Nature's Voice Our Choice

Nature’s Voice Our Choice (NVOC) began with a vision, lots of hard work, and a conviction that simple natural solutions could be found for the complex environmental, sanitation, and water shortage problems facing developing nations.

In March 2004, in response to the growing sanitation problem and water shortage issues in Nouakchott, Mauritania, former Peace Corps Volunteer, Brandy Lellou, founded NVOC as a local Mauritanian NGO. NVOC’s initial goal was to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of treating domestic waste water in Nouakchott, for reuse in agriculture production in the city’s market gardens, by constructing a natural treatment system using aquatic plants and wetlands.

In March 2005, the pilot project was fully operational treating 1000 liters of water/day from the apartment complex. The treated water consistently met World Health Organization standards for water to be used in the irrigation of vegetables for human consumption.

In January 2006, the pilot project was used to train local women in the theory, operation, and maintenance of the system and the ability to use the treated water for alternative income generating activities.

In 2007, with the success of this pilot project, NVOC was incorporated in the United States and a Board of Directors was elected with the objective of expanding the original pilot project’s success and developing additional activities that give communities throughout the world the knowledge and capacity to conserve their local water resources.

Through the initial pilot project, NVOC began to notice that the biggest limiting factor to clean water and sanitation in developing countries is the energy needs required for pumping, treatment, and distribution. However, energy demands for water supply and wastewater treatment are universal.  Thus, NVOC began developing its Water/Energy Program to increase awareness of the water/energy link and ensure that water is considered as part of the equation when developing energy efficiency and CO2 emission reduction strategies for the future.