the drinkable book cleans and purifies water with advanced filtering paper all images courtesy brian gartside

a team of scientists and engineers from carnegie mellon and the university of virginia have developed ‘the drinkable book’, a life saving tool that filters water and teaches proper sanitation and hygiene to those in the developing world. designed by new york-based typographer brian gartside for non-profit organization waterislife, each book is printed on technologically advanced filter paper capable of eliminating deadly waterborne diseases, as it is coated with silver nanoparticles, whose ions actively kill diseases like cholera, typhoid and E.coli.

once liquid is passed through the filter, bacteria count is reduced by over 99.99%, cleaning the water to a quality comparable to standards in north america. the pages cost only pennies to produce; each sheet from ‘the drinkable book’ is capable of giving someone in need up to 30 days worth of clean water, and features a paper supply that filters up-to 5000 liters.

the drinkable book was designed by brian gartside

step 1: tear out one of the pre-perforated sheets. each one will filter 100 liters of water

step 2: place the page in the slot, located in the base of the custom filter-box

step 3: replace the pressure plate, and pour water through; what collects in the lower reservoir is safe to drink

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