When teacher Ian Thorpe first arrived in the rural Mutasa district of Zimbabwe he, like everyone else, had to walk a mile to collect water in buckets, from an unprotected source. A shortage of firewood and the high cost of paraffin meant most people did not boil their drinking water. Inevitably there was an outbreak of dysentery, caused by a decomposed snake. Two children at Ian’s primary school and one elderly teacher died.
Ian, fellow teachers Tendai Mawunga, Amos Chitungo and other members of the community agreed something should be done, and so the charity Pump Aid was born.
Ian learnt the local language, Shona, and struck up a friendship with Abisha Mutasa, chief of Zimbabwe. Abisha told him how his ancestor had negotiated an agreement with British settler Cecil Rhodes, who was given land in return for assisting local people.
When the assistance was not forthcoming, the chief decided he must meet with Queen Victoria to present his grievances. He boarded a ship and became the first Zimbabwean to visit London. But according to Abisha, even at the end of the 20th century, the agreement had yet to be honoured by the British.
Technology
Abisha gave Ian a place to build his house and repeated the expectation that he should help local people break out of poverty. He was particularly concerned about the need for clean water and sustainable irrigation systems.
Ian began a search for technology which would work in rural Zimbabwe Ian and met Bobby Lambert, now director of engineers’ disaster relief charity RedR, who had been trying to introduce simple rope pumps for irrigation in the area. The Pump Aid team realised that the idea had potential.
Rope pumps use bamboo pipes, twine ropes and disks of leather to lift water. Going back to these first simple principles, the Pump Aid team developed what they called the elephant pump.
A two-year field trial was conducted and by 2000 it was clear the elephant pump (see right) was sustainable and appropriate technology. Three research expeditions, led by Pump Aid members and volunteers from the Universities of Cambridge and Durham, collected data from the field trials.
With grants from the National Lottery Community Fund and the Oak Foundation in Zimbabwe, plus fundraising in the UK, Pump Aid embarked on a programme to build a further 400 pumps by the end of October 2002, bringing the total in Zimbabwe to 500. Pump Aid is currently building about 30 new pumps every month, at a cost of just £200 each.
At present Pump Aid operates in the eastern highlands province of Manicaland in Zimbabwe with a field office at Watsomba in the Mutasa district. About 50 new pumps can be built each month, each serving an average of 200 people – each month about 10,000 more people, mainly children, benefit from a sustainable supply of clean water.
For schools Pump Aid often incorporates a ‘bicycle’ system onto the elephant pump. Most Zimbabwean children have never had the chance to ride a bicycle so can even come to school early to play on the pump, thereby helping to fill the school water tanks.
Ian explains: ‘Pump Aid was founded by people who belong to and understand the community in which they are working. A deep understanding of traditional Shona culture has allowed the team to work closely with others in the community to develop a culturally sensitive programme.’
Assistance
In a new area, the programme is seeded through the building of demonstration pumps at carefully selected sites, usually at schools since this ensures a large number of people will see the pump. People in the surrounding villages then apply for assistance when they have seen the benefits.
When a letter of application is received, a member of Pump Aid thoroughly investigates the proposed site, looking at considerations including topography, existing water supplies, potential numbers benefiting, the socio-economic context and the environmental impact. Refiltration rates and water table history are investigated to ensure pumps are only built where sustainable harvesting of groundwater is possible.
A large number of potential sites are visited and a priority shortlist and construction schedule drawn up. The community is then required to assist and participate in construction of the pump, and with traditional hospitality, the community provides Pump Aid builders with food – when they have any to spare.
Famine and political problems have given the programme in Zimbabwe a new urgency. Already this year, famine has meant many have died due to water-related illnesses. Nutrient powder ‘mahewu’ is being delivered to schools under the emergency feeding programme, but when this powder is mixed with contaminated water it can result in potentially fatal diseases like dysentery and cholera. Already some schools have closed due to severe water problems. The education of thousands of children is being disrupted.
Unprotected
Ian, who now works as Pump Aid’s international director, said: ‘Far too many schools rely on polluted water sources such as unprotected wells or rivers and dams where livestock and people drink and bathe.
‘Many people in Zimbabwe face the possibility of starvation as rains failed in the region. Many development agencies have pulled out, the country’s economy has collapsed and the famine deepens.
‘The situation requires emergency relief, but a rapid response can also result in long-term sustainable benefits for these children. Water can be used by the children to grow vegetables in a school garden so that each child can take some vegetables home to help feed their families.’
Pump Aid has identified 250,000 children at 500 schools in Zimbabwe and Mozambique threatened by a lack of clean water and is prioritising poor rural schools for assistance.
Out of 1078 schools in Manicaland, the eastern province of Zimbabwe, over 700 have sent written applications to Pump Aid.
Partnerships with DfID, the British Embassy, international development charities, and corporate sponsors is helping the charity fund its fast-growing programme and build a network of contacts across southern Africa.
Over the next three years it plans to expand its work in Zimbabwe and over the border in Mozambique, where an expedition has already investigated Pump Aid’s potential in the impoverished Manica Province. Ten demonstration pumps were built and Pump Aid is currently in discussion with stakeholders in the Mozambican water sector.
After a research expedition in May 2004, Pump Aid has partnered with World Vision to pilot 20 elephant pumps in the Chiradzulu district of Malawi with a view to launching the technology in that country.
Other countries have learnt of the work of Pump Aid in Zimbabwe and have invited the charity to introduce the Elephant Pump. Exploratory investigations are planned for these countries.
The elephant pump
The elephant pump is based on a 2000 year-old Chinese design developed and adapted in Africa to make use of locally available materials. It yields about one litre of clean water every second for an average well depth of 20 metres.
Water is drawn up a pipe by plastic washers attached to a loop of rope. As the handle is turned, the rope pulls each washer up through the pipe, lifting a column of water.
The rope runs round a wheel at the top, down into the water and round a guide at the bottom of the well.
The pump uses hand or pedal power, a renewable energy source, and can be adapted to use wind or solar energy. The entire mechanism is enclosed in a brick housing with a cement apron and spillway to prevent waste water, people or animals from contaminating the water source.
The community contributes materials for construction of the pump, including sand and stones for building, handmade bricks for the pump housing and labour to assist in tasks during the building process.
A high degree of communal involvement leads to a strong sense of ownership and understanding of how the pump works, empowering the beneficiaries to undertake maintenance and repairs.
Ongoing maintenance costs are minimal since major components of the pump including the axle have a lifespan of 50 years. Maintenance and capital costs are far exceeded by the potential for income generation through small scale irrigation.
