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Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump

by Mark V. B. Hughes

Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology University of Toronto

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

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Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump i

........................................................... 1 . PROLOGUE: A FRUSTRATED HEALTH CARE WORKER 1

..................................................................................................................................... . 2 rnTRODUCTION 3

3.1 THE RECIPROCA~G HANDPUMP: A DESCRIPTION ............................................................................. 16 4.2 CLASS~CATIONS OF Pmm ................................................................................................................. 25 3.3 A WESTERN TECHNOLOGY. NOT h SOUTHERN ONE ............................................................................. 27

4.3.1.1 Ancient and Renaissance pumpç ............................................................................................................. 28 ........................................................................................ 4.3.1.2 The Industrial Revolution and the bon Pump 31

...................... 5 . MOTIVATION FOR TRANSFElUUNG HANDPUMPS: THIRST A i i aEALTH 35

........................ 6 . PRE-1970%: CAST IRON PUMPS PRCIDUCE A MAINTENANCE PROBLEM: 39

..................... . 7 THE 1970's: DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS CHOOSE THE HANJIPUMP 43

................................................................................. 7.1 A S H F ~ N WESTERN DEVELOPMENT THOUGHT: 44 ............................................ 7.1.1 Post-wur technological avsistance according to the Western model 44

........................................................... 7. I.2 Two Decades of kperience Discredit the Western mode1 JY 7.2 HOW THE WESTERN CHANGE IN FOCUS LED DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS TO THE HANDPUMP ..... 51

................................................................................. 7 . 2 l Pearson Commission Cri t ic th Technologv j l 7'. 2.3 The World Bank Shijs Gears .................... ..... ............................................................................. 52

7.3 LEGACY TO THE 1980's: THE ~NTERNARONAL D W G WATER SUPPLY & SANITA~ON DE CADE...^^

................................................................ . 8 THE 1970's AND 1980's: ADAPTING PUMP DESIGNS -55 . . ..................................................... 8.1 THE INDIA MARK 11: SUCCESS THROUGH [NCREASED DURABILITY 33

8.2 APPROPR~ATE TECHNOLOGY INFLUENCE ............................................................................................. 62 8.3 DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIMADE ...................................................................................................... 67

8.3.1 The Waterloo Protoype ................................................................................................................ 67 ..................................................................... 8.3.2 Field Tesring 1 9 78-82: Lessons and Mod@cationr 74

......................................................................................................................... 8.3.2.1 Ethiopia: Back to M d 75 8.3 3.2 Sn Lanka: incorporating Wood ........................................................................................................... 76 8.3.2.3 ïhailand: A Leaky Foot valve ............................................................................................................... 77 8.3.2.4 Malaysia: A Bener Foot valve ............................................................................................................... 78

8.3.3 The ü7VIUclDE ............................... .. ......................................................................................... 80 8.4 THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PLrWIWORLD BANK HANDPUMPS PROJECT AND THE ''VLOPVf' CONCEPT ................................................................................................................................................... -82

......................................... ...................... 9 . TEE LATE 1970's: ADAPTING TEE ENMRONMENT ., 85

............................................................... 9.1 E S T A B L I S ~ G CONSTRUCTION FACILITES AND STANDARDS 85 9.2 MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS ...................................................................................................................... 86

... ............................. 9.2.1 The India Mark II Handpump and ifs Three-Tier bfaintenance System ,, 88

..................................................... . 10 THE 1980's: ENCOUNTERING NON-TECEINICAL ISSUES: 93

10.1 NON-TECHMCAL ISSUES DESCRIBED: ................................................................................................. 93 .................................................................................................. ................... 10.1.1 Tunisian Example .. 95

................................................. 10.2 R~connno~ OF NON-TECHNICAL ISSUES AND LACK OF EYPER~SE 96 ............................................................................................................... 10.2.1 Raie of Women -97

........................................................................................................ 10.2.2 Cornrnuniry Participaiion: 99

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump ii

.................................................................................. 10.3 LACK OF FOCUS ON NON-TECHMCAL ISSUES: 100 ................................................ ................................................ 10.3.1 IDRC Marketing Example ... 102

20.3.2 Little Attention to Non-technical Issues ........................................................................... I 1 2

t 1 . COMMENTARY: ............................................................................................................................. -114

1 1.1 THE IMPORTANCEOF SYSTEMS ........................................................................................................ 114 .................................................................. 1 1.2 DEMAND: AN ESSW COMPONENT OF THE SYSTEM 117

.............................................. 1 1.2. I The Indian Busis of Demand: Scarce Warer and Drilled Wells 1 1 7 ................................. 1 1-22 The Bangladeshi Busis of Demand: TubewelZs and Convenience Items -121

........................................................... 11.2.3 The Filipino Basis of Demand: Concern A bout Health 123 .............................................. 1 1.3 ABSENCE OF DEMAND i \ ~ A REASON BEM F N L ~ TO TRANSFER 125

......................................................................................................................... 1 i . 4 POOR ASSIJMFRONS 128

12 . CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 130

... Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 111

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank rny cornmittee, Al Beny, Bert Hall and particularly my supervisor, Janis Langins for

the guidance they have given me. Tbere are aIso a multitude of perçons who listened patiently, answered

questions, gave feedback and provided encouragement. Foremost among them is my wife, JO-Anne, who,

on top of everything else, turned sketches hastily drawn in pen into the original diagrams found in this

paper.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer. The Story of the Handpump 1

1. Prologue: A Frustrated Health Care Worker

Consider a healtti worker who wants to reduce childhood diarrhea in a rural third

world village. The link between intestinal diseases and polluted water supplies is well

known. Suppose after making a cursory inspection of the village, the health worker noted

that the villagers drew their water supply fiom the same river where they bathed, washed

their clothes and near which they defecated. The health care worker's resources are

limited, but are sufficient to provide for the installation of handpumps in the village.

Unfortunately, once the handpumps are installed the villagers h d the taste objectionable.

The water fiom the pump is too salty or too metallic. The health worker explains that the

villagers should get used to the taste of the pump water, because it is much better for

them than the river water. He or she explains a little microbiology and describes how E.

coli contributes to bowel diseases, which many of the children suffer from. One puzzled

villager asks why, if what the heaith care worker says is tme, do the people in the city get

diarrhea when they have a brand new modem central water delivery system. The health

worker patiently explains that there is more than one cause of diarrhea, but that dirty

water is almost certainly the p ~ c i p a l cause in this village. Drink the water fiom the

pump and community health will certainly improve.

In spite of the health workers efforts however, a number of villagers continue to

draw their dnnking water fiom the river. A few months later the pump breaks. AAer

fiddling about tryhg to discover the cause of the failure, the viilagers discover that some

stones that children slipped into the pump have made their way down the riser pipe and

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 2

damaged the valve on the piston so that it no longer closes. The piston needs replacing.

No one at the local market has spares, but someone is found who travels to and fiom the

capital. They retum fiom a trip and report that there are no spare valves in stock.

Meanwhile the women of the village have retumed to the river to fetch water, glad

for the r e m of the daily opportunity for chatting with fiends, swapping stories etc.. The

pump stands unused and inoperable. The village leaders eventually send out a request

for a spare part, but no communication is heard back. AAer a while, nobody seems to pay

attention to the nisting pump.

Whose behaviour needs to change here: that of the villagers or that of the health

care worker? How might the health care worker have better achieved his or her goals?

The story of the transfer of the handpump to nual areas of the Developing World is the

story of Western development agencies' growing awareness of the intricacies of

technology transfer. Donors h m the West began with the naïve faith that Western

technology, without adaptation and without preparation, would be accepted in the

Developing World and would be successfùl at solving the problems it was brought in to

face. They leamed that the technologies and environments have to adapt to one another.

'Ihus this is a story of those donoa recognizing the interaction between technology and

the environment and the difficulty of integrating the product of one world into the fabnc

of another.


2. Introduction

One of the most well known books in the history of technology is Thomas P.

