How to make a rope-and-washer pump
The manual and complementing video show how to make a simple, cheap, pump suitable for smallholding and garden use, a pump which can raise water from unlined (or lined) wells up to 4 metres deep. A simple clear text, with line drawings, shows how common materials can be used to make the pump; and guidance is given on assembly, operation and maintenance, together with an indication of costs.
Background
Raising the water out of the ground for irrigation can be speeded up by the introduction of a simple water-lifting device. The design of the rope-and-washer pump described in the manual and video has evolved with experience in Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The pump is cheap and easy to make and can be operated, maintained and repaired with the simplest of tools. The materials needed for manufacture are widely available in market places in most parts of the world.

The pump is intended for lifts of up to five metres. The pump can sustain an output of one litre per second and is intended to irrigate areas of about 0.25 hectares. Many alternatives exist and may be more suitable in different circumstances.

The manual
The manual provides a detailed description of the materials required and the processes involved in making the rope and washer pump.

What it covers
The manual describes the principle of operation of the pump. The tools and materials required to construct a pump are then detailed. The process of making the pump is then described including step by step instruction and diagrams for easy visualisation. Brief guidance is given on assembling the pump in the appropriate bankside location for optimum operation. Guidance is also provided on assembling the pump to lift water from a shallow vertical well.

  The video
The video aims to complement the manual. It begins with a 9 ½ minute film about micro-scale irrigation in general. The main film of 20 minute duration, follows the story of a smallholder farmer as he realises the need for a low cost, low lift pump to irrigate his land. It then follows the processes he goes through as he constructs the pump to irrigate his smallholding.

Contributors
Water Engineering & Development Centre, Loughborough University of Technology, UK.

Intended users
The manual and video are intended for use by those who wish to train others in the construction of the rope and washer pump. This may include development workers and extension officers.

Lambert, R, 1990. How to make a rope-and-washer pump. (Manual plus supporting video). ITDG Publishing, London. ISBN 1 85339 022 4


For a hard copy of the manual and video contact:
ITDG publishing, 103/105 Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4HL, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7436 9761, Fax: +44 (0)20 7436 2013, Website: http://www.itdgpublishing.org.uk/