Ian Thorpe, 40, a co-founder and international director of Pump Aid, the charity which helps rural communities in Africa establish sustainable clean water supplies and environmentally-friendly sanitation, has reached the final of this year's awards with his ingenious elephant toilet.

Costing just £20 each to build, the toilets use discarded objects such as plastic bottles and empty ballpoint pens in their construction. The 'elephant' toilet name comes from the two ear shapes where the user puts his or her feet and the trunk which separates liquid waste from solid.

The international St Andrew's Prize for the Environment, awarded by the University of St Andrews in Scotland, brings with it a top prize of $50,000, while two runners-up receive $10,000.


Pump Aid is currently helping impoverished communities in Malawi and Zimbabwe to build Elephant toilets and Elephant pumps to supply safe drinking water.

It is the second time that Ian has reached the final of the annual awards since their inception 10 years ago.

In 2005 he won the award with his elephant pump, a cost-effective and sustainable water pump based on a 2,000-year-old Chinese design.

Costing £250, a pump can serve a community of up to 500 people, giving someone clean water for life for 50p. Thirsty Planet, the bottled water produced in Harrogate, supports the installation of elephant pumps with a donation from every bottle sold.

Ian said: "Having access to these basic things, which we take for granted, gets people on the first step out of poverty.

"It's a great honour to have our work recognised by some of the leading figures in the field for the second time.

"Reaching the final will help Pump Aid, which is a relatively small charity, raise its profile and generate increased support which will let us accelerate our installation programme and expand into other African countries."