Hughes' Nenvorks of ~ o w e r . ' Hughes describes the birth and development of electncal

supply systems in New York, London and Berlin. His description makes it clear that

technologies do not exist in isolation. The electnc light hinctioned only because it was

part of a technological system which included transmission lines and generaton.

Moreover, both the development and the spread of these machines required and were

shaped by inventors and institutions. Politics could be as influential as the design of the

machines in determining the success of the transfer of technology fiom one city to

another. The Oxford Universal Dictionary defines the word "system" as "An organized

set or assemblage of things comected. associated, or interdependent, so as to f o n a

complex unity".' Machines, individuals, institutions and politics interacted with one

another in a complex manner, that is they formed a system to bring electnc illumination

(among other things) to Chicago, London and Berlin around the tum of the century. It is

necessary to understand the entire system if one is to understand the history of the electric

light.

Because of the interaction of technology with its environment, the transfer of a

technology can turn out to be a vev complex process requiring a great deal of effort. The

required effort is enormous because a technology can fail if it is unsuited to any one

factor of the environment, even if well suited to others. The story of the transfer of the

pp - - -

' Thomas P. Hughes, Networh of Power: Elecnifcation in Western Sociefy, 1880-1930 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1 983).

Success and Failure in Technology Transferr The Story of the Handpump 4

handpump nom the Developed to the Developing World reveals the complexities

involved in the transfer of even a simple technology. Since the Second World War,

Western or Westem trained professionals working for developrnent organizations such as

UNICEF, the World Bank and the Oxford Cornmittee for Famine Relief (OXFAM) have

attempted to install the handpump in the Developing World. Through expetience they

discovered the interaction of environment and technology. They learned that new

environments force adaptations in technological hardware. They responded, not just with

one, but with many designs. They also learned that the technology makes demands on the

environment. Therefore, they had to provide training and constmct maintenance systems

to support the pumps. So long as the issues remained sufficiently technical, the

development organizations coped. When moving into the realm of the non-technical

however, the development professionals struggled. The story is instructive to anyone

who wishes to better understand the history of development since World War Two and

anyone who hopes to apply lessons learned fiom that history.

Handpurnps were onginally fashioned chiefly of wood, but corne the nineteenth

century, like so many Western technological artifacts, they mutated to iron. Though

quite popular through the nineteenth centwy, the handpump died out in use in the West in

the early decades of the twentieth century with the advent of electrical power.

Manufacture dried to a trickle by the 1920's,~ but the handpump received new life afier

World War Two as part of the panoply of technologies deployed by Western development

organizations such as the United States Agency for international Development (USAID),

Oyord Universal Dicrionmy, 3ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1 93 3. 3 Bernard M. Eubanks, 2% i s a Stot-y of the Pump and ifs Relatives. (Salem, Or.: [Privately published.], 1971) p. 170.


OXFAM and W C E F to assist in the development of Latin Amencan, Caribbean,

Middle Eastern, Afican, Asian and Pacific countries known collectively as "the

Developing World".

A given technology is designed for operation in a specific environment. We c m

subdivide "the environment" into several pieces. We c m speak of the physical, the

economic or the political environment. We can also speak of the social or cultural

environment. When a technology moves to a different environrnent, either the technology

or the environment, and most probably both, m u t change. If the new environment

features much saltier water, an iron handpurnp will nist more quickly. Answer: use

galvanized iron. However, sometimes it is the environment that m u t change. It is

difficult to see how a pump can be modified to cost nothing or to need no maintenance.

Moreover, what modifications can be made to the shape or materials of a handpurnp

which will compel people to use it despite the fact they prefer the taste of an altemate

source of water and do not perceive a need for "clean" water? The pump also places new

financial and organizational requirements on the recipient community. Perceptions and

values must be changed through education.

Development professionals did not understand this when they began to bring

handpumps to the Developing World. Early attempts to introduce the pump were

failures. The pumps, which had been designed for use on Western famis where they

served a single family, soon broke down in nual areas of the Third World when asked to

undergo near continuous use by a dozen or more families at a tirne. Once broken, there

were few welders to repair cast iron parts and no distribution systems to provide spares.

The pumps, nisting and useless, stood as monuments to donor naiveté. By the mid-

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 6

1960's, development professionals comprehended their error, or at least part of it, and

began to redesign the lowly handpurnp, in order to make it more durable, easier to repair

and to incorporate locally available materials. The new pumps enjoyed better success

than the previous generation.

In the 1970's, development professionals recognized that more than the design

had to change. Maintenance of pumps required organization. in india. a fairly

sophisticated network of caretakers, rnechanics and spare parts was set up. Yet even

when the maintenance problern was solved, still not al1 the pumps were successful, and

even after a decade specifically devoted to bringing clean water to all, millions remained

without it. Even where projects had aiready established pumps, levels of water service

declined once extemal support was withdrawn."

It is dificult to estimate accurately the number of handpurnps in use in the

Developing World and the number of people they serve. No one keeps track of the

worldwide count of handpumps and when figures are reported, they are usually specific to

one mode1 of pump, leaving the reader in the dark about how many pumps of other

models there may be. Furthemore, numbers obtained from governrnents or NGO's rarely

include privately owned pumps and figures indicating the number of inoperable pumps

are often omitted entirely.

We may at least be able to get some idea of the order of magnitude of the nurnber

of handpumps in the Developing World fiom considering WHO data on the number of

people with versus the number without access to a safe water supply, such as govemment

4 J . Hodgkin, Sustainabifity of Donor Assisted Rural Water Supply Projects. (Washington, DC: Water and Sanitation for HeaIth Project, 1994), p. viii.


and NGO installed handpumps are normally assumed to provide.5 According to one

estimate, rural water supply coverage in the Developing World (excluding China) only

increased fiom 10% to 12% in the penod fiom 196 1 - 197 1 .6 This estimate is roughly

consistent with a 1970 survey by WHO, released in 1973: by 1970, the rural population

of the Developing World (excluding China) was 1.249 billion. Of those, only 173 million

7 or 14% had access to safe water. During the next 2 decades. development organizations

made a priority of bringing clean water to the rural Developing 'World. in 1977, the UN

General Assembly approved the goal of providing clean water for al1 people in the world

by 1990.8 Estimates of how many pumps would be needed to meet this goal varied. The

World Health Organization estimated a figure of 5-7 million pumps.9 Other estimates

were as high as 20 rnil~ion.'~ By 1991, approximately 786 million of 1,370 million or

57% of the people in the rural Developing World (excluding China) had access to safe

water. ' ' At that time in China, about 569 million of 84 1 million or 68% of the mal

population had access to safe water.I2 Since much of the improvement was achieved

5 For fùrther eqlanation of why handpurnps represent "safe water supply" see Section 5. WHO, @Community Water Programme-Rogress Report of the Director Generai to the 25" World Health

Assembly. April 1972", in World Bank, Village CVarer Supply. (Washington: The World Bank, 1 976), p. 25. 7 WHO "Community Water Supply and Sewage Disposal in Developing Countries" , Worid Health Srarisrics, Vol. 26, No. 1 1, 1973 as reported in World Bank, Villoge Warer Supply. The survey was carried out in December 1970. s H. V. Krishnaswamy, **The Rural Drinking Water Supply Programme in India and the Development of a Dependable Deep-well Handpump", in Handpumps Testing and Developmenr : Proceedings of a Workshop in China, ed. Gerhard Tschannerl and Kedar Bryan. (Washington, D.C., U.S.A.: World Bank, 1985), pp. 51-58), p. 51. ' Allen Momson, .'In Third World Villages, A Simple Handpump Saves Lives", Civil Engineering Magazine, October 1983, p. 68. 10 David Spurgeon, "Low-Cost Handpumps for the ThKd World" in Developing World Water 1988, ed, John Pickford, (London: Gromenor Press internationai, 1988), pp. 40-41. " World Bank, Social Indicators of Developmenr 1993. (Baltimore: World Bank, 1993), contains the numbers ftom which these figures are dculated. " World Bank, Social Indicators ofDevelopent 1996. (Baltimore: World Bank, 19961, pp. 72-73.


through the installation of handpumps, we can expect that there were a few, perhaps

several million handpumps in the Developing World by 1 99 1.

