The Background
Poor hygiene and lack of adequate instruments for sterilization are among the leading causes of death in the third world and war zones. Our innovative patent turns a baby bottle into a sterilizer for water that does not require electricity, gas nor chemicals. "The number of victims caused by improper use of milk powder every month is equivalent to that caused by the explosion of th
e bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945" James Grant, Executive Director of UNICEF
"In the third world every day 4,000 children die as a result of lack of drinking water" Helvetas, March 23, 2010
This century has seen breastfeeding being replaced by the baby feeding bottle in most of the Third World countries due to advertising campaigns that made it a symbol of progress. Still, the lack of hygiene often turns this progress into an health hazard. The water is often polluted and impossible to sterilize due to inadequate education and resources. As a matter of fact, the standard for sterilization is 20 minutes at a temperature of 249,8 ° F and a pressure of 2 bar. The inevitable consequences are fatal intestinal infections and even death.
2. Let's start from the beginning
Once upon a time …
A coffee bar, a table, two drinks and a napkin. The little napkin they give you when they serve you a few snacks. Usually during conversations, that napkin transforms in something disgusting : usually a little oily ball, sometimes a mountains of splinters, occasionnally you scribble all over it. That evening there was no space left for oily balls, splinters or random lines…
That evening, in Lausanne, we started to draw on it…
..we drown the skeleton of a dream : a world where also little children born in less lucky areas of the world could have the opportunity to live their lives, play, grow up, without being afraid of getting sick because of dirty water and the micro-organisms in it. What a young intern and a entrepreneur could do to outline a smile on these children’s face? That evening we started to sketch our Ls prototype nr. 1, and our project made the first little step. We didn’t have many money, so we contacted some friends, some of whom where engineers, film-makers, photographers, and …mothers. Together we joined our experiences and our knowledge and we made it. A functioning autosterilizing baby bottle with its safe nipple, tested for the first time in our small garden in Bissone and, after a series of laboratory tests, officially patented. Two years later we’re here, on a crowd funding platform, and we need you to help us making a bigger step toward a better world. A world where water will return being a source of life instead of a source of disease.
3. The Ls
Our goal is to create a handy and economical solution, which we trust could save millions of lives. With your help we dream to start our production and delivery from September 2016. In April 2016 we will produce a small amount of pre-production samples of our baby bottles (200 pieces) and test the project in a selected location during a period of 1 month length over a cluster of 200 children. With the support of hospitals and medical equips we will be measuring the reduction of specific viruses and bacteria and the consequent improvement of health among children. In this period, we will shoot a documentary film of our expedition and create a photographic book to make the world aware of our project and to rise awareness and sympathy towards one of the main problems that affects poorer countries.
4. How it works
Safely feeding a child by using our baby bottle is easier than you might think. Unscrew the cap and remove the double thread cylinder from the tank
Fill the tank with the water at your disposal
Put the cap and the double thread cylinder in sterilizing position (with the nipple facing inwards)
Place the baby bottle filled with water on a flame
When the valve start whistling wait 2 minutes
Remove the baby bottle from the flame
Wait for the baby bottle to cool down to approximately 100 ° F (about 15 mins after you have removed it from the flame)
Remove the cap and unscrew the double thread cylinder
Add the milk powder in the baby bottle
Screw in the double thread cylinder in working position (with the nipple facing outwards) and shake
Serve!
5. Our App
Along with the baby bottles we want to create a software that guarantees our transparency and your participation. We believe this project is yours too, and your trust as our partners, is what we're striving to win. That is why we are developing an App that allowes the community to:
Monitor the development and production of the Ls on a step-by-step basis
Be constantly informed of all distribution agreements concerning the Ls project in a timely manner
Track each purchased Ls through an identification number to know the final destination of every piece
Connect with other supporters, joining a community free to interact in a provided common space
6. The Name Contest
Without your support this dream will never become a reality which is why we want this baby bottle to be yours too. As our partners we want to engage you in our decisions, starting from the name of the newborn Ls. Once the App will be ready, we'd like you to join our "name contest" by sharing with the community your pick.
7. Rewards
Find below what are our rewards!! Please Note: The Ls will not be shipped to you. GratzUp will be delivering to children who need it.
8. A little effort for huge results
We wanted to do something more than just dreaming and here we are, from a sketch on a tissue to Kickstarter! This is a great step forward but the journey is still long. But, one step after the other we are going to make it! Huge results don't necessary demand huge efforts. If we stick together we can achieve the goal as a group. With the cost of a few little things, we could all save a life.
