Hydraulic Ram Pump Technology Transfer Project

Project in Progress

 

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Project Summary

To build the capacity of the Centre for Rural Technology (CRT) in Nepal to implement hydraulic ram pump technology in rural communities across the country to provide water for household and agricultural use.

This will be achieved through a technology transfer pilot project in two communities in Dhading District, supported by the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation (AIDFI), in the Philippines that have 12 years of experience working with ram pumps and have carried out successful technology transfer projects in other countries including Colombia and Afghanistan.

Renewable World's Programme Intervention

Renewable World's input into this programme intervention is through not only providing social investment and financing for programme partner CRT, but through facilitating knowledge sharing on appropriate renewable technologies for water pumping between AIDFI in the Philippines and CRT in Nepal.

Country Profile*
Capital Kathmandu
Population 29,852,000
Life expectancy 67.5 years
Population living on less than $2 a day 77.6%
Percentage of households without access to electricity 49%
Adult literacy rate 56.5%

* All figures from UNDP Human Development Report

Country Context

Two-thirds of Nepal's population live in mountainous regions that are remote and sparsely populated and cannot be easily served by conventional piped water systems. Alternative systems using diesel or gasoline engines or electrical or solar driven pumps are too expensive for rural communities to install, fuel or maintain. Therefore many communities still rely on collecting water manually from distant sources. The main burden of water collection falls on women and children, who often spend several hours each day carrying water along steep, dangerous slopes.

Appropriate Technology

The hydraulic ram pump (sometimes known as a Hydram) is an appropriate, renewable technology invented in the 18th century. It uses the energy from water flowing down through a drop of a few metres to lift a small percentage of that water to a much greater height. One system can deliver between 1,000 – 100,000 litres of water a day to a reservoir up to 200m above the source, which fills up overnight and drains down through the day. In rural communities in developing countries it is typically used to deliver water for household usage, irrigation and income-generating activities. It is inexpensive to install and maintain, has no operating costs and is environmentally friendly.

Although an attractive option for rural energy supply, many ram pumps installed in developing countries, including Nepal, have not been successful due to poor design, lack of maintenance and difficulty of sourcing spare parts.  
 
The AIDFI rum pump design is patented with a number of innovative features which ensure that the cost and maintenance needs are reduced. Some parts need regular (three to six months) replacement and are therefore made from cheap, locally available materials: the waste valve is moved by a door hinge, and the check valve can be made from an old car tyre. The technology transfer will take into account how the AIDFI design may need to be modified to cope with the extremely cold temperatures in Nepal in the winter.

Technology Transfer from the Philippines to Nepal

A CRT team from Nepal, consisting of engineers and workshop technicians will visit AIDFI in the Philippines for technology transfer training including: theory, survey, system design, costing, pattern making, pump fabrication, as well as actual testing and tuning of the ram pump. Upon completion of the technology transfer training, AIDFI will present CRT with the patented AIDFI hydraulic ram pump designs and a certificate.  AIDFI will manufacture the ram pumps for the two pilot systems in Nepal but after testing, all other materials and manufacture will be sought in Nepal. The ram pump is designed for manufacture in basic machine shops using locally sourced materials to produce a high quality product at low cost.

Involving communities for sustainability

Community members will assist in the installation of the ram pump system. This reduces installation costs, builds local capacity, and encourages a sense of ownership. Members of the two communities will be trained to maintain the systems so that the project is sustainable in the long term.  The communities will also be involved in setting an affordable tariff for each household or business to pay for use of the water, and will retain ownership of the systems. The tariff will pay for maintenance of the system and any replacement parts, as well as wages for a local person to collect tariffs, and maintain the system. Any remaining fees can go into a fund to provide micro-finance loans to members of the community to promote the growth of small enterprise.

Project Benefits - low cost, low maintenance, real change

 • Low cost - the ram pump only uses the power of the water itself to pump water, mitigating the emissions and high costs associated with conventional diesel powered pumping technology.

• Low maintenance - the pump is made from a simple design which can be built in-country and can be repaired easily using spare parts from old cars keeping the costs and labour involved in maintenance low.

• Improved health - the project will result in improved health and sanitation by replacing the need to use water sources which may be contaminated and responsible for various diseases which lead to high mortality rates in children and the elderly, and by providing sufficient water for hygiene and sanitation which are often overlooked when the water supply is short. Increased agricultural production through irrigation could also improve the communities’ diet.
 
• Saving time and physical burden - a reduction in the physical and time consuming burden on women and children from rural communities of collecting water for household or agricultural uses from distant water sources. Time saved can be spent on productive activities such as improving livelihoods or studying.
 
• Increased economic activity – an accessible water source can improve irrigation of fields and increase crop production and extend the growing season and cultivatable land. Sufficient water can also support other forms of economic development in the community such as brick making or agro-processing.
 

The two systems installed during this project will bring clean, safe water to two communities in Dhading District, Nepal, at an estimated cost of just £250 per household or £50 per person.

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