also, to add you could still probably try and recreate it,

hmmm lemme think.....

a deep tube about 10-15 deep. a fan and a coil of copper tubing with refrigerant that means you need electricity (could be solar) and a condenser (just like the ac in your car), you'd have to say a second tube inside anounter so the air can escape....

then water collection whatever im thinking to deep into this, its pretty elementary shit. point is why it probably failed dry air is dry air, my guess it collect the most in evening where there is more humidity, either way it would collect really slow just using common sense

the concept does make sense tho. i mean there is plastic sheet thing

its basically a heat exchanger, just as your AC offs condensation i bet that what they thinking of.

It was probably horribly mismanaged, it happens