Guatemala City, July 20, 2016. WWF and Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza developed a mobile app called “Duchapp” which allows reducing water consumption during the shower. It is based on a song that lasts less than 5 minutes and that guides the steps a person has to follow to take a shower without wasting water. The app is free and is expected to be used in Latin America and other countries of the world.
On average, each time a person takes a shower he or she spends from 10 to 12 minutes and uses more than 200 liters of water. With the app, this time is reduced to less than 5 minutes, saving 130 liters of water with each shower. On a year basis, this is traduced to 47,450 liters of water reduced per person.
Duchapp allows the users to customize their shower, according to their preferences. Shampoo and conditioner may be added into the song, for example. The song that guides the shower time can also be adapted to different rhythms, such as Latin and Rock. All of this makes the experience a fun time for the users, while they take an action to save water.
Further, the app determines the quantity of liters each person is reducing and has the option of sharing this information on social media. This action creates a fair competition that motivates other users to participate. It also provides practical tips to make a responsible water consumption.
In times where fresh water access and availability in the world is a critical matter, this app brings an easy to use solution. Shower is one of the moments within a day where people spend more water without being aware of it. It should be noted that from the total water availability on Earth only 3% is fresh water and only about 1% is readily available for human use.
Andreas Lehnhoff, director of WWF Guatemala / Mesoamerica said that “Duchapp is a very effective tool to motivate people to take an action for the planet and it is a way to create citizen awareness about the consequences of the consumption moments we take during the day, in this case over water”.
The app is one of the creative solutions that WWF Guatemala / Mesoamerica Fresh Water Program aims to promote and that can be used not only in Guatemala but in the rest of the world. Therefore, an English version will be developed to be used by users who speak that language.
The app was developed jointly with the Guatemalan organization Defensores de la Naturaleza, who have been WWF’s local partners for more than ten years. This responds to the trend that WWF follows in different countries where it operates, by working with others and strengthens capacities on the local ground.
Oscar Núñez, director of Defensores de la Naturaleza, said that: “this is a campaign from Guatemala to the world that invites to care for the important natural resource that water is. We have a lot of work to do and if we get involved in natural resources conservation awareness we become part of the water security for our children and grandchildren”.
Duchapp is currently available for free and can be downloaded from the App Store for Apple devices and from Google Play for Android.
Contacts:
María del Rosario Calderón, Communications Officer, WWF Guatemala / Mesoamérica – Tel: +502 2366-5856 rcalderon@wwfca.org
Vanessa Paiz, Communication and Marketing Coordinator, Defensores de la Naturaleza – Tel. +502 23102929 vpaiz@defensores.org.gt