The Ttocirrod Foundation is a 501(c)(3) DBA Thirst-Aid.

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  How We Got Here
                                                     Curt and Cathy Bradner are the founders of Thirst-Aid.  They began                                                                 volunteering on behalf of disadvantaged youth in 1999. Their work has                                                              evolved into concentrating on clean water as the basis for health. Here is                                                         their story. 

                                                     Leaving the corporate world, Curt and Cathy began a round-the-world                                                               cycling tour, and in doing so found a new calling. They decided that, while                                                        bicycling the globe was good fun, stopping and giving to those in need                                                             was even better. Initially, they volunteered for three months at a medical clinic for orphans in Northern Thailand. They ended up staying five years. 

In 1999 while giving a slide show in Boulder, Colorado about their adventures, they met the founder of Asia Transpacific Foundation, Marilyn Downing Staff, and a partnership was formed. With the financial support of that Foundation, Curt and Cathy returned to Asia and began a vocational training center to teach orphaned and refugee youth vocational skills. 

The Bradners were also supported by Bill Dorricott. His Ttocirrod Foundation began funding their Youth Development Projects and water filter projects.  The Ttocirrod Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, is now doing business as Thirst-Aid. 

Thirst-Aid emphasizes the importance of education about water-related illnesses, acknowledging that educated people do not willingly drink contaminated water, much less give it to their children.  Thirst-Aid then  uses available resources to produce ceramic water filters, resulting in clean water for local populations.

This model has been very successful at providing sustainable safe water, as well as responding to emergency situations, such as providing critically needed clean water to victims of the 2005 tsunami that affected Southern Thailand and the 2008 cyclone in Myanmar.

During the tsunami relief efforts, Thirst-Aid gained the attention of UNICEF, who is now a proud partner providing additional funds to enable Thirst-Aid to meet their goals. 

On behalf of Thirst-Aid, thank you for your generous donations and support.

What we do:
(Click on a thumbnail to begin slideshow)
Preparing clay for the millMilling claygrading (sifting) burnout materialMixing clay and rice husksAdd waterForm clay chargePut the charge on the filter pressPress the filterPressed filterPlace on drying racks
Dry filters throughlyKeep data on filtersLoad kilnSeal kiln doors and fire kilnUnload kiln and cool filtersFlow test saturated filtersFlow test saturated filtersDestroy those w/unacceptable rates Apply colloidal silverLessons on care & handling
Layout kiln sizeBuild the kiln footprintThe walls go upView of fire boxesBuild the archBack wallThe arch is completeChimney goes through the roofBuild bag wallsClose doors on full kiln

Water that flows through a ceramic filter becomes devoid of disease-causing bacteria and protozoa. Thirst-Aid has established eight ceramic water filter factories in Myanmar; once fully operational, the production facilities are turned over to locals as income generation projects. 

In the country of Myanmar, Thirst-Aid is in the process of implementing a safe water program on a countrywide scale, bringing clean water to the some 15 million in need. The aim is to meet the UN Millennium Development Goal by reducing the mortality rate of infants under five years old by two thirds and to reduce the number of the population in need of clean water by one half, by 2015.