TFN Talks with Christine Manson
TFN Talks sat down with Christine Manson, the visionary founder of TERRA Natural Water Filters. We talked about her fascinating life, her relentless drive to find sustainable solutions that positively impact the social, economic, and environmental aspects of the global community and the company she founded in the middle of the pandemic, which promises to revolutionize the world’s access to clean water.
Can you tell us about where you were born, what the atmosphere was like and how your childhood shaped your creative and entrepreneurial journey?
I was born in a small town in south Texas called Corpus Christi. Most people have never heard of it, and its real only claim to fame was that the Mexican Latina pop singer Selena was from there. We only lived there for the first 5 years of my life, but my parents were free spirits and we spent all our family free time shoeless and on the beach. We moved from Texas to Florida to Georgia and back to Texas all before I was 10, but we maintained our casual approach to life. Generally speaking my parents did not spend money on stuff, we always had what we needed, but they invested time and creative energy with my younger brother and I instead. We were always adventuring and exploring. We did lots of road trips and discovering new beaches for surfing or camping, or walking through forests barefoot and pretending to be Native Americans. I’m not sure any of that really shaped my entrepreneurial journey, but perhaps creativity is a prerequisite for taking the leap into starting your own business. That or being raised by shoeless hippies!
You have two degrees in geography! How did this come about and has this influenced where you are today?
I have always been studious and academically driven, even if it wasn’t a clear path for me. I studied Business and Geography for my Bachelors degree because the only thing I new was that I like traveling and I had to make money. Those seemed like a pretty good match, even though the career office was like, “Ummm, maybe you should work as a travel agent for a little while.” Needless to say I had bigger aspirations, and so I got a job working full time at the Texas State Hospital, also known as the state insane asylum. Obviously they are not allowed to call it that anymore, but that’s exactly what it is. And so for one year I worked on the forensic ward (criminals whose mental illnesses were so severe they couldn’t stay in prison), while I went back to night school to take pre-med requirements to apply for medical school. I knew I liked healthcare because it still had the potential for business and geography, but it also had people and science. Two other things I grew to know that I liked.
Needless to say the forensic ward of a mental institute was no place for a young 22 year old university graduate with no training, so on a whim I decided to apply for a PhD program. My fathers father was from England, and my grandparents were quite convinced that I needed to find a “stable” career after they spent 4 years insisting I become an engineer, teacher, lawyer or doctor to no avail. I thought a PhD from the University of Cambridge in England might appease them if I could get in. I got in! I moved to the UK! Annnd then the department told me that the professor who was meant to supervise my research was on sabbatical, for at least a year. This was disappointing; but since I had gone all that way the department felt terrible and so slotted me into a Masters of Philosophy program to hold me over for a year and a half. I hated the program, it was in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing. It had nothing to do with people, or health and only a little to do with traveling. I found a way to study healthcare in Kazakhstan anyway. A year in evidently the potential supervisor I was waiting for resigned outright from the department, and they didn’t have anyone to supervise my research so I went home after graduating with my MPhil. It wasn’t a total waste. I spent the time going to Harry Potter dinners drinking sherry before dinner, wine during and port after. I did my research in Kazakhstan, a land and people I found fascinating and have been back to visit since. And I got a big badass degree from Cambridge, whoopdeedoo. Finally I did actually end up studying public health, so I guess you can say I’m one of few people who came out with a degree in liberal arts who actually uses my degree.
Can you tell us about your company Terra and what inspired you to go into natural water filter production?
