Prey Veng is a province 2 hours from Phnom Penh. Here, people struggle to access clean drinking water, with many still drinking directly from wells or surface water. Limited access to water infrastructure forces households to travel long distances for safe water, reducing time for education and income-generating activities. Point-of-use water treatments, like BioSand Filters, empower households to improve drinking water quality.

In a small NGO like Clear, I knew I couldn't do my work in a 'technical vacuum'. Any technical recommendations I make will directly impact users. BioSand filters struggle in the market due to foreign humanitarian organizations providing them for free over the past decade, making it harder for local groups like Clear to charge for them—key to sustainable humanitarianism. Thus, it was important for me to know what drives users' decision to continue using BioSand filters. 

This is why I asked Clear to bring me to 10 houses who have been using the filters. We conducted qualitative interviews about their feelings of ownership, confidence in the water quality, lifespan, and more. Findings are included in my assessment of the plastic filters in the manual. 

It was so nice to meet the people who these filters go to. At the end of the day, I asked my supervisor how they chose which houses to visit. Turns out we were showing up unannounced to people's houses. I didn't even notice because I was always greeted with smiles and an invite to come in. It was here that I learned how welcoming, kind, and resilient Cambodians are.