Updated on January 10, 2024

·

Created on July 11, 2016

Oxfam Bucket

Open-source

The Oxfam Bucket is a 14 L container for safe water storage.

Developed By
  1. Oxfam
Content Partners
  1. Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technologies (CAWST)

Author

Product Description

Oxfam bucket is a 14L safe water storage option for individuals and households. The bucket has a lid and water from it is withdrawn using an integrated tap.

Target SDGs

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Market Suggested Retail Price

$3.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Household

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Oxfam

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include Aquatainer 10L Collapsible and CDC SWS Container.

Manufacturing/Building Method

This product is mass produced in England from virgin HDPE high density polyethylene (body of the bucket, lid and cap) and virgin LDPE low density polyethylene (handle) and shipped unassembled.

Intellectural Property Type

Open-source

User Provision Model

NGO users purchase the product from Oxfam and distribute to end-users.

Distributions to Date Status

More than 15,000 in 2015-16

Container volume (L)

14 L

Integrated dispensing tap (yes/no)

Yes

Handle for carrying (yes/no)

Yes

Material

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)

Design Specifications

The Oxfam Bucket is non-collapsible, heavy-duty, 14L with a tight fitting lid, handle, and attached clip-on cap. It is UV-resistant and safe for food and water storage. Multiple units are stackable and can be carried by hand. They are available with or without the tap. The top diameter is 310 mm and the height it 330 mm. Other specific product schematics are available in the Oxfam Bucket specs sheet

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Technical support provided by Oxfam

Replacement Components

Not available

Lifecycle

Unknown

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

Intended to be a form of Safe Water Storage.

Vetted Performance Status

The Oxfam bucket is tested for 2m drop test.

Safety

There are no known hazards with this product

Complementary Technical Systems

None

Academic Research and References

A. Ercumen, A. M. Naser, L. Unicomb, B. F. Arnold, J. M. Colford Jr, and S. P. Luby, “Effects of source- versus household contamination of tubewell water on child diarrhea in rural Bangladesh: a randomized controlled trial,” PLoS One, vol. 10, no. 3, p. e0121907, 2015.

Oxfam, “8 things that make our bucket life-changing,” Oxfamamerica.org. [Online]. Available: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/8-things-that-make-our-bucket-life-changing/

“About us,” Oxfamamerica.org. Available: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/about-us/

Oxfam, “9 things on Oxfam’s ‘bucket list’ for World Water Day – Views & Voices,” Available: https://views-voices.oxfam.org.uk/2016/03/9-things-on-oxfams-bucket-list-for-world-water-day/

“Goal 6,” Sdgs.un.org. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6

J. Bucket, “CORE RELIEF ITEMS,” Nrsrelief.com. Available: https://www.nrsrelief.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Jerry-bucket-Oxfam-09062023.pdf

“Contact us,” Oxfamamerica.org. Available: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/about-us/contact-us/

CDC, “Household Water Treatment,” 20-Oct-2022. Available: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/household-water-treatment.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fsafewater%2Fstorage.html

Oxfam, “8 things that make our bucket life-changing,” Oxfamamerica.org. Available: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/8-things-that-make-our-bucket-life-changing/

Compliance with regulations

None

Evaluation methods

Oxfam evaluates the impact of their WASH methods, including safe water storage.

Other Information

See research & standards for: Oxfam’s article on this product and their blog. Academic articles on general safe water storage containers:

Comments from the Community

4 Comments

  1. Michael Moscherosch says:

    Plant based polyethylene is currently only available from Braskem in Brazil at a price premium. This material is not biodegradable. As far as I’m aware of, plant based polypropylene is not commercially available yet, neither are plant based pressure sensitive adhesives which are needed top attache the pad to the underwear.

  2. Michael Moscherosch says:

    Considering the sparsity of bathroom facilities (or other locations to change the pads outside the home) in India, I would recommend to design pads that can be used at least for 12 hours. The user can put on a pad in the morning and change it at night, both in the privacy of her home.

  3. Laura MacDonald says:

    •Why was the jerrycan chosen over the cube? Curiosity, not saying it shouldn’t have been
    •Given the large difference between “market price” ($330) and NGO price ($65-80), I wonder what is intended by market price, since the majority of users will not be purchasing at true market price, because the real market is NGOs. Would go with the NGO price for this, since the prices for ACI, M-Drop and Kouzin Dlo are more along these lines.

  4. Anna Murray says:

    – “Target product user” for the Oxfam bucket says community as well as household – though I

    would imagine that all three of these should have the same end user (which I imagine is a household)

    – This is not product-specific, but there is a recent study that looked at diarrheal disease reduction from chlorination and safe water storage vs. safe storage only vs. a control. The findings were that both chlorination + safe storage, and safe storage alone both reduced diarrheal disease in users, with no significant difference between the two. Here is the source:

    Ercumen A., Naser A. M., Unicomb L., Arnold B. F., Colford Jr. J. M., Luby S. P. 2015 Effects of Source- versus Household Contamination of Tubewell Water on Child Diarrhea in Rural Bangladesh: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Plos One, 10(3).

    and a link: http://journals.plos.org/pl

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