Afghanistan
The Keshwar hand pump
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation is since 1990 one of the main activities of DACAAR (the Danish Committee for Aid for Afghan Refugee). At he end of 2001, when DACAAR had its main office still in Peshawar, Pakistan, technical information was provided on the Nicaraguan rope pump experiences and the first rope pumps were field tested.
DACAAR introduced successfully the AFRIDEV pump in Afghanistan several years ago, setting up an handpump factory in Pakistan, and now several private factories based in Pakistan and Afghanistan are producing for the Afghan market, mainly for NGOs funded projects. The AFRIDEV is now the standard pump in Afghanistan for community water points.
Besides the community water supply activities most of the families inside Afghanistan are requesting to provide them family handpumps to install inside their compounds. For this purpose two family handpump and rope pump were tested
In Afghanistan there is already a good market for handpumps for private householders, and a number of workshops producing cheap imitations of the AFRIDEV pump, or other locally designed pumps, is already active. The idea is to try to propose a cheap, but more reliable pump for private use.
One of the first rope pumps produced and
installed on a handdug well in Afghanistan
Therefore, DACAAR trained local workshops, these produced over 150 rope pumps in Kabul. Washers are now produced in Kabul too. Parallel production of washers and pumps takes place in Karachi (Pakistan).
A pilot project of 120 pumps in two districts of Kabul with private householders was very successful, “people loves them”
A number of private workshops are supported to produce the rope pump. The overall cost of a pump, home delivery and installation, is 60 US$.
Production of the complete pump takes place by the private sector enterprise ZAM ZAM INDUSTRIES, while two small workshops are also producing it on a artisan base. “This is the most easy and cheap pump and can be used in dug wells that are very common in Afghanistan.”
Contact address for ZAM ZAM INDUSTRIES :
Mr. Wahidullah Khoram, Kabul
E-mail: wahid@bergerafghanistan.com
Contact address:
Roberto Saltori
DACAAR WSP Manager
Kabul, Afghanistan
robysaltori@hotmail.com