John Griffith MBE

The engineer behind the Grifaid Aquafilter

In 2008, John Griffith was asked to use his engineering skills to rescue a struggling water filter project. What started in a garage became a robust, field-tested solution that’s helped deliver safe drinking water in emergencies and communities worldwide - through Grifaid, The Safe Water Trust, and partners like Aquabox.

John was running a design and development consultancy in Washington, Tyne & Wear, specialising in textile machinery, when Rotary North East approached him in 2008. They had an ‘Aquafilter’ project that was floundering - and they needed someone who could solve problems in the real world, not just on paper.

When John’s business was sold, he and his wife Gill made a decision that says a lot about them. They used money from the sale to back a district project supplying water filters to developing countries. When that project folded, they didn’t let the idea fold with it.

Supported by the Cleadon & District Rotary Club, John and Gill started again from scratch. John redesigned and developed the filter, then set up the practical side too - manufacturing, refining, and distribution — so filters could reliably reach the places that needed them most.

That work led to Grifaid - a charity established to support the distribution of water filters worldwide, relieve hardship, preserve health, and support education among people living in poverty in developing countries.

John visiting the Aquabox HQ in Wirksworth

The Family Filter - capable of filtering XXXX litres of clean water

A Grifaid water filter is designed to be simple, robust, and easy to deploy.

In basic terms, the filter is placed into a bucket of water and produces clean drinking water quickly - without relying on complex infrastructure.

But the real innovation is what happened next... John built a feedback loop into the design.

Through monitoring and field feedback from multiple developing countries, he systematically improved the filter over time.

The result is a design recognised for longevity, cost-effectiveness, and suitability for tough conditions - especially in humanitarian response.

John and Gill have worked closely with us here at Aquabox, during the early days of our licence agreement to manufacture the filter, and for ongoing support. During that time both Aquabox and Grifaid have supplied over 200,000 filters, saving millions of lives.

We're delighted that John and Gill have passed on the rights to Aquabox and that we have been entrusted with building on their legacy from those humble beginnings.

We wish John and Gill all the best for their retirement, a sentiment we are sure will be echoed from all the people around the world that have benefited from John’s invention.

John’s story is a reminder that big impact doesn’t always start big.

Sometimes it starts with a practical mind, a garage workshop, and a refusal to let go of a good idea.

Because of John, Aquabox has and continues to deliver safe water solutions to people facing disaster, displacement, and long-term water insecurity.