<< Wind Rope pump, model 270 with a watertank of 60m3.
Used for irrigation. Pump capacity 20-40 m3/day ( 10 m. well )

Features of the Wind Rope pump are:

	Low starting wind speed at 3.5m/s ( no initial water column)
	Simplified rotor, head and tower construction
	Can be produced with basic skills and local materials
	Total weight only 1/3 of that of a traditional wind pump
	Option to mount a generator for battery charging
	Back up system by hand power in case there is no wind
	The user can do maintenance and most repairs (proven in Nicaragua)
	Costs 3 to 4 times less than traditional wind pumps

Specifications:
 

Pump capacity:
10 m. well: 40 l/min.
35 m. well: 10 l/min.
 

Pump capacity:
10 m. well: 40 l/min.
60 m. well: 8 l/min.*
* with 2 handles

Features of the Multi-Purpose model:
 

	Less material and fewer welded parts than other models (cheaper and less corrosion problems).
	Useful for irrigation or distribution systems. (High outlet. See also "Low-Cost irrigation").
	It can be powered with an extra handle (for deep wells up to 60 m).
	It can be driven by pedal power, a motor or even a windmill.
	It can easily be combined with a low-cost well cover. (A cover prevents the well from pollution and makes it safer for children. The cover is made in 2 parts to maintain access to the well.)

 This Mulitpurpose model can be mounted on hand dug or drilled wells, and is easy to transport because the wheel structure can be dismantled. The cost depends on well depth ,local cost of material and labour. Produced in large quantities, in India, estimated cost are 25 to 40 US$.

<< Pedal Rope pump
Installed on a handdug well.
Pump capacity 60 l/min. ( 10 m. well )

CHARACTERISTICS

Barriers for small farmers
 Some 75% of the farmers in developing countries have less than 5 Hectares of land and a yearly income of 300 to 800US$. A single disastrous crop failure can turn them into landless labourers or send them into the urban ghetto. They have no access to technology like tractors or harvesters and irrigation technology is expensive. (300 - 500US$ for a motor pump for shallow wells. Deep Well pumps are more expensive).
 Small farmers normally cannot afford these technologies and subsidies on wells and irrigation schemes often have not worked or only reached bigger farmers.
 Still the potential of small farmers to increase production by irrigation is enormous and using the right varieties and technologies, food production worldwide could be tripled, but as P. Polak of IDE states: "The most important barrier is lack of affordable irrigation technology".

Low-cost irrigation from shallow wells
 Modern irrigation technology has been developed to be used on a large scale (25% of the world farmers). However there are promising developments for small scale farmers.
 For instance in Bangladesh and India there now is low-cost well drilling by combined with a "Treadle pump" (a pedal pump, costing 10 - 30 US$).
 With low cost of labour and rising cost of fuel, irrigating with this Treadle pump is much cheaper than with a motor pump. The organisation IDE informs that more than one million farmers already irrigate rice or vegetables with Treadle pumps and so earn an additional income of 100US$ a year.

Low-cost irrigation from deep wells
 The Treadle pump works in areas with water levels less than 8 meters deep, but for lower water levels, a different pump technology is needed. For wells down to 70 m. deep, the new Rope pump is now considered a good option.
 Similar to the Treadle pump the Rope pump has low production cost and is easy to install and maintain. Because its high efficiency (40 l/min. 10 m well) the use of the Hand Rope pump for small scale irrigation is increasing. For larger scale irrigation, Rope pump models "powered by" wind, horse, pedals and electric or diesel motors have capacities of 60 to 180 litres per minute. From wells of 10 to 40 meters deep, 2 to 0.5 Ha. can be irrigated with furrow irrigation. If the newer low-pressure drip irrigation technology is used, irrigated areas could be doubled.

Low-cost drip irrigation*
The USA based organization IDE has developed low-cost drip irrigation systems for small farmers ranging from a 5 US$ Kit for home gardens to a 250 US$ microtube system to irrigate 1 arce. These technologies are reducing water consumption and cost 40 to 60% compared to conventional drip systems.*

Rope pump
 The pump capacity of a Hand Rope pump is 2.4 m3 per hour (10 m well), enough to irrigate for instance 2000 tomato plants. The water outlet of the Multi purpose model is high so a water tank can be filled directly.

Cement tank
 Instead of a metal drum a cement tank may be used with the advantage that costs per litre are much lower, long lasting material (no corrosion), volume can be 500 to ..5000 litres, lower part can be used for some fish production, and the tank can be constructed with local materials and skills. For instance after a short training, users can make the tank themselves.
 A cement tank of e.g. 800 litres consists of:
 100 bricks, 1 kg of steel wire, 2 bags of cement, 6 bags of sand.
 The tank is round and reinforced with steel wire on the outside of the bricks.
 A simple filter is included in the tank and using PVC caps, no valves are needed.
 The height of 1 meter is enough for the drip irrigation to function.
Drip system
 The IDE drip system for 520 plants costs US$ 15-20(in Bangladesh), and a similar system made of local materials (black hose and PVC tubes) costs US$ 30 (in Nicaragua).
 The irrigated area can be expanded to even 0.5 Ha., according to well depth, plants or trees to be irrigated and hours of pumping.

Costs
 Depending local situation the costs of a basic irrigation set is 70 to 140 US$ including:

	Rope pump (for wells 1 to 40 m deep)
	Cément tank (800 litres)
	Micro drip system (for 120 sqm, 520 tomato plants)