The largest concentration is most obviously in Asia where there are approximately

2.6 million hdia Mark Ii and Mark III handpumps serving as many as 500 million people

in rural areas of India alone.13 In the mid-1980's, there were several million suction

handpumps in use in China (and presumably still are today).14 There are perhaps three

million New No. 6 suction pumps in ~an~ladesh . " Several hundred thousand pumps of

various rnakes are to be found in other Asian countries. The Philippines had about

150,000 drilled wells in 1986, '~ the vast majority of which were probably supplied with

handpumps since it is a cheap way to extract water fiom dnlled wells.

Moving to Afiica and Latin America, the nurnbers drop by two or three orders of

magnitude. This is due in part no doubt to the difference in populations: Asia (excluding

Japan and Siberia), 3.5 billion; AWca, 750 million; Latin America and the Cmibbean,

500 million." One will find thousands or tens of thousands of a particular mode1 of

purnp in a given Afiican country. For instance, there were 25,000 Bush pumps in

l 3 A m Kumar Mudgai, Indio Handpump Revolurion: Challenge and Change (Handpump Technology Network Working Paper: WP 0 1/97. Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation in Technology Management (SKAT), 1997)- p. 1 7. 14 Saul Arlosoroff et ai., Cornmuni', Water Supply: The Handpump Option (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1987), p. 9. " Erich Baumann private communication, Sune 29, 1999. Mr. Baumann warns that this number represents an estimate based on memory and shodd not be considered as a precise accoimt. 16 Tan Bock Thiam, "Feasibility of Commercially Producing and Marketing the IDRC-UM Handpump in the Philippines" , in IDRC Hundpump Network Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thailand, 1 - 3 Oct. 1986, ed. Ernelina S. Almario, (Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, iDRC Manuscipt Report), pp. 96-1 16, p. 104. If United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision (New York, United Nations, forihcoming) as reported in United Nations, Department of Economic and SociaI AfZairs. Population Division, "Population for World Major Areas, 1 750-2050'' United Nations 1998 Revision World Population fitirnates and Projectiom <http9/www.popin4 orglpop 1 998/4.htm> (June 25, 1 999).


Zimbabwe in 1995. The Afiidev, the India Mark II and the Vergnet can each be found

in the thousands in various Afiican count~ies.'~ There are relatively few reports of

handpump projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, though some certainly exist:

12,000 Rope pumps in Nicaragua, 8,000 Maya pumps Ui Guatemala and 3,500 Yaku

pumps in ~olivia." USAID and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

have also engaged in projects in Costa ~ica ," Honduras. Dominican ~ e ~ u b l i c " and

~cuador." In addition to absolute population size, the low nurnbers for handpumps in

Latin America are a reflection of demographics. Not only does Latin America have a

smaller population than either Afnca or Asia, but the population is predominantly urban.

In lWO,73.5% of the population lived in urban areas." Data for individual countries

indicate that even in the penod fiom 1958- 1964, the population of Brazil was 50.4%

urban2' and that of Argentina was 76.1% urban." In urban areas, there are more cost

effective ways to deliver clean water to people than the handpump, such as centralized

pumping systems with piped delivery, therefore the handpurnp is not so important in that

part of the world.

'' ~ o r g m , Peter, **Zimbabwe's User Friendly Bush hunp", in Wurerlines, l4(2), (October 1999, p. 23. 19 Erich Baumann, private communication, June 29, 1999. ' O Erich Baumann, private communication, June 29, 1999. Mr. Baumann wams that this number represents an estimate based on memory and should not be considered as a precise account. " Elias Rosaies, bbRepon on the Euperience of the D R C Handpump Roject in Costa Rica and the Cornmerciahmion Prospects", paper presented at The IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nehvork Meeting, 2 1-25 Ocrober 1992, Beijing, China. N . p., WRC?], [ 1 992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available fiom DRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5.

D. Donaldson, -4 Technica!fihfanagerial Review of MD Hundpump Programs in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Honduras, and the Domincan Repu Hic. ( Arlington: Water And Sanitation for Hedth, 1 983). 23 B. E. James, UWiD Hundpump Program in Eatador. WASH Field Report no. 123. (Arlington, USA, WASH (Water and Sanitation for Health)), 1984. '' World Bank, Social Indicorors of Developrnent 199 1 - 1992 (Baltimore: World Bank, 1 W2), p. 10. 25 World Bank, Social Indicafors of Deyelopmont 1989. (Baltimore: World Bank, 1989), p. 40. '' World Bank, Social Indicarors of Deyelopnient 1989. (Baltimore: World Bank, 1989), p. 12.


There is no single reason which explains the success of haudpump projects in

some countries, such as India and Bangladesh, while also explaining the failure of any or

al1 cornmunities to adopt handpumps. Price represents a factor, but so also does

perception of need. Not al! the intended recipients of handpumps believed that drinking

handpurnp water was important to their health. The values promoted by the various

Developing World cuitures did not necessarily lead to a demand for handpumps.

Development officiais did see the need for education, which in effect is the reshaping of

values. On the whole, however, the development officiais were not clear on what non-

technical issues of environmental adaptation invdved.

Table 2.1: Chronology: Selected List of Handpumps Deployed in the Developing World Since World War Two Together with Significant Events.

Pump Name Year of DesigdFint Places Deployed Notes De pioyment

I

Asia particularly Slight simplification of the india; Common Handpump design. f i c a Cast Iron purnpstand.

No pump rod guides. ShaIlow well purnp.

Latin America; Designed for durability. Never Caribbean achieved the widespread use that

the lndia Mark II did.

Jalna Forerunner of the india Mark II. "The LittIe Yellow Pump" Designed by indian Mechanic,

Cyrus Gaikwad.

Sholapur c 1973 F o r e m e r of the hdia Mark II, Modification of the Jalna, by Oscar Carlson, an engineer working for a project fünded by the Swedish Covenant Church.


Pump Name Year of Design/First Places Deployed Notes Deploymen t

(1973 Small is Beautrfil published)

New No. 6 cl974 Bangladesh Cheap, cast bon purnp designed for ease of manufacture. Shallow

3,000,000 lifi pump usually mounted on top of tube wells.

( 1975 LTNICEF reports that up ta 75% of handpumps installed in lndia may be out of working order)

tndia Mark U 1975 Asia, particularly IMICEFlGov't of hdia India; undertaking. f i c a Steel pump. Very durable

Based on design of Jalna and of Sholapur pumps. Distinctive chah linkage between lever and piston rod. Seaied bal1 bearing for lever. Most successfiil pump design ever deployed in the developing world. Primarily for use as deepwell P'J"P*

( 1977 üN declares 1 98 1 - 1990 T h e International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade") (IDWSSD)

Waterloo 1978 Prototype

Malaysia; Forermer of the LMIMA.DE, Philippines; developed at the University of Sri Lanka; Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, Thailand; based on a design by W.K. Ethiopia; Joumey consuitant to the Malawi international Development

Research Centre (DRC), Ottawa. It was designed according to the VLOM smtegy.


Pump Name Year of DesigdFirst Places Deptoyed Notes Deployment

( 1979 Three-Tier Maintenance System first implemented in Tamil Nadu, india.)

( 198 1 UNDPMrorld Bank handpumps project launc hed)

UNIMADE 1984 .4sia; IDRC/University of Malaya Afiica; undertaking. Latin America Uses plastic below-ground

components. Designed to be easy to maintain (VLOM).

(1987 Community Water Supply: The Handpump Option appears: this is the report of the

UNDPM'orld Bank handpurnps project.)

A6ica; Uses some plastic below-ground Philippines; camponents. Designed for ease of

maintenance (VLOM)

india Mark m 1987 india This was a redesign of the india Mark II to make it conform more closely to VLOM principles. The major innovation was to widen the &op pipe so that the cylinder could be brought up separately. The task could thus be performed without the use of heavy rnachinery.