Terra is the product of sheer luck and ignorant determination. After a stressful career in the international humanitarian sector working on public health, women’s reproductive rights and family planning, refugee resettlements and disaster response, I took a 2.5 year sabbatical where I hoped to find a new place to live, and maybe a project of my own. With my previous partner we bought a car and drove 45,000 km through South America exploring Peru, Chile, Argentina and Ecaudor. I thought I might land in South America since I lived in Guatemala for almost 7 years and speak fluent Spanish, but it was too familiar and I was interested in a different challenge. India and Sri Lanka were contenders – especially Sri Lanka because there’s great surf. But then I came to Bali on a short 1 week trip and just fell in love. As anyone who has been here knows, it’s this magical recipe of culture, natural beauty and opportunity. Annnddd, it has AC and surf! But the idea for the filter company didn’t come until I left. I was literally flying out of Bali going, how in the world do I figure out how to make a life here! And it hit me…. Having lived in Guatemala for so long, where ceramic pot filter technology was invented, I was aware of the triple-threat impact filters had: economic, environmental, and social. Ceramic water filters support families at the top and most importantly, bottom of the pyramid (a term those of us in the impact sector use to refer to families living in or below poverty) and so at that time I made a general assumption that filters could work here. That was April of 2018. Fast forward 6 months and I had made contact with Indonesia UNICEF, USAID among others working on safe drinking water to verify my hunch that access was limited (as much as 20% of Indonesian children 5 and under are affected by dirty drinking water either through stunting or death. It is the #1 killer). I had also studied with the Guatemalan filter factory, who it turns out are great friends of my family. Hence sheer luck and ignorant determination! I embarked on this journey assuming I might have my own little company at the end of it, but never in a million years thought I would have a manufacturing company! By November that same year I was in Bali writing a business plan and looking for factory space. I already knew this was my ticket to all those things I knew I loved: geography, business, health and people.
What is Terra's immediate local impact in Bali?
By November 2019, I had a company and factory space. And 8 months later, in July 2020 in the middle of the Coronovirus pandemic, we went to market! It doesn’t get any crazier than that. But, because of my background in the humanitarian field I knew that in times of crisis like that, products like mine were key. Local NGO’s and donors were looking at ways to support families in Indonesia that were suffering from the health and economic implications of what was happening. We jumped right in supporting these communities with filters and essential water, sanitation and hygiene training, referred to as WASH in the impact industry. Safe water we knew saved lives anyway by preventing cholera, typhoid, stunting, and diarrhea, but the WASH training was paramount because families did not understand how coronavirus was spreading. We had found our first market. Four months later we launched two additional filter models for the middle and high end market, locking in our place in the lifestyle homegoods industry. Our mission isn’t to make money as a social enterprise, but we’re on a mission to reinvest these funds to support our amazingly dedicated staff, and the millions of deserving families throughout Indonesia who have a right to safe drinking water. We’re also on a mission to protect natural resources, which is why we only use 100% locally sourced renewable natural materials in our filters. We’re on a mission to preserve traditional ceramics industries and revive ancient technologies that were better for the environment. We’re on a mission to elevate communities out of poverty by freeing up time and financial resources for families: especially women and girls who are usually in charge of water in the home who we hope can now use that time to find economic or educational opportunities. We’re on a mission to save families at the top and bottom of the pyramid money. Even families who use firewood for boiling water spend more in two years than if they’d had a Terra filter. We’re on a mission to get kids back in school. We know that sick kids don’t go to school, and families spend money on healthcare that they could have spent on education. And finally we’re on a mission to minimize plastic waste since Indonesia disposes of 70 tons of plastic waste per day.
In 2 years to the date, through amazing local partners and on our own, Terra has donated over 600 filters in Bali and Java, had more than 3,000 people trained in WASH, and sold over 2,000 filters. By the end of this year our environmental impact includes over 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions saved, and almost 1 million plastic bottles eliminated from the planet.
Can you take us through the process of creating a Terra Water Filter?
Water bottle companies want us to think that making clean water is difficult (because they want us to believe that we need to buy their plastic bottles because they are safer!), but the truth is it isn’t and they aren’t! Granted there are some pretty sophisticated water filters out there but for most of us normal people who live in normal environments, a basic system is all you need. Terra filters were invented in Central America during a hurricane, or as we call them on this side of the world cyclone, because there was plenty of fresh water but not enough safe drinking water. And if you’ve ever seen a disaster response operation, which I have seen many having worked for the Red Cross, then you know pallets of plastic water bottles get shipped to the site and then the secondary disaster starts (cleaning up the mess in the mess!).
Terra filters make 100% pure safe drinking water by removing 99.9999% of all bacteria and 90% of all virus. We sell activated bamboo charcoal sticks that help with the chemicals and metals, although the filters will take out some, as well as when there are too much of certain minerals, salt or calcium carbonate for example. When it comes to all fresh water sources in Bali, and most places in the world in fact, the biggest cause for concern is bacteria.
