The GLOVE Project

Most of the rural villages rely on wells with hand pumps for their water supply, hand pumps which were installed between 25 and 30 years ago. Whilst the villages can pay to replace some of the small parts such as bearings and chains, the heart of the pump, the cylinder, is too expensive for them to replace. The average cost of replacing one cylinder is over £300 plus labour costs which is beyond the means of the average village.

Through one of our partners, GLOVE renovated 11 Hand Pumps across 9 different villages.

This renovation didn’t stop at the hand pumps but also included the cement surrounding the pump areas as well as rebuilding the water troughs for the animals.

Hand pump renovation is something we need to continue to focus on. Whilst the longer term aim is to put in place as many Solar Systems as possible, in the meantime the people still need to be able to get Water and there are hundreds of these Hand Pumps which are in urgent need of renovation at the approx cost of £500 - £600 per pump.

Environmental Monitoring Solutions

We have developed links with Environmental Monitoring Solutions (EMS) and Sheffield University. Together we have installed 10 prototype monitoring systems on Hand Pumps which will be monitored during the rainy season.

The system will alert the Ministry for Water when any of the handpumps are starting to fail but before they actually break down. The monitors will also let the ministry know how much water is been drawn from the Aquifer (underground river). The Ministry of Water is very excited about this project and are working hand in hand with the Glove Project and EMS.

This technology can have a hugely significant impact on the effectiveness of our interventions in the area of water supplies.