Wine to Water: Dominican Republic Market Research Report

Wine To Water: Introduction & Context
Wine to Water (“W|W”) is an international non-profit organization committed to serving in community to provide clean water to those in need. The organization works closely with local
people and local resources whenever possible to achieve that goal. Their primary focus is providing clean water through water access, water filtration, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH). W|W has operated in over 25 countries, and currently implements a variety of Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS) technologies in the Amazon, Dominican Republic/Haiti, Cambodia, Nepal, and East Africa. In the last fiscal year, W|W reported an income of $1.7 million according to its Administrative Director.

W|W in the Dominican Republic and Haiti is focused on the production and distribution of locally-made ceramic water filters which: 1. Remove up to 99.99% of organic contaminants 2. Last 6-10 years 3. Present a cost-effective alternative to bottled water and 4. Provide access to clean, safe water when coupled with WaSH education. W|W took control of filter production and distribution from the organization “Agua Pure” in 2015, whom it worked with in 2010 to provide filters to earthquake-struck Haiti. The yearly operating budget (i.e. bare-minimum funds for salaries, wages, filter production, and factory operation) for W|W is approximately $34,000 USD—about 1/5 of total funding in the last fiscal year. W|W has 8 Dominican employees, and works with local people and NGOs to coordinate distribution across the island.

W|W receives funding to produce and sell filters from donors, volunteer group fees, individual consumers, and business deals with other non-governmental organizations such as the Red Cross. Filters sold to NGOs, businesses, or individuals range in price from $35-$50 USD. Filters subsidized by the fees of American volunteer groups, who work for 1 week at W|W’s headquarters in the Dominican Republic, are distributed to low-income, predominantly rural communities at a price of $300 pesos (~$6-7 USD). Since June 2016, W|W has averaged 8.9 filter distributions and 1,117 filter beneficiaries per month.