needed to grow until they were making enough sales to confidently transition to a for-profit business.

And now we celebrate another transition, selling Hydrologic earlier this year to its management. It’s now a fully independent, Cambodian-owned company led by Sam Sothea (pictured above), who has been working there since 2015.

Thank you for supporting Hydrologic as they grew into a successful business that doesn’t need us anymore — because that’s the ultimate goal!