3. Definitions:

3.1 Technology Transfer

If one enters the words "technology transfer" into a library search engine, one is

likely to generate a long list of books and articles. The books and articles do not

constitute one coherent body of literature, however. "Technology" may refer to

something concrete, such as a diesel engine, to something abstract which is closely

associated with physical installations, such as oil refining and refineries or it may even

refer to knowledge of a technique, such as crop rotation. "Transfer" irnplies that the

technology, whatever it is, is moved from one place to another and that the places are

somehow distinct fiom each other. What qualifies as distinct 'places" depends upon the

author. The majority of literature on technology transfer is concemed with the move from

places such as laboratories and universities to places such as factories and industrial sites.

This literature is concemed with the transfer of technology from research and

development to business application. Other authors may consider one Uidustry as a

distinct place fiom another hdustry, or even one tum from as distinct fiom another. in

my essay, technology is transferred fiom the Developed World, i.e. the West, to the

Developing World.

This essay identifies the handpump as a technology. For the most part, the word

haudpump identifies the physical artifact. It is essential to my thesis, however, to make it

clear that I consider the artifact alone to be only one part of the technology, that


handpump tec hnology, though it centres on the phy sical artifact, includes the knowledge

and attitudes necessary for the handpump to function successfully as a water lifting

device. Technology transfer here refers to the phenomenon in which the handpump and

the knowledge and attitudes necessary to use it effectively spread fiom the developed

nations of the West to the nations of the Developing World.

3.2 The Developing World

Within this essay, 1 repeatedly refer to ''the Developing World". This term refers

to the nations of South and Central Arnerica and the Caribbean, Africo, the Middle East,

south, southeast and east Asia, including the islands of Oceana and the Pacific, but only

sometimes including China. "The Developing World" is a very modem term which has

succeeded "ïhird World". That term was a political designation f?om the Cold War. The

democratic nations of Western Europe and North America (and later Japan) arrogated to

themselves the term "First World". The Communist Bloc countries constituted the

*'Second World". The remaining nations of the world were lurnped together as the "Third

World". Whether or not to classify China as a Second or Third World country was

always in some debate. The nations of the Third World, thus included in one category

regions such as southeast Asia and the Caribbean, people who spoke languages such as

Arabic, Spanish, Malay and Swahili and worshippers of the Hindu, Muslim, Christian and

animistic faiths, among others. About al1 these diverse peoples had in common was their

relative poverty and political impotence in the face of superpower conflict.

One h e m the terni Third World less comrnonly as the hveatieth century nears its

close. It is more fashionable and probably less pejorative to use the term Developing


World. Nonetheless, the validity of classing the disparate regions together is probably

more in question now than it was in the Cold War. The levels of development (which

means economic development) Vary greatly. While the material conditions of central

Afiica remain near the lowest of the world, Korea and other Newly hdustrialized

Countries have achieved enormous gains in per capita income. Nor have the

aforementioned cultural and regional distinctions disappeared. Nonetheless. the t e m

"Developing World' is still in comrnon usage and the countries to which it applies are

still generally poorer than the nations of "the Developed World" alias "First World" alias

'Uhe West". It is also a convenient term for this essay since more or less the entire region

received Westem aid since the Second World War. That aid included the transfer of the

handpurnp.

The arnbiguity of the status of China exists also in this essay. For political

reasons, China has received relatively little Westem aid, in spite of its enormous

population and low per capita income. As a result, references to China are few within the

documentation upon which this thesis is based (mainly project reports from aid

organizations and journal articles written by people closely involved). 1 ask the reader to

keep in mind that the light treatment of China in this history is more a reflection of the

sources used, rather than an indication that nothing important vis-à-vis handpurnp transfer

ever happened there.


4. The Handpump

4.1 The Reciprocating Handpump:

Fig 1.1: The Reciprocating Handpump.

source: Tschannerl and Bryan The word 'handpump" used in conjunction

Ath wells and drinking water probably

makes most Westerners think of pumps

which look something like this one above.

A Desc@tion.

With the term "reciprocating"

handpurnp, I refer to the generai design of

handpumps cornmon in Europe and North

America in the late nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries. The image a Western

reader probably has in mind when hearing or

reading the word handpump is based on the

"reciprocating" design. Ancestors to this

design can be found in ancient Greece and

Rome and in Renaissance Europe. Most of

today's handpumps are modifications on the

reciprocating design.

The functioning of the reciprocating

handpumps is govemed by the principle that

water flows fiom areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. if an area of sutficiently

low pressure can be created above a body of water, the water will flow upward. The

handpump is designed to take advantage of this phenornenon to raise water up out of a

well. The reciprocating handpump consiste essentially of a long vertical pipe, called the


"drop pipe", extending fkom the ground sudace down into rhe well, with a valve

somewhere near the bottom called a "foot valve" and a piston some distance above the

foot valve. In some cases the pump is located in a hand dug well, sometimes in a drilled

borehoie. Both the well and the borehole serve the same purpose: they are deep enough

to extend below the water table so as to allow access to the ground water. Whether hand

dug or machine drilled, these holes are referred to as wells. The reciprocating handpurnp

functions by either pushing or by sucking water up the drop pipe and out of the well. It

accomplislies one or both of these tasks thanks to the up-and-down motion of the piston.

Pump designs which incorporate this motion have the name "reciprocating pumps".

The area in which the piston operates is hown as the "pump cylinder". The

cylinder may be of different diameter than the drop pipe and may be made of a different

material (brass is quite comrnon, for instance). The person operating the pump can make

the piston move up and down using a handle or lever located at the top of the pump. The

lever is attached to the piston by a long rod called the "pump rod". Sometimes this rod

wiI1 be made up of smaller rods comected end to end. in a "lie pump", the pump cylinder

is located relatively far down the drop pipe. As the piston rises, it pushes or lifts the

water above it up the &op pipe. In a "suction pump", the pump cylinder is located near

the top of the drop pipe. As the piston Rses it draws water up the &op pipe by suction.

This distinction accounts for the two different classifications of the reciprocating

handpurnp, lift versus suction, which are still with us today?' From a theoretical point of

view, these two pumps are really the same because the principles by which they function

I7 The t ~ m s "lift" and bdsuction" are not consistently appiied in the literature. See Section 4.2 "Classification of Pumps" for mer detail and an explanation of my choice to adopt these tenns.


b e h w e n t h . - -

piston and the cyiindëc in-whkh P is containeci. This

riese serve to crea

are identical. However, there

are significant operational

distinctions which justi@

treating them as two different

P-PS-

The piston is encircled

by one or two rings of material.

:e a watertight seal between the piston and the cylinder and are known

as "rings", "seals" or sometimes "cups". Because of this seal, the drop pipe is separated

into two distinct sections of pipe so far as the water is concemed. We can name these

sections the upper chamber and the lower chamber. Flow into and out of these sections is

controlled by valves. Valves are devices which allow fluid to flow in one direction, but

Box 43: The Pump.Cyihdet - .J' ,Wi Rhk~~'Cyl inder .I - 1 : ri+,

MM the piston mlLupï& t u ; T .. Us-r. : . 1 ' ' f -, mr,x-#. .,

~ d o w r i i s " M ~ the* pump - ' , :- . ,.,L A.,: 4 .I k -,W. -* -: - W. - . . . I I

@inder. In most pump4 - _ . . h 3 ., . + ,. .. \! -2 $ --.-MW

Piston


Fig 1.2: The Chambers of the Cyiindet.

PiSon Vslves allmv water to enter - a bove-piston section

Faot vaive alla- rra ter tn enter belowpiston sectmn

0 j t m r ! chamber

The piston effectively divides the pump into

wo sections:

3) the above-piston chamber

2) the below-piston charnber

Nater can only enter these chambers

:hrough the valves. The valves control

Nhich way the water can flow.

not another. The foot valve allows water to

flow fiom the well into the lower chamber,

but prevents any flow fiom the lower

chamber back into the well. The valve in the

piston allows water to flow fiom the lower

charnber to the upper chamber, but prevents

flow in the other direction.

