Roundabout PlayPump
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The Roundabout PlayPump uses the energy of children at play to operate a water pump. It is made by the South African company Roundabout Outdoor. It operates in a similar way to a windmill-driven water pump.
At a cost of approximately R55 000 (approximately US$9000)[link], it is suitable for shared use by villages, particularly in areas where water is accessed from deep underground (up to 100 meters) using a bore.
There are about 600 PlayPumps in South Africa, providing clean drinking water to about one million impoverished people.
How it works
Children play on the small, circular pump wheel as they would on a playground merry-go-round. The spinning motion pumps underground water into a 2,500-liter tank raised seven meters above ground. Excess water is diverted below ground again. The water in the tank is easily dispensed by a tap valve.
The storage tank is also used to advertise products, thereby providing money for maintainence of the pump, in addition to public health messages.
At 16 RPM, the pump can raise up to 1,400 liters of water per hour from a depth of 40 meters.
Benefits
Apart from the obvious health benefits to the community of clean, easily accessible drinking water, and the recreation opportunities given the children, the PlayPumps allow the children to spend more time in school (instead of hauling water pumped by their parents) and enable women who formerly had to transport large containers of water over great distances to spend more time at home or engaged in other activities that provide additional food or income to their families.
External links
- [Roundabout Outdoor] official site
- [PlayPumps] official site
- [Why pumping water is child's play] BBC News, 25 April, 2005. Accessed 2 March 2006.
- [The Play Pump: Turning water into child's play] at Frontline/World website (includes streaming video of aired television segment)
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