June 9, 2026 — Bridgetown, Barbados — In a significant step toward water security and climate resilience, the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), in partnership with Eco SkyWater, has completed the installation of innovative atmospheric water generation (AWG) systems at Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Westbury Primary School.
The units, which extract clean, potable drinking water directly from the air using solar power, provide a critical new resource for students and the surrounding community. This initiative adds another layer of resilience to the schools, which were previously renovated by CLF to serve as the highest standard of Emergency Shelters, engineered to withstand severe weather events, up to Category 5 Hurricanes.
The two primary schools serve a student population of nearly 1,000 children:
- Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School serves more than 600 pupils
- Westbury Primary School serves approximately 320 pupils
"Apart from being an independent, resilient piece of technology, these systems are already transforming the relationship the students at the schools have with water. With multiple distribution points across the campuses, the students are using their individually assigned water bottles to re-hydrate continuously throughout the day at no cost,” says Krystle Francis, director of programs (Caribbean), Clara Lionel Foundation.
Beyond the hundreds of students and faculty who will directly benefit from daily access to clean water, the solar-powered AWG units provide a strategic advantage for community safety. In the aftermath of a hurricane or natural disaster when public utilities may fail, these systems will operate off-grid, providing a reliable emergency source of drinking water for hundreds, if not thousands, of surrounding residents.
The project utilizes 100% solar energy to power the generators, ensuring the schools' electricity bills remain unaffected while producing clean water without reliance on groundwater or fossil fuels.
"CLF’s partnership has been essential," says Kyle Taylor of Eco SkyWater. "Without it, we wouldn't have been able to provide our solutions to so many children who deserve access to clean drinking water. We look forward to scaling this partnership across Barbados and the wider Caribbean."
The installation ensures that Charles F. Broome Memorial and Westbury Primary are not only places of learning, but also the most prepared community emergency shelters in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados.