To understand how either pump

works, consider a pump at rest, full of water

but before the operator has started moving the

handle up and down. The water in the drop

pipe and the cylinder, whether it be in the

upper or lower chamber, along with the water

in the well is al1 at atrnospheric pressure.

Since al1 the water is at equal pressure, there

is no reason for the water to flow in any particular direction. The situation changes when

the piston begins to move.

As the operator pushes on the lever, the piston rises. Now that it is rising, the

piston stops pressing d o m on the water in the lower chamber: the pressure in the lower

charnber drops accordingly. Water fiom the well, which is still at atmospheric pressure,

pushes its way through the fmt valve and into the Iower chamber. Water continues

flowing up through the foot vaive and into the lower chamber until the operator can pull

the piston up no m e r .


At this point, the operator moves the lever in the opposite direction, causing the

piston to descend, pressing down hard on the water in the lower chamber. The pressure

in the lower chamber increases to a little bit above atmospheric pressure. The water

camot flow back down into the well, because the foot valve prevents it fiom doing so.

However, the water can flow through the piston valve into the upper chamber. One can

think in terms of the piston squeezing down on the water until the water squkts up

through the valve in the piston.

The water that flows into the upper charnber c m never flow back to the lower

chamber, because the piston valve prevents it fiom doing so. Each time the piston rises

and falls more water flows from below the piston to above. The upper chamber gets

filled with more and more water. The extra water must go somewhere. Since it can not

go back d o m , the water moves up the drop pipe. Bit by bit, with each cycle of the

piston, the water rnoves up the drop pipe until it spills out the spout at the top where the

operator or an assistant is ready to collect it in a bucket or container of some kind.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the flandpurnp 2 1

- p p p p p

Figure 4.3: Operating Principles of r Single roi Pipe Reciprocrting Handpump

Stage #1. Piston nses drawtng water up into cyliner

Stage #2: Piston decends into water forcing piston valve flaps open.

Slagt3 Ki: Piston rrses W i n lomng water up and through spout. sirnultaneously drawing water up into cyliner as in Stage W .

The above description of the operation of the reciprocating handpurnp is tme for

both lift and suction pumps, which is why, in theory, they are really the same. The

distinction concems the position of the pump cylinder relative to the top level of water in

the water source. In the case of weils, this level corresponds to the water table. From the

preceding discussion we can see that there is a distinction in the means by which water

flows in the lower chamber of the &op pipe and the upper chamber. Water flows into the

lower chamber because the rising piston temporarily lowers the pressure. This process of

lowering pressure to draw fluid into a container (in this case the lower chamber of the

Success and F ailure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 22

drop pipe) is laiown as "suction". By contrast, water flows up the upper chamber of the

drop pipe because it is pushed either by water flowing in fiom the lower chamber or by

the piston itself (i.e. when the piston rises).

In a "lifl" pump, the cylinder lies completely below the water table, so the lower

chamber of the pump is complerely below the water table. The portion of the chop pipe

extending above the water table is al1 part of the upper chamber. Any water in the pump

which is above the water table arrives there because it is pushed or "lified" there. One

c m say the water is lified out of the well. If one could watch such a pump in action,

viewing from the side, one could see water k i n g shoved up and out of the well, step by

step.

Fig 4.5: Cornparison of Lift and Suction Pumps

modified fiom Graham and Sharp


In a suction pump the cylinder is above the water table, usually near the top of the

pump. Thus part of the portion of the drop pipe extending above the water table,

specifically that portion above the water table and below the piston is part of the lower

chamber of the drop pipe. Water flows up this section by virtue of suction. One could

say that water is sucked up out of the well. ifone could watch the pump in action," it

might appear as though the piston were pulling water up as it rose.

The advantage of the suction pump is that the cylinder can be near the top of the

pump where it is easy to get at for maintenance (e.g. replacement of the piston seals).

However, there are two drawbacks. First, there is a theoretical l h i t to the depth fiom

which a pump can raise water by suction. This limit is about 10 metres (or a little over 30

feet). In practice, suction pumps succeed in lifting water only about 7 metres (or about 20

feet). Second, a suction pump m u t be 'primed" before it can operate. In other words the

drop pipe m u t be filled with water before the pump will operate. Since, in regular

practice, this water has to be poured in by the operator, there is a chance that the well c m

be contaminated with whatever rnicroorganisrns or pollutants that were in the water that

the operator used.

The lifl pump does not have a theoretical limit to the depth from which it can raise

water. Nor is there any need of priming. However, the cylinder m u t be located at the

bottom of the pump. This means that a much longer pump rod is needed. Somethes

long rods are made up of shorter sections joined together and there is a chance that these

" Dwing a handpump project in Thailand fkmced by Canada's International Developmait Research Centre (IDRC) in the t 98O's, one pump was tumed into a dernonstration model. Project workers set the piston inside a short &op pipe made of @as. The portable unit could be taken to trainhg sessions, placed on a table with the bottom of the &op pipe in a bucket of water. In this way, the viiiagers could watch a pump in action.


joints will break during usage. Furthemore, each time the user wants to perform

maintenance on the piston or the cylinder, these components, dong with the long pump

rod must be hauled up the entire depth of the well. This cm be hard work. in short, lift

pumps are more widely applicable and less prone to contamination, but are more difficult

to maintain.

1 have already narned certain parts of the reciprocating handpump. These and

other parts are displayed and labeled in Figure 4.6. The assembly at the top of the pump is

commonly refened to as ''the pumpstand" or "pumpstand assembly" or "above ground

Fig 4.6: Nomenclature of Parts to a Single Drop Pipe Reciprocating Band pump

assembly". It includes a spout and

a "pump handle" which is usually

takes the form of a lever, but is

sometimes similar to a set of

handlebars. One will also

encounter the term %el1 casing".

This refers to a large diameter pipe

within which the drop pipe is

situated. It's purpose is to maintain

the structural integrity of the well

and prevent it fiom caving in,

squeezing or distorting the drop

pipe. The tenns "pivot" and "pin"


refer to the rotating joints which allow the pump handie to move.

4.2 Classiications of Pumps

There are a variety of narnes to describe different types of handpumps. These

narnes have been invented by different people, perfonning different jobs at different

times. Sometimes the names refer to the application of the pumps, such as "deep-well"

and "shallow-well" pumps. Sometimes they refer to a principle of operation, such as is

the case with "force" or "suction" pumps. The terms "air pump" and "water pump" refer

to theflrrid which is being pumped. The term "handpump" itself is a reference to the

manner in which the pump is driven and distinguishes it from a "diesel pump".

Naturally, al1 these different classifications of pumps can become confusing, especially

since it is possible for the lines of classification to cross. For instance, deep-well

handpumps are almost always lie pumps, but shallow well purnps could be suction or lift

Pl'n.lPS*

Within this paper, 1 use the ternis b'lift" pump and "suction" pump in the same

manner in which ~ubanks,'~ ~ c ~ u n k i n ~ ' and ~ o d ' use them. That is they are exactly as

described in section 4.1 above. in general, deep well pumps, such as the India Mark LT

(see section 8.1) are lifi purnps while shallow well pumps such as the New No. 6 (see

" Eubanks. The Story of the Pump, p. 170. Io F. E. McJrmkin. Hand Pumps for Use in Drinking Water Supplies in Developing Counrries. (The Hague: international Reference Centre for Community Water Supply, 1977), p. 28. '' Goh Sing Yau, "Development of the Unimade Handpmp", paper presented at The IDRC Handpmp Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Hondpurnp Network Meeting, 21-25 Uctober 1992, Beijing, China- (N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]). (Conference Proceedings), p. 6. Available fiom D R C archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.


section 11 2.2) are suction pumps. Some pumps, such as the UNIMADE (see section

8.3.3) corne in both designs.

The term " re~ i~ roca t in~~ '~ ' is applied fairly consistently in the literature. it refers

to any pump which uses a piston moving back and forth or up and down (hence

reciprocating) in a cylinder. This term applies to almost al1 modem handpumps. Another

term one may find in the literature is "direct action". As it is used by ArlosoroK it refen

to a purnp where "the operator's effort is applied directly to the plunger [a.k.a. piston]

without the mechanical advantage achieved through a lever or flywheel".33 The

advantage of such a pump is that there are fewer moving parts to Wear out and need

replacing.

in this paper 1 also use the terms "common handpump" or "cornmon design".

