He later formed a company, AquaRenu, and called in friends to assist. Sesethu Mazangazanga, a fourth-year civil engineering student, is the project manager; Njabule Gule, who is working and studying business part-time, is responsible for operations; and Monica Masetola, a final-year student at Vega, does branding and marketing for the company.
Nkomo said: “I work with a team that is passionate to be part of the solution and is always willing to give a hand to provide South Africa with new solutions to the water issue.”
AquaRenu’s vision is to become a nationally recognised brand and to have their products a standard feature in typical South African homes. “We want to make the greywater and rainwater harvesting systems affordable for the average South African household while delivering a service that is comparable to other expensive manufactures,” Nkomo said.
Mazangazanga added: “The area we currently specialise in is greywater irrigation, and part of our near future design is harvesting rainwater to reduce water consumption in homes and businesses even further.”
The students are currently working on a design that utilises rainwater and greywater as primary sources of water for irrigation and toilet flushing for large properties such as schools and complexes. This design, coupled with their old greywater unit would reduce consumption by up to 80% per month.
AquaRenu is currently working with contractors in Mpumalanga and installing their greywater units in some of the local schools in the area. To date, their clients have been homeowners in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
