It’s no secret that access to clean water is one of the most fundamental requirements for healthy individuals and thriving communities. The PlayPump system is bringing clean water into the hardest hit regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. There’s only one catch–users have to take a spin on the merry-go-round! The PlayPump has been installed in rural villages and primary schools where kids can easily access the fun, all the while pumping clean, potable water from underground up into a 660 gallon water tower above. A few hundred yards away, a spigot supplies fresh water for the whole community. The water is then used for drinking, cooking, sanitation and even growing vegetables.
PlayPumps come with 10 years of guaranteed maintenance supported by the advertising space on each water tank. Two of the four panels are sold to local advertisers promoting only products and services appropriate for primary school audiences. The other two panels are reserved for public service announcements. These provide information on hygiene, HIV, AIDS, and other health-related issues.
The implications of bringing fresh water into a community go far beyond drinking and sanitation. Many women and girls in rural Africa can walk for hours each day to fetch water passing through vulnerable and unsafe regions. A local pump allows them to stay home and care for younger children, work a job, attend school, grow vegetables or build a business. This opens up immense opportunities for women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve their greater potential. Fresh water also means that it doesn’t need to be boiled first, which drains precious resources such as gas or firewood and degrades the environment. Families with access to clean water are also much more able to achieve self-sufficiency by growing their own produce and maintaining local businesses. The PlayPump system has created dozens of jobs locally and continues to spawn social and economic development.
The PlayPump system has introduced positive play activities in places where many schools not only lacked clean water, but also toys or playgrounds. At Regiment Basic Primary School in Lusaka, Zambia a vegetable garden is now also in the works. Produce from the garden is sent home with the children most in need. In time, the school hopes to sell surplus vegetables in the community so they can provide books and supplies to students who can’t afford them. The PlayPump system is also a constant source of inspiration. After experiencing the PlayPump at his school, student Itumeleng Mpane remarked, “When I grow up I also want to invent clever things that will help my community.”
So far, over 1,000 PlayPumps have been instilled in South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia. PlayPump International plans to bring that number up to 4,000 by 2010, supplying as many as 10 million people with fresh water and a fresh start.
10 Responses to “PLAY PUMP: The Merry-Go-Round Water Pump!”
-
-
-
more popular stories >
-
-
-
-
Inhabitots on Facebook
-
-
-
-
Love to hear about ingenious designs that truly benefit communities in need. Kudos to the designer!
It is so appropriate for less income countries. Do you have sketches or blueprints that NGO’s like us can purchase? Thank you. Job Ebenezer, Technology for the Poor.
hi! this is a really briliant idea. i wish i could get more information on how it can be adopted in rural kenya and the costs involved. i come from one of the driest areas of eastern kenya. in my location there are two bore holes done by NGOs which are yet to get fitted with a functional pump. they are both located within easy reach of three prymary schools which means with this technology there will always be kids playing over the lunch hour and after school (4.30 pm). my interest in this issue stems from my academic back ground – ie. BA Land economics and MA in urban and regional planning. kindly get in touch on concisevs@yahoo.com tel +254 752394 johnson muthoka
I LOVE THE PLAYPUMP,ITS A GREAT PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN INVENTION,I JUST DID A SCHOOL PROJECT ON IT AND I THINK ITS AN AWESOME THING,EVEN MY TEACHER LOVED IT BIG UP
We have a local purification water service company (H2O Supply Systems, Inc. ) in the Republic of Panama. After looking at the Play Pump system inmmediately I could see the great support the system could provide for water related problems we encountered specially for far-away places where energy is non-existent.
Is there any chances for contacting someone from the administration so we may further exchange ideas and probable facilitating services within our communities?
Thank
Felix Carles
http://www.carlesrealtors.com
e-mail—fcarles@carlesrealtors.com
It is a beautiful design,I am a Kenyan student and considering to do the project on the same!
The design will help a great deal in providing water to those living in rural areas.
Story surprised me. They talk about ads “appropriate for children” and then mention other community service announcement re HIV & aids. How is that appropriate for children? My engineer rekatives said a follow0up story said they didn’t hold up well under use. Need redesign?
I want to know how to sponser a play pump at a village in Zimbabwe. They have the well, just need the pump and water tower. Thanks,
Um, be careful with this model. There is currently a playpump where I am living in Malawi, it has worked maybe 1 month out of 7. We had it fixed a week ago and it is broken again. From what I saw, the pipes under the equipment are moving up and down with no support, causing them to become damaged. Also, why only 10 years of maintenance support, what does the village do after that? Is that sustainable for generations to come, which is the prupose here, right? Because it is installed by a contracting company, the village gets no local support from the water district, leaving them at the mercy of a company located out of the area for maintenance. Also, the number on the side of the water tower for “free maintenance” is a number that is out of service. Because of these issues, the village has had a major out break of diarrhea and villagers are digging for water in a near-by wetland. Research issues with playpumps, you’ll also be surprised at the outrageous cost of this equipment.