The water purifier is an award-winning invention of DSM employees, that has been tested by households in developing countries, and has been improved during the last two years. What started out as a filtering drinking straw, has evolved into a 20-liter-drum with a ceramic filter, a manually operated pump, and a tap. It is not only innovative, but also cheap, about ten euro per purifier. DSM has discovered a factory in Brazil that can produce the right filters at low cost, and has immediately placed a large order, to be transported to the plant in India. Gerard van der Zanden, communications manager of DSM-Netherlands, told P+: "The important thing is that the production of the water purifiers is integrated in the local economy. The new plant is Indian-owned. And the technology is rights-free. We stimulate as many people as possible in developing countries to reproduce the purifier." The new factory was already planned for. It is part of the project Water4life, in which DSM provides technical expertise in filtration technology and industrial production, and works closely together with Novib/Oxfam Netherlands as well as with local non-governmental organisations. But the disastrous tsunami and the donation of considerable sums of money have speeded up things. DSM, active worldwide in life science, nutritional products and industrial chemicals, has an anti-infectives factory in the severely hit Southern province of Tamil Nadu. Gerard van der Zanden: "We want to be part of the societies we work in, so it is only natural to respond to the needs of the people. DSM has donated money to the overall relief fund, but we also support initiatives, such as the one of DSM Anti-Infectives, that has donated bulk active ingredients for antibiotics for 12-15 million people in the coming three months. The ingredients are donated to local producers, and the local Ministries of Health will guarantee the distribution of the final medicines to aid organizations." P+ Webtip: DSM water4life