With these terms, 1 refer to that fàmily of handpump designs which were popular in Noah

America and Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The

classification is usefùl shce it describes the majority of handpumps which were

transferred to the Developing World in the two and a half decades following World War

Two, before a concerted effort was made to design purnps specifically for the rural

Developing World environment.

In the cornrnon design, the pump stand is made of cast iron, the pump drop pipe is

a steel pipe and the pump rod is made fiom a steel bar. The cylinder is normally of

different diameter than the drop pipe and made of metal, usually brass. The pumps are

heavy. They may or may not feature a "pump rod guide" which is an arm attached to the

top of the pumpstand which helps to keep the pump rod in alignment. The reader may

'' Mdunkïn, Hand Pumps, p. 25.


find it helpful to refer to Table 4.1 at the end of this chapter which shows the

classifications of pumps and gives exarnples fiom pumps referred to in the text.

4.3 A Western Technology, nota Southem One

Since human beings c m only live a few days without water, we should not be

surprised to discover that most communities secured access to water long before

Westerners arrived with handpumps. However, the reciprocating handpurnp was seldom

used outside Europe and North America before World War Two. Lists of traditional

water sources usually include surface sources such as nven, springs, natural depressions

and dug ~ e l l s . ~ ' ' Most of these are rather mundane, though some of these sources, such

as Joseph's well in ~ a i r o , ~ ' are impressive engineering feats. Nonetheless, the handpump

is not a traditional water lifting device. McJunkin reports that a variety of water lifting

devices have been used in the Developing World, including watenvheels and shadoofs,

but only the rope and bucket has been generaliy adopted for drinking water supply.36

Furtherrnore a WHO survey published in 1 97 1 indicated that only 1 5% of the Developing

World had access to a d e water source. 37 It appears that the majority of rural Afnca,

Asia and Latin Arnerica was without the handpump just before the 1 9 7 0 ~ ~ the penod

" klosoroff et al., Curnaunity Water Supply, p. 50. '' Pathirana Dharmadasa, Upali Wickramasinghe, and Douglas Chanhiri, "Sri Lanka" in Villoge Handpump Techno Iogy., ed. Donald Sbarp and Michael Graham. (Ottawa, IDRC, 1 982), p. I 1 ; J. Hodgkin, Operation and maintenance of rural water supplies in the Yemen Arab Republic, WASH field report no. 259, (Ariington, Va, :Water and Sanitation for Heaith (WASH), 1989), p. 3; hgvar Andersson. Wells and Handpumps in the Shinyanga Region, Tanzania (Bureau of Resoutce Assessrnent and Land Use Planning, University of Dar es Salaam. November, 1 982), p. 1 1. " Eubanks, Story of the Pump, pp. 238-39.

McJunkin, Hand Pumps, p. 1 93. " World Bank, Village Wuter Supply,, p. 6.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfec The Story of the Handpurnp 28

when development organizations made a concerted effort to deploy handpumps in the

mal Developing World.

4.3.1.1 Ancient and Renaissance pumps.

Although we have no clear evidence of pumps incorporating al1 the elements of

the single drop pipe reciprocating design until Europe of the fifieenth century. it clearly

has antecedents in the classical world. The Roman engineer, Vitruvius, gives credit to the

Alexandnan Greek Ctesibius (c. 250 BC) for the invention of a reciprocating piston force

pump. Ctesibius' pump incorporated three pipes, two which contained pistons and a third

up which water was forced by the action of the pistons As each piston rose, it drew water

through a valve into the cavity formed below it. As the piston descended, the valve

closed and the water was forced through another valve into and up the discharge pipe.

The pump was designed such that the cylinders were irnmersed in the water they were

supposed to help raise. Long pump rods attached the pistons to the pump handle. The

pump is clearly similar to the modem handpump in that it incorporates a reciprocating

piston, driven by a lever action handle, however the Ctesibius pump never incorporated a

piston fitted with a valve. The placement of the valve in the piston is necessary for

constructing a single &op pipe pump. This innovation is significant for rural water

supply. The single drop pipe is much narrower than the three pipe configuration of the

Ctesibius pump, making the single drop pipe version much more suitable for ddled wells

which are n a r r ~ w . ~ ~ Many of the wells instailed in the Developing World today are of the

drilled (as opposed to dug) variety. It is interesthg to note that a similar argument could


Fig 1.7: The Ctesibius Force Purnp.

i/itruvius attributed the above pump design to

Stesibius. It uses twin cyîinders with valves such

:hat the cyîinder fills on the piston upstroke. On the

jownstroke, the piston forces water through a valve

and up the centre pipe which leads to the surface.

m e n one cylinder is rnaking an upstroke, the other

s making a downstroke. The design is similar in

nay ways to the common handpump .

be made for the tight quarters aboard

ship. If, as some argue (see below),

the modem handpurnp has its

antecedents in ancient and medieval

navies, then we may fïnd here a

motive for the development of the

single drop pipe design.

However, the origins of the

single drop pipe purnp, particularly the

suction variety, are in debate. Shapiro

reports that there is no evidence of a

valve in a piston until it appears in a

drawing dated circa 1433 made by the

Siemese engineer, Mariano Jacopo

m accola.^^ Da Vinci produced a

drawhg of a single drop pipe suction

pump dated approximately 1480.~' Agricola describes and illustrates single &op pipe

suction pumps in De Re Metailica &en between 1529 and l550! Agricola's design is

very similar to the wooden pumps which were to be common throughout Europe for the

next three centunes, upon which the "common pump" was to be based. Since Agricola

" Credit m m be given to Janis Langh and Wilf Lockett for pointing out to me the comection between pump and drillhg technology. 39 Sheldon Shapiro. "The Origin of the Sution mimp", Technologv and Culture 5,566-576 ( 1 %4), p. 571. ul Ibid., p. 571.


does not mention these pumps as new, we c m conclude that the pump was common in

the mining industry by the tirne he wrote his book.'" Thomas Ewbank recounts how in

the sixteenth century George Baker describes a suction pump as "often used in pits of

water or ~ e l l e s . " ~ Bernard Eubanks quotes a section fiom the translation of Gaiileo's

Discourses Concerning Two New sciences." In the passage, Galileo relates a

conversation with a pump repairman. In the course of their discussion. the men clearly

describe a suction purnp. The repairman refers to the suction pump as a familiar

instrument, indicating, Eubanks argues, that by the beginning of the 1600's, the suction

pump was well enough known for there to exist repairmen familiar with its functi~n.'~

Shapiro claims that though designs of the suction pump appear in Taccola's notebooks in

Siena in 1433, there is no evidence of the pump's actual use in Italy at that time, or

indeed anywhere before it appeared in the German mining ind~stry'~

Ewbank, on the other hand, claims that the single &op pipe suction pump was

handed d o m to us fiom ancient times: "Like many of our ordinary machines, they seem

to have been silently borne down the stream of past ages to the 15' and 16" centuries,

when, by means of the p ~ t i n g press, they first emerge into notice in modem tir ne^.'^'

Ewbank asserts that suction pumps have been used on ships since classical tirneda

However, Oleson, who is familiar with Ewbank's work, nonetheless believes the suction

pump to have been unknown in antiquity. Oleson made a detailed and comprehensive

41 ibid., p. 572 " ibid., p. 573. " Thomas Ewbank. A descr@tive and hiriorical account of hydraulic and other machines for raising water. (London: Tilt and Bogue, 1842. Reprint Edition New York: Arno Press, l972), p. 21 8. U Eubanks, St0t-y of the Pump, p. 1 1. 45 Ibid. " Shapiro, "Ongin of the Suction Pump", p. 574. 17 Ewbank, Machines for ratking water, p. 2 1 7.


study of the literary and physical evidence which sheds light on the designs of European

pumps fiom the classical period and on into the middle ages. Examining archaeological

reports of ancient pumps, he finds that while there are plenty of examples of force pumps,

there is no evidence of suction pumps in a ~ ~ t i ~ u i t ~ . ' ' ~ He then concludes that the suction

pump did not make its appearance until the fifieenth c e n t ~ r y , ~ ~ when Taccola recorded its

design in his notebooks, proposhg that it retumed to Europe during a renewed interest in

Vitruvius or possibly through contact with the Arab ~ o r l d . ' ~ Whether or not one accepts

Oleson's argument over Ewbanks', it is clear that the common handpurnp has a Western

pedigree.

