the elephant pump

Water pumps deliver a supply of clean water pumped from the ground. However, many pumps are highly technical and when they breakdown often require spare parts or repairs by a specialist that can be expensive and must be brought in from outside the community. The result of this is a water pump that can remain broken for significant periods.The Elephant Pump is very different.

Pump Aid developed an innovative solution based on the ancient Chinese rope pump design. It is cheap, effective and easily maintained. The Elephant pump is made with the help of the local communities and can be maintained and repaired by them. As a result, we almost never find an Elephant Pump not working. In 2005, the Elephant Pump won the prestigious St Andrews Prize for the Environment as well as the World Bank Prize for Innovation in Development.

Our pumps are built in response to grassroots demand and in full consultation with the local community. The location of a well is determined by geological formations and vegetation growth, with input made by the water diviners in the Pump Aid team.

The wells are dug by hand rather than mechanical diggers which would deprive someone of a job, increase the cost as well as being impossible to bring into many remote locations. The local community come together to assist in the building process, providing materials such as bricks, sand, stones and unskilled labour.

As the Pump handle is turned, water is drawn up by plastic washers attached to a rope. The Pumps are so easy to use that children as young as five years old can manage to pump out a bucket full of water. The pump can lift water from as deep as 50m and produce 1 litre of water every second.

The Elephant Pump is encased in concrete to prevent any contamination, ensuring that a clean sustainable supply of water is provided for the local community for many years to come.

All parts of the ‘Elephant Pump’ are locally manufactured and not imported from outside the country as with other pump solutions. When the pump needs to be repaired, many parts can be replaced by the community using locally available materials. The pvc rope can be replaced by sisal rope and the plastic injection moulded washers replaced by washers made out of old sacks/tyres which are melted down and moulded in a mould that is given to the pump minder.