|
Report 3 of 5: Play Pumps
- South Africa
Introduction
In the rural areas of developing countries, the only access to water is from bore holes. The chore of fetching water is usually the responsibility of women and children who cover large distances in order to collect sufficient water for their family’s daily requirements. It is estimated that the minimum amount of water a human needs each day is five litres which is a huge physical burden for the women and children drawing the water.
Traditional sources of water collection are from dams, springs, rivers, streams and farm reservoirs, with the introduction of bore holes where these traditional sources of water are unavailable. In the past, bore holes have been operated by hand pumps because the use of modern alternatives such as diesel, petrol or electric pumps are costly to install and carry a constant financial burden of fuel and maintenance costs.
Child’s play
A South African company has come up with a new device that reduces the toil of collecting water and uses the energy of children at play as the power supply. Cavorting on a roundabout has always been fun for children and now pure, clean bore hole water can be pumped into storage tanks while the playground roundabout equipment is in use.
The play pump is a specifically designed playground roundabout that pumps ground water from bore holes into sealed holding tanks. It is powered by the energy of the children turning the roundabout, keeping costs and maintenance to an absolute minimum, while entertaining the children. The low maintenance merry-go-round turns as easily as a standard playground fixture.
Operation of the play pump
The play pump operates on basic windmill equipment which is accessible in co-operative stores throughout Africa and can be found in most other parts of the world as well.
Below the ground is a positive displacement cylinder on rising rods and pipes. The equipment inside the unit converts the rotational movement into a vertical movement by a driving mechanism consisting of only two working parts. This makes the pump highly effective, easy to operate and very economical. Depending on the cylinder, it pumps up to about 4 litres per revolution which is much more efficient than the traditional hand pump.
Capacity and cost
The play pump is capable of producing 1400 litres of water per hour into an overhead storage tank, from a depth of 40 metres and is effective up to a depth of 100 metres. A typical hand pump installation only produces 150 litres of water each hour to ground level, where it cannot be stored hygienically and cannot compete with the delivery rate of the play pump.
The installation cost of the play pump is 30,000 Rand (US$6000) compared to the cost of 10,000 Rand (US$2,000) for installing a standard hand pump.
Sustainability through advertising
The play pump’s 5,000 litre storage tank is erected on a 6 metre high stand and is a prominent land mark in low rise villages and townships. It is fitted with four 2m x 3m outdoor advertising signs, resulting in a unique advertising opportunity for the private sector. Three year advertising contracts are sold to companies selling things like soap products and toothpaste, flour and maize etc. The water pump is a natural gathering point for the women in a community and so it is an excellent place to advertise. Revenue from the advertising pays for the capital cost of the installation and guarantees funds for ongoing maintenance and sustainability of each play pump.
Site maintenance
As a contractual obligation with the advertisers, the sites are serviced at regular intervals for general maintenance on the signage and skilled pump maintenance crews are also included in these visits to the play pumps. Local people are being trained using funds provided by Roundabout Outdoors, so that eventually the ongoing preventative maintenance and repair work can be carried out in the rural community.
Transferable technology
Due to its practical, economic, ecological and social viability, the play pump is a progressive and creative way to provide free fresh water to rural communities. Children are being entertained and the women do not have to do a physical work out to collect their daily water requirements because the children have already pumped the water for the community.
For further information, please contact:
Roundabout Outdoor (Pty) Limited,
PO Box 449,
Rivonia, 2128,
South Africa.
Tel: +27 11 807 4280
Fax: +27 11 807 1639
E-mail: roundabout@roundabout.co.za |
Intermediate Technology would like to thank Roundabout Outdoor, in particular Trevor Field, for providing the original material on play pumps.
This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the DFID.
|