4.3.1.2 The Industrial Revolution and the lron Pump.

Pump makers have made metal pumps since ancient times. Nonetheless, wooden

purnps were much cheaper until well into the industrial revolution. Therefore, wooden

pumps were still rnanufactured well into the nineteenth century." However, metal

became cheaper and more prevalent during the industrial revolution, and pumps were not

waffected by the trend. Amencan f m s began producing cast iron and steel pumps in the

1 gh century. Ewbank, writing in 1842, illustrates a reciprocating piston pump which he

terms a "common metallic pump".S3 Eubanks describes many cast iron pumps

rnanufactured in Arnerica during the 19' and early 20' centuries. The W. B. Douglas

Company began making cast iron purnps in ~ 8 3 2 . ~ ' Eubanks found no evidence of cast

48 Md., pp. 114-21 5. 49 John Peter Oleson, Greek and Roman mechanical water-l#ing devices : the hkrory of the technology. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984), p. 241. 50 Ibid., p. 286. 5 1 Md., p. 303.


ùon pumps being made anywhere else in the world before this.j5 Their early designs

differ little fi-om the pump of ctesibius.j6

McJunkin speculates that pump rnanufacturea became more conscious of material

costs once they switched fiom wood to metal and opted for designs which allowed them

to use as narrow pipes as possible.57 Following this line of reasoning, we can speculate

that the Ctesibius pump was at a disadvantage to the single &op pipe design because the

Ctesibius pump required 3 pipes instead of one. At any rate, whatever their reasons, by

the 1850's, Amencan manufacturers were placing valves in the pistons and producing

single drop pipe reciprocating pumps with cast iron bodies. This became the "common

design" (referred to in section 4.2) used by Arnerican pump manufacturers, such as

~ o u l d s ~ ~ and ~ e r n ~ s t e r . ~ ' McJunkin estimates that there may have been as many as 3000

American manufacturers of pumps.6' The first pumps to be deployed in the Developing

World after the Second World War, pumps such as the Dempster 23F and the wasp,6'

cm be classified with the common design. The various "Developing World pumps",

pumps like the hdia Mark II and the üNIMA.DE, designed by development organizations

such as UNICEF and Developing World institutions such as the University of Malaya

took the common design as their starting point.

'' Eubanks, Stow of the Pump, p. 97. '' Ewbank, Machines for rotking water, p. 222. 54 Eubanks, Stos, of the Pump, p. 47. " ibid., p. 94. 56 ibid,, pp. 46-47 and pp. 50-5 1 . 57 McJunkîn, Hmd Pumps, p. 25. 58 Eubanks, Sfory of the Pump, pp. 32-3. " ibid., p. 59.

Ibid.. p. 122. 6 1 McJunkin, Hund Pumps, p. 26.


Table 4.1: The Classification of Handpumps.

Suction (usually equivalent to "shallow well")

Lift (usually equivafent to "deep well")

Reciprocating Handpumps

Multiple pipe

[no examples known to author]

e.g Ctesibius (c250 BC) 15'

Single Drop Pipe

e.g. as described in Agricola's De Re Metallica ( 1 6 ~ century)"

1 e.g. Dempster PumPs (1 885) e.g. Dempster 23F (c. 1950?)~' e.g. Goulds No. 000 (1 850)~'

e.g. Log Pum s (1 sh century) P

Developing World

eg. New No. 6 e.g. UNIMADE (1 980s)

e.g. lndia Mark I I (1 975). e.g. UNlMAOE (1 980s)

Whatever the precise ongin of the common handpurnp, however the handpurnp

made its way fiom the Ctesibius pump of the classical world to the cast iron and steel

purnps of the American manufacturers, it is clearly a Westem invention and tool.

T'herefore, its introduction to the Developing World represents a true case of technology

transfer, as opposed to support for an indigenous technology. Furthemore, given the

long pedigree of the handpurnp, we can expect that it has had ample time to be shaped

and refined by Westem knowledge and Westem expectations of the technology. As we

consider the transfer of the handpump to the Developing World-and why it took until

p. - - -

'' Arnold Pacey, Hand-pump Maintenance in the Context of Communiry Weil Projects (Intermediate Technology Publications, l985), p. 19. 63 Shapiro, "Origin of the Suction Pump", p. 572. 0.I Eubanks, Story of the Pump, p. 122, 65 Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 19. 66 Arlosoroff et al., Comrnuni~ Wufer Supply, p. 174.

Sbapiro, **Origin of the Suction Pump", pp. 567-568. 68 Eubanks, Story of the Pump, p. 43.


the twentieth cenhuy to occur-we should remember the Western nature of the

technology.

69 Ibid-, p. 59. 70 Pacey, Hand Pump hfaintenance, p. 1 9.


5. Motivation for Transferring Handpumps: Thirst and Health

There are two reasons why development organizations tum to handpumps for use

in m a l water supply. One is to secure reliable access to drinking water where none

currently exists. The other reason to employ handpumps was to help improve community

health. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, LMICEF assisted in the deployment of

handpumps in Rajasthan, India to relieve drought. Since the region was quite dry, the

water table was quite low, requiring the wells to be very deep. Suction pumps, whether

or not they be handpumps were not an option. The rock was also quite hard," making

dnlling expensive, necessitating as narrow a diameter of well as practical. In such a

situation. the narrow, single drop pipe, reciprocating pump had an advantage over bulkier

designs like a chah of buckets.

Probably more ofien, however, Western developrnent workers and Developing

World governments have deployed handpurnps as a replacement to the existing means of

collecting drinking water. Those who installed them did so because they believed that the

existing sources of water (frequently rivers and ponds) were contaminated with disease

causing organisms and that the use of handpumps atop sealed wells to tap groundwater

wouid be a low cost means to irnprove the health of the community. An excellent

exarnple is Bangladesh, a country which Maggie Black sympathetically compares with an

open sewer."

" Maggie Black, Frorn Handpumps to Heaith. The evolution of water and sanitation programmes in Bangiadesh, India and Nigeria. (New York: UNICEF, 1 WO), p. 54. %id. p. 18.


The Iink between water and disease is well known in the West, thanks to the

classic snidy whereby John Snow linked cholera in his London parish to the Broad Street

Pump and thanks also to the work of Pasteur which supported Snow's hypotheses.

However, this understanding of microorganisrns, water and disease did not spread quickly

among the rural population of the Developing World. Efforts to educate such populations

have met with great difficulty. For instance. Peruvian villagers could not be convinced of

the utility of boiling their druikllig ~ a t e r . ' ~ For this reason, even after the Second World

War, m a l communities of developing countries still relied on water retrieving strategies

and technologies which were developed without regard to microbes. OAen, this strategy

was no more than to use a bucket or pot to draw water fiom the local river or water hole.

Naturally, these sources contained microorganisrns. The problem was compounded when

the sarne water source was used for bathing and laundry, was fiequented by animals or

when few precautions were taken to separate the water source fiom latrines and points of

defecation.

Soil acts as a natural filter, cleaning the water that moves through it. For this

reason, groundwater is a much safer source of drinking water and even bathing water than

surface water is. Although ground water is not without microbial content, the content is

much Iower than in surface water. Therefore, there is good reason to believe that the

incidence of illness will be much less when groundwater is used in piace of surface water.

Sometirnes the groundwater cornes to the surface naturally as a spring. When it does not,

one requires a weil to reach it.