Our filters are 100% natural and made of clay, a thin activated carbon layer and colloidal silver. The only thing we import for our filters is the highest quality food-grade colloidal silver because we cannot find this in Indonesia. From start to finish after drying raw materials, processing them, pressing the filter, letting it dry, firing it in the kiln and then conducting our final 4 quality controls checks, a batch of filters is ready in 3 to 4 weeks based on rainy season. Each one is also hand finished so it looks great and has our logo and you unique serial number on it.
We are committed to not using plastic in any of our processes, so not only is the manufacturing process zero waste and plastic free, but we use cardboard in our packaging. This took some time to figure out as you can imagine because our filters are heavy and fragile!
Can you explain what 'zero waste' means to anyone who is new to sustainability and eco initiatives?
For us zero waste means we don’t throw anything away. We reuse, recycle, upcycle or donate anything we don’t use. Filters that don’t pass our quality control check for example get broken up and go back into the filters to help strengthen them. We encourage our customers to do the same. In two years when it’s time to renew the filter unit they can break up the old one and put it in the garden, or paint it and put a plant in it! Our filter containers are made to last many, many years.
Where can we purchase a Terra Water Filter?
All the normal channels but also message me directly if you’re interested in collaborating or donating to our Foundation!
christine@terrawaterindonesia.com
IG: @terrawaterindonesia
Tokopedia
Message our office: hello@terrawaterindonesia.com or +62 812 3887 2607
What are some challenges and obstacles that you have had to overcome on your career path?
Honestly, I know it may be a little cliché now but I don’t care about cliché, especially when it’s something important, but as a woman in a professional world I have been affected by the #MeToo movement. It’s been a constant battle and has been worse with larger corporations and male dominated fields like business. This was why I left the Red Cross; an organization you would have thought would be beyond this kind of behavior. I feel incredible privileged to be a Caucasian, educated women, because I think minority women have it so much worse.
You are the true embodiment of the Fearless Nomad spirit. Can you share with us some of your journeys around the world? Where have you been and what did you discover, about the planet, about people, about yourself?
I’ve mentioned some of the travels I did through education, career and along my sabbatical. All of these have shaped my professional and personal journey. There’s nothing like traveling slowly and getting to know a community that is so unfamiliar to you and different from your own to open your eyes to the human spirit. Getting outside of this comfort zone is my jam. On one of my earliest travels to Tibet and Nepal I decided to take refuge and become officially “baptized” as a Buddhist. I mentioned that my parents were quite liberal, and so spirituality and especially Zen Buddhism, on behalf of my dad, were always present. So when presented with the opportunity to commit more fully into a philosophy I already believed in, I took it. I practice Mahayana Buddhism not Zen, which as I got older I connected with more after spending a significant amount of time in India, Nepal and Tibet. It’s been the best decision I ever made because even when life sucks, and it does sometimes!, it’s been the single most steadfast thing in my life. Last year my partner of 7 years and I split and my mom, who was my best friend, passed right around my birthday. My practice allows me to be comfortable with uncertainty, which is undoubtedly my greatest skill because life is nothing if not uncertain!
What are your dreams for Terra?
Terra Filters have the potential to be Indonesia’s best home water filter. We have seen so few barriers to entry in people adopting the technology, and we keep growing and innovating to try to meet market demand. It has been so fun and so stressful, all at the same time. But there is only one way for Terra to go from here and that’s up! We’ve had many requests to start exporting but the truth is that with 275 million people, 17,000 islands and a need for safe, inexpensive and ethical drinking water solutions that provide for people and planet, Terra’s future is right here in Indonesia. We aspire to create circular economies everywhere we work by using local, renewable natural resources, employing local people and preserving the ancient tradition of ceramics, creating ab exceptional product that is valued at the top and bottom of the pyramid also helps to solve social, economic and environmental challenges exactly where it’s made.
What has been your proudest achievement in your career so far and why?
Somehow through either sheer luck or ignorant determination!, creating the best team, ever, at Terra. Hands down.
What can we expect in the next few years from Christine Manson and Terra?
In the next year watch us come out with some cool new container types. We’re doing a big project with the Gojek Foundation in Sulawesi, and some really strong impact-driven work with tobacco farmers in Java. We’re working with the Indonesian government and partners on evaluating the potential for carbon offsets when families use filters instead of boiling water with wood, which leads to deforestation and additional carbon dioxide. And we’re selling all over the country official now, and always looking for new social and retail partners that can lead us into new markets.
As for Christine: She’s just going to keep Terra-rizing the water industry until I think I’m finished!
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