Water Pumps in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has the fastest contracting economy in the world with a 95% rate of unemployment and over half of the 11.6 million population living on less than US$1 a day. The high rate of HIV/AIDS and the outbreak of cholera mean that now more than ever the country is in great need of access to clean, safe water.

Current status

Pump Aid has been working in Zimbabwe since 1998 and has carried out extensive work in the Manicaland province. Site identification is carried out with traditional authority chiefs, ensuring full community engagement.

Once sites for the Elephant Pumps are identified, the community undertakes some preparatory work to the wells, with assistance from our teams. Once this is done the pump building team arrives with key materials, such as the inner wheel and outer casing. The Elephant Pump is built with community members and only takes a few hours.

To significantly improve access to sources of clean, safe water. Through the provision of clean water rural communities can lead better, healthier lives.

The Elephant Pump is an innovative and effective pump based on a 2000 year old Chinese rope and washer design. One Elephant Pump can provide 250 people with 40 litres of clean water for each person every day. This water can be used for both domestic use (washing, cooking etc) and productive use (irrigation of crops). The pump is very easy and quick to build and can easily be used by all members of the community, both young and old.

The pump is encased in concrete to prevent any contamination, ensuring a clean, sustainable supply of water is provided for the local community. This is vital to stop the spread of water borne diseases.

All materials are sourced locally and people from within the community receive training in how to build and maintain the pump. This enables them to carry out any repairs using easily accessible materials such as plant fibres.

A nutrition garden is often built near the pump to take advantage of any overflow of water. These gardens provide a sustainable supply of nutritious, healthy food for the community which can also be sold at local markets, generating income. On top of this these gardens help to break the cycle of environmental degradation through increasing the re-infiltration rates when it rains which in turn further improves the soil.

The local community is involved in every step of the process of building an Elephant Pump. This ensures that they have a real sense of ownership of the pump and that they have the knowledge and ability to maintain the pump. They are then fully self-reliant.