Noemi Florea, founder of Laero Design Studio and creator of Cycleau, a grey water management system, is making a significant impact in the fight against water insecurity. Her innovative system is designed to recycle gray water to drinking water, potentially saving millions of gallons of water each year and helping protect families from water contamination. Noemi’s passion for design and social impact entrepreneurship shines through as she works to address water justice issues in post-industrial urban areas like Baltimore, where residents are facing rising water contamination and utility bills.
Noemi’s upbringing with immigrant parents in Rockville, Maryland, gives her a unique perspective on the challenges faced by low-income communities. Her empathy, combined with her design expertise and innovative mindset, led to the creation of Cycleau, a compact water reuse system that can retrofit into buildings. This system rescues and cleans water from the main intake valve, making it potable for household use. The device not only helps families lower their water bills or prevent water shutoffs but also promotes sustainable living and disaster relief efforts.
The testing of Cycleau on Governor’s Island in New York City has shown promising results, with the device proving to be easy to install and operate. Noemi is working on overcoming challenges related to storytelling and educating the public about the importance of water rescue. By engaging households and utilities in the practicality of the issue, she hopes to save troubled water utilities and break the cycle of disinvestment, degradation, and poverty in affected communities.
Noemi’s participation in the Swarovski Young Creatives Program has provided her with funding and support to further develop Cycleau. The program, which focuses on promoting sustainable livelihoods and reducing inequality, recognizes the importance of empowering young women leaders like Noemi. By surfacing and supporting the ideas of young innovators, the program aims to address difficult topics like climate change and social justice issues and create a strong network of creative talent.
The Swarovski Foundation’s commitment to supporting youth development aligns with Noemi’s vision for the future of Cycleau. She plans to expand her research to understand building scale data and costs, aiming to implement her product in public housing buildings in Brooklyn, a small town in Mexico, and potentially partner with UNICEF in Tajikistan. Noemi’s journey with Cycleau showcases the power of innovation, empathy, and collaboration in addressing pressing global challenges and creating sustainable solutions for communities in need. Through her work, she is paving the way for a future where access to clean water is a reality for all.