" Evmn M. Rogers, D$ùsion of Innovations, 3" ed. (New York: Free Press,. 1 983). See Rogers example of water boiiing in a Peruvian village. it is a retelling of Wallin, E. "Water Boiling in a Peruvian Town", in Heath, Culture and Communiiy, ed. B. D, Paul, (New York: Russell Sage Foundation (E) 1955).

Success a n d c f y Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 37

Weils are quite common in the Developing World as they have been the world

over probably since before recorded history. However, the reason behind digging these

wells was normally not a perceived need for micro-organism-fiee water. instead, people

dug them to take advantage of the pervasive nature of groundwater. Where rives and

water holes were not within a convenient distance year round, the use of hand dug wells

was common. The means of raising the water up out of the well was most commonly the

rope and bucket. The bucket was fiequently unclean, handled by many hands, perhaps

mouths and thus provided a source of contamination for the well.

When a pump is used to draw water fiom a well, the well can be completely

covered so that the only access to it is through the pump. Since water only flows in one

direction through the pump, there is little chance for the well to be contaminated." Upon

this knowledge, Westem trained missionaries and development workers based their belief

that reliance on groundwater pumped up from a closed well would significantly benefit

health in the community. installing handpumps on wells is probably the Ieast capital

intensive method of achieving this goal. Alternatives, such as the installation of diesel

pumps connected to a network of pipes which serve as a delivery system, require the use

of a great deal more hardware and/or machines produced in Westem style factories.

Based on this observation one might conclude that the choice of the handpump for rural

water supply represented adherence to the principle of appropriate technology as outlined

by Schumacher which influenced rural water supply projects in the 1970's. (See Section

8.2) However, the literature surrounding handpump projects does not justify the use of

" There is, of course, ni11 the matter of priming discussed above, in which water is poured down a suction pump, which dues pose a contamination k a t unless clean water is used, but the problem can be solved if a supply of clean water can be kept on hand for priming.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer, The Story of the Handpump 38

handpurnps on the principle of appropriate technology in the Schumacher sense per se, to

wit, that low-capital technology is inherently more suitable to developing countries. The

literature rather emphasizes the handpump as a low cost option.75 One can of course

argue that the inherent suitability and the low-cost are one in the same thing, that these

costs themselves reflect the high cost of capital in developing countries, that "low-cost" is

identical to "low-capital", however if development workers made this connection they

never indicated it explicitly in their literature.

75 World Bank, Village Wizter Supply, pp. 3 1 -32.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the flandpump 39

6. Pre-1970's: Cast lron Pumps Produce a Maintenance Problem:

Handpumps do not appear to have arrived in the Developing World in large

numbers until after the Second World War. Those that arrived in the three decades after

the war usually looked very much like the common design. Most of them broke down

and stayed broken soon afier their arrival.

There is some record of handpumps in what is now known as the Developing

World before World War Two. The British developed a pump for the colonies, some

individual examples of which, albeit expensive, were still operating in the 1970's.'~ One

Tommy Murgatroyd designed a heavy wooden and steel pump known as the Bush pump

in Matabeleland in western Zimbabwe in 1933. By 1995, there were about 25,000 of

them in the country.77 Given the long history of contact and interaction between the West

and the territories now known as the Developing World, it seems impossible that there

were not more pre-World War Two instances of somebody, somewhere introducing

handpumps. However, it seems unlikely that anyone did so on a large scale without it

having received any mention in the literature on post-war technological assistance to the

Developing World. Furthemore, one would expect at least some of these pumps, or

copies of them, to still be in use as is the case with the British Colonial pump and the

Bush pump.

Afier the war, handpumps were used in aid prograrns. By the 1950s, development

orga-tions such as CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) became

Pacey, Hand Purnp ~Uointenance, p. 18. n Morgan, "Zimbabwe's User-Friendly Bush mimp", p. 23


active in rural water supply.78 Development organizations and Developing World public

health authonties deployed handpumps in their programs. For instance, UNICEF installed

handpumps in Panama in the 1960's.'~ The Malayan Ministry of Health implemented a

handpump program in that sarne decade.'' UNICEF &lied wells for handpumps in hdia

in the Iate 1960's.~' A World Health Organization publication of 1959, Water SuppZy for

Rural Areas recommended the use of handpurnps (among other types). From the

illustration provided in the book, it is clear that the pumps were of the single chop pipe

reciprocating desigd2 However, problems developed.

During the 1970's reports of non-functional handpumps were rampant. The

recognition may have corne as a result of the fact that in 1975, UNICEF reported that

70% to 80% of handpumps in india were out of order. Confirmation was on its way. In

1977, the US Peace Corps surveyed handpumps in Sierra Leone and found only 40%

were ~ o r k i n ~ . ~ ~ in Thailand, it was reported in 1978 that approxirnately 5000 of the

19000 handpumps installed by various government agencies were out of operation on any

given day.&

The high rate of disrepair was the result of two factors. Fust, there was a lack of

maintenance expertise in the countryside. Donors had assurned that, given the number of

78 CARE "Hedth and Population" CARE Programs. <http://www.care.org/programs/bealWwate~~sanitation.html (June 9, 1999). 79 Robert .i. Saunders and Jeremy J. Warford, Village Water Supply: Economics and Policy in the Developing World, (Baltimore: World Bank, I976), p. 25. 80 Goh Sing Yau and Low Kwai Sim, ''Appropriate plastic handpump for niral water supply in Maiaysia Kuaia Lumpur Dec. 1984", in "international Symposium on Technology, Culture and Development Kuala Lumpur 12-1 4 Dec., 1983", (n. p., 1984), p. 70. Availabie through IDRC archiveses: archiv 62 1.6 1 5 t 983. 8 1 Black, From Handpumps ro Heaith, p. 53.

Wagner, Edmund G. and I. N. LanoUr Water Supply for Rural Areus and Small Communities, (Geneva: World Heaith Organization, 1959), p. 126-1 27. '' Sad Arlosoroff et al. Community Water Supply, p. 50.

Success and Failure in Technology Ttansfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 41

( Fig 6.1 : The Dempster 23F 1

This pump is typical of those

deployed in the Developing Worid

after World War Two up to the

1 1970's. The above ground I assernbly is made from cast iron,

1 prone to darnage and difficult to 1 repair in rural areas.

Source: Dempster Hand Purnp Kits 23F and 4OF 1

handpumps in the countryside, people were familiar

with their repair and maintenance. It was not so?

Second, there was the design of the pumps themselves.

A typical example of the handpumps deployed was the

Dempster 23F. By the 1970's, the Dempster 23F pump

appeared in corntries in ~ f r i c a ~ ~ and ~s ia! Sorne

counhies manufactured pumps according to designs

based on the Dempster, such as the ~averi" in india

and the DMR (Department of Mineral Resources)

pump in hai il and.^^ Made of cast iron, they were close

to copies of old western purnps used on farms about a

century before. 90 The western comrnon pump had been

meant for use by a single household. The design was

not up to the continuous operation demanded of them

as a village water supply.

To repair cast iron parts requires welding. Capable welders were rarely on hand

in rural, third-world settings. A very common breakdown in handpumps is the wearing

- -- -

Pichai Nimityongskul and Pisidhi Karasudhi. Thailand", in Village Handpump Technology, ed. Donald Sharp and Michael Graham, pp. 2 1-32, (Ottawa, IDRC, l982), p. 2 1. 85 Black, From Handpumps to Health pp. 59-60. 86 Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 17. '' Goh Sing Yau, bbMalaysia", in VilZage Hondpump Technology, Donald Sharp and Michael Graham, eds. (Ottawa, DRC, 1982), p. 39. 88 Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 17 89 Pichai Nityongskul and Pisidhi Karasudhi, "Thailand", p. 21. " Black, From Hundpumps to Heuhh p. 60; George Baldwin, "The hdia Mark iI Handpump and its Three- Tier Maintenance System", in Community Water Development, ed. Charles Kerr, (London, intermediate Technology Publications, I989), p. 174; Krishnaswamy "the Development of a Dependable Deep-well Handpump?',, p. 52; Gