City Pulse

The Water Bowl Project: Being thirst busters for stray dogs

April 09, 2015 By Gayatri Nair

“Our contribution is minimal, what we would really like to see is more citizens joining us in taking up this responsibility with compassion,” says Sunil O.M., the 30-year-old co-founder of the Water Bowl Project. This unique project encourages Bengalureans to keep water bowls outside their homes to quench the thirst of stray dogs languishing under the summer sun. 


The project was inspired by a similar initiative undertaken by In Defense of Animals, an NGO spearheaded by Sarita Raturi, who was running the project in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. “Enthused I tried to find out if something similar was happening in Bengaluru. When we found out there was no chapter in our city, Sanjana Govindan Jayadev and I got together to start Water Bowl project,” explains Sunil. The project was started in 2012, and till date has managed to sell more than 1,000 bowls. "We had more than 100 people contacting us for bowls since last year," adds Sunil. 


What prompted the two animal lovers to embark on this project? “The rising temperatures are having adverse effects on Bengaluru’s water bodies, leaving stray animals with very little respite. Unable to access drinking water some dogs resort to drinking stagnant, dirty water or even their own urine. These water bowls kept out on a hot day can help keep these animals hydrated,” points out Sunil, Software Engineer with Ciber India Pvt Ltd. 


The project was initially started on an experimental basis. “I put some bowls near my home in Bangalore University, and Banashankari BDA complex. Soon, given the number of animal lovers in the city, the demand for such bowls increased,” he adds. 


Soon, the duo decided to get professional. Sanjana, who used to head the communications department of an international NGO decided on the marketing strategy. “She started our Facebook page, got mailers ready and also uploaded videos on YouTube. This helped create awareness about our project," says Sunil.


Getting to work:


The three point work mantra of the duo is; get in touch, articulate the requirements, and take the bowls. “Those interested, usually get in touch with us through emails. Their demands should ideally adhere to these questions; how many bowls are required, will they place them near their homes or in their localities, will they clean the bowls frequently, and will they refill the water regularly,” says Sunil.


Answers to these questions help the duo to sift the non-serious ones from the serious change initiators. “Sometimes people won’t change the water or expect us to change it, that is not possible,” he adds.


Interested parties are given the option to choose between terracotta and cement bowls. The terracotta bowl costs Rs 200, and the cement ones cost Rs 100. While terracotta bowls are considered to be more eco-friendly, the cement ones would seem slightly more practical.  


Battling challenges:


The two changemakers had to grapple with numerous challenges. Logistic, communications, transportation of bowls, and acquiring the bowls, every aspect of the project was handled by the duo. “It is a herculean task to go door to door with bowls, so we meet our customers at a common place and hand over the bowls to them,” explains Sunil. 


“Thankfully, we got a very friendly and understanding pot maker who, inspired by our idea, helps us with the required number of bowls. Sometimes, we give his number to other animal lovers who would like to directly source the bowls. We only request them to use our logo so as to sustain the initiative,” says Sunil.


“Sometimes some people question our intentions. That can be a little demotivating, but we soldier on. We don't make any profit off this initiative. We are doing this because we love animals, we have no other motives,” says this animal lover.


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