The Hippo Water Roller... Empowering women and girls.

Simple design. Massive need.

​The immediate response most people have when first seeing a hippo roller is, “Why hasn’t this been thought of before?”

The design of the hippo roller to transport water was a shift in thinking. Simply put, the hippo water roller is a re-invented wheelbarrow designed to transport 90-litres of water by placing the water inside its “wheel.” This innovative design allows a burdensome task to be done easier and with more efficiency.

A full hippo roller holds 200 lbs. of water – five times the amount possible using traditional methods. But because the weight is borne on the ground, even a young child can easily manage a full roller.

A single hippo roller carries enough water to meet the basic daily needs of a family of seven. It gives families access to better hygiene, sanitation and living conditions.

​Fewer trips to collect water means women and children can spend their time on more productive educational and economic opportunities, a key component to alleviating poverty. Additionally, families can more easily collect enough water to grow vegetable gardens and thereby create food security.

First designed in 1991 by two South African engineers, the hippo roller has been extensively tested and re-engineered by organizations including Engineers Without Borders. It has been implemented in more than 51 countries and over 60,000 are currently in use.

The Roll a Hippo Foundation is a Registered Canadian Charity based in British Columbia. Since 2014 the foundation has delivered over 750 hippo water rollers to women and young girls in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. See our activities: www.rollahippo.org