MAY 5 MEETING - SPEAKER DAWN LEWIS/ TERRACLEAR

We enjoyed a Cinco de Mayo–themed evening with black bean enchiladas, tomatillo soup, and lime-and-tajín dressed watermelon. Thank you Andrea for catering our wonderful plant based meal. 

Upcoming events: Alisa reviewed our busy calendar. We have several great activities coming up and we need volunteers—please check the calendar and sign up where you can help. Alisa would like us to bring in any Rotary magazines to help advertise Rotary at upcoming festivals. Also, please bring in simple school supplies - pens, pencils, paper, notebooks for Alisa. She will be packing out her suitcase for a school when she goes to Panama in August to check out Rotary Reefs. 

Eco Minute (Steve Jewett):

Steve shared highlights from a very full Earth Month as head of the Environmental Alliance:

• Coordinated a major global Earth Day cleanup that set a new record.

• Tracked types and quantities of trash collected during Earth Day to provide scientists feedback on what products end up in the environment.

• Attended a biodiversity conference at the Nat, followed by a geodesign conference.

• Served as a keynote speaker at a zero-waste conference in Park City, Utah. 

• Continues supporting Rotary as it tracks this month’s Epic Day of Service.

Thank you Steve for all the great work you do!

Speaker: Alisa introduced Dawn Lewis, Executive Director of the TerraClear Foundation. Dawn is a civil engineer with decades of experience in international development in Southeast Asia. She is currently based in Austin and recently connected with our group during our trip to the EarthX Conference in Dallas.

About TerraClear Foundation: TerraClear is a U.S.-based nonprofit that has brought clean, safe drinking water to tens of thousands of schoolchildren and families in Laos. It does this by providing subsidized ceramic filters and community training to reduce illness, support education, and help break the cycle of poverty—while caring for the environment.

Why clean water is a challenge in rural Laos

• Common water sources (rivers, wells, and rainwater) can be contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fecal matter.

• Unsafe water contributes to diarrheal disease, cholera, and other illnesses, with longer-term effects such as growth stunting, reduced nutrient absorption, and increased susceptibility to disease.

• Many households boil water using firewood, which contributes to deforestation and indoor/outdoor air pollution.

• Limited hygiene and sanitation practices (including inconsistent handwashing with soap) further increase health risks.

How TerraClear responds

• Provides affordable ceramic water filters to households and schools.

• Delivers health, hygiene, and safe-water education through community training.

• Promotes sustainable, low-emissions solutions that reduce reliance on firewood boiling.

The Ceramic Water Purifier (CWP): TerraClear distributes filters made by TerraClear Production (TCP). The TCP CWP is a zero-emissions, point-of-use system that uses gravity to move raw water through a porous, kiln-fired ceramic element. The filter sits inside a covered plastic storage tank with a spigot, helping protect treated water from recontamination.

Key specifications and upkeep

• Capacity: filters up to 55 liters/day.

• Safe storage: holds up to 36 liters in the covered receptacle tank.

• Maintenance: periodic scrubbing of the ceramic element to unclog pores and washing the receptacle tank to prevent bacterial growth.

• Low-tech design: gravity-fed, with a replaceable spigot as the primary moving part.

How the filter is made (and why it works)

• TCP manufactures ceramic filter elements at a purpose-built factory in Laos using locally sourced clay and rice husks mixed at precise ratios.

• After molding and kiln firing, the burned-out rice husks leave extremely small pores that act as a physical barrier, helping remove bacteria and other contaminants.

• The fired filter is treated with colloidal silver, providing a secondary defense; when used correctly, it removes over 99% of bacteria.

• With proper maintenance, a ceramic filter element can provide safe water for more than seven years.

TerraKids education program

• Runs educational programs on children’s rights, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.

• Helps communities recognize and avoid unsafe overseas work offers that can put children at risk of exploitation and trafficking.

• Provides workshops for teachers and school administrators to support their roles and responsibilities.

Impact to date

• TerraClear provides 56,000 families with access to clean drinking water at home.

• TerraKids provides 25,000 schoolchildren with clean drinking water at school.

Dawn gave a truly inspiring presentation on a very impactful organization bringing clean water to people in need. Great work!

MAY 5 SOCIAL AT LANA'S

Solana Beach Eco Club had our social at Lana's this night with a chance to catch up with each other over great food and wine. We had a surprise visit from Ann Wycoff, the Senior Director of Development of WildCoast, an organization doing amazing conservation work around the world. Their Solana Beach branch has been working tirelessly on cleaning the Tijuana River. As it turns out, Ann's husband is one of the owners of Lana's. Ann invited us to WildCoast's major fundraiser, the Baja Bash in June. Tickets are available now. There is more information below in Events Around Town.