Access to clean drinking water remains a far cry for the dwellers of the country’s southwestern coastal belt due to saline water intrusion, which is home to about 43 million people as per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2022).
While water salinity makes access to freshwater difficult for locals, the women in the region, especially young girls, are particularly vulnerable as they become more prone to skin-related diseases due to prolonged exposure to saltwater. Prolonged exposure to saline water has led to severe health issues among women in Mongla and Shyamnagar. In Mongla, 69.7% of women suffer from severe skin diseases, 33.8% experience hair fall, and 42.3% report skin burns or darkening. Similarly, in Shyamnagar, 92.31% of women endure skin diseases, 41.88% face hair fall, and 35.04% report skin burns or darkening (Journal of Migration and Health, 2024). The situation is equally dire for pregnant women, whose ingestion of saline water compromises the health safety of both the mother and the child. As per a 2024 Journal of Migration and Health study revealed that over half of women in two subdistricts, (Mongla and Shyamnagar) of Southwestern Coastal region experienced vaginal or uterine infections or inflammation, while one-third reported menstrual hygiene issues. Additionally, one in five women reported hypertension during pregnancy.
Additionally, many of the women and teenage girls often face harassment while waiting for long in queues to collect drinking water from water plants located at distant places.
Addressing the issues, Tetra, a climate tech innovator, has designed a solar-powered desalination and dispensing system that purifies saline water, making it drinkable and delivers it to the low-income households in the salinity affected coastal communities at a rate of 0.5 BDT/L. The idea of Tetra started back in 2018 when the team of 4 young brilliant minds of BUET-Mubasshir Tahmid, Sabrina Rashid Sheonty, Asif Hossain Tamim and Sabbir Rudro started a student project in their final year to develop a cost-effective solution to tackle the growing water scarcity in salinity affected coastal belt. Their innovative project got several prestigious innovation awards. Notable among them are Hult Prize where Tetra became the campus winner and presented in the Regional Summit at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and UNDP Safe Water Challenge 2018 where Tetra became the champion and then collaborating with UNDP, tested their idea practically in multiple coastal villages across Satkhira and Bagerhat.
From that point, the four pioneers of Tetra started thinking of turning this project into a sustainable venture. As a result, Tetra evolved as a climate-tech startup. From 2019 to 2o23, Tetra conducted several R&D and pilots across coastal belt in the districts of Khulna, Bagerhat, and Satkhira. Leading startup incubators and WASH entities like YY ventures, Aqua for All, Young Water Solutions, Expo City Foundation (organizers of COP 28) acknowledged the unique approach of Tetra and has supported this initiative. In collaboration with ICCCAD, Tetra has piloted an advanced water desalination system in Khulna.
In 2024, International Water Association (IWA) has awarded Tetra with the Silver medal in the “Project Innovation Award” under Governance, Institutions and Social Enterprise Category. One of the founding members of Tetra, Sabrina Rashid Sheonty is awarded with the Young Leadership Award from IWA for her contributions in the water sector. She is the first ever Bangladeshi to receive this award. Sabrina Rashid Sheonty acknowledged this recognition as an inspiration towards their larger goal of creating impact in the lives of 1 million by 2030. She said, “This recognition will serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of addressing water challenges in marginalized communities.”
Tetra’s eco-friendly and sustainable technology has not only managed to ensure safe drinking water for locals but also emerged as an entrepreneurial platform for local women, who now, equipped with necessary training via their projects, “Project Shulov & Project Women for Water,” maintain the water treatment plants. Dipa Kabiraj added, “Being a woman micro entrepreneur for Tetra has given me the opportunity to earn some extra money which I can utilise for buying something nice for my family”.
Further advancing their horizon, Tetra launched an awareness raising campaign under their project ‘Project Nirapod’- an educational campaign that teaches climate change adaptation of local vulnerable low-income families through workshops and community outreach programmes. Our field executive Jubayer Hasan Shoikat added, “Previously, the community was unaware regarding the reasons behind several consequences they were facing such as skin issues and several other diseases. Our Project Nirapod helped the community in realizing how consuming saline water has harmful affects on them in both short term and long term.”
Tetra’s design not only caters to local development needs, but also reaches to victims in Ukraine where conflict has left many without access to clean water.
Moving forward, they now aspire to expand to all across coastal belt and also in other climate vulnerable communities. One of the co-founders of Tetra, Mubasshir Tahmid, pointed out that, “What we are doing at Tetra to support climate-vulnerable communities at coastal Bangladesh is not an isolated problem. We believe our model can be replicated to tackle similar climate challenges in other regions in the world too.”
Journey of Tetra is an example of the power of locally driven, innovative solutions to address global challenges like water scarcity and climate vulnerability. With its eco-friendly desalination technology, community-centered approach, and emphasis on empowering women, Tetra is transforming lives in Bangladesh's coastal regions while providing a scalable model for other climate-affected communities worldwide.
The authors are currently serving as the Strategic Assistant and Research Coordinator at Tetra, recipients of the ICCCAD Innovation Grant. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.
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