This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteers Marcie Todd and Garrison Harward. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
Garrison and Marcie report:
We mentioned in our initial post about this 5 pump tourney that we were going to do some experiments and these 4 pumps offered us the perfect place to do so. The morning of the repairs we got up very early. Installing one pump is hard enough, but with 4, things could really take a turn for the worse. We got out to the field and met Lamine who came in free of charge to help repair the pumps. He really did feel bad that they weren’t working and was thrilled to be able to make things right.
We fitted the first pump with Garrison’s standard system and then the second with Marcie’s. Being so far apart, we naturally drifted towards different methods as we experimented on our own, so we were really curious to see which method works best. It turned out that Marcie’s rope system gave a higher output while Garrison’s was easier requiring less strength. We naturally decided to try a composite of both rope types, Garrison’s knots with Marcie’s washers. Low and behold the porridge was just right.
Lamine’s enthusiasm took over immediately as he ran back to Toubacouta to make a better punch for cutting the rubber washers and also brought back an improved guide block that didn’t have to be tediously shaped over a fire and later cemented. The final pump with all of these improvements really was perfect. You may also notice that these pumps are placed two by two on the wells. This was also Lamine’s idea when he did the original install, and while it isn’t always necessary, it’s a great way to increase efficiency even further if the volume of water required is high enough.
The women who had previously been very skeptical of the pumps couldn’t stop thanking us. Their thanks came with one caveat though. The rims of the wells are so high that anyone using the pumps has to extent their arms almost above their heads to use them. Anyone can tell you this is not the optimum position for strength. Never fear though; we have enough money left over on this install to purchase some cement to make a few steps. With this one last improvement these pumps should be a great help to this dedicated group of women.
Pump Output: 35 Liters/ Min (Average for all 4)
Total Number of People Benefiting: 65
Funder: Jacqueline Chan in honor of Mrs. Julia Chung-Lun