Mauritania
In 1994 the Peace Corps Volunteer, Jay Stevens, stationed in Mauritania started in close cooperation with Mr. Dah ould Mohammed (Blacksmith) the development of the improved chain and washer pump in Selibaby. This development is well documented in the report "The Chain and Washer Pump in Mauritania" by Jay Stevens PCV 1993 - 1995.
In 1994 Mr. Stevens got in contact with the Nicaraguan rope pump firm. Interchange of letters, documents and photo's took place which were of great help for them to get to their first prototype installed in March 1995.
After the production and installation of the first rope pumps, efforts for the dissemination took place towards the towns Kaedi and Bogue. In 1995 Mr. Stevens ended his assignment with Peace Corps and no further interchange of information took place. (In those years letters took three months or even a year to get from Africa to Nicaragua or vice versa.)
The explicit comments from Mr Stevens that the photo's (we had sent over from Nicaragua) were the way to bring the information to the working-floor in Mauritania, induced to the production of the Rope Pump Production Photomanual, now a days used in the Technology Transfer Process. (Presented on this website in the Technology Transfer section.) The technical drawings are useful and necessary but not always understood; the photo's bring it to live.
No further information is available on follow-up, production figures or quality of the rope pumps.
We would be grateful if someone could provide updated information on these developments in Mauritania.
First model of an improved chain and washer pump design
in Selibaby, Mauritania, March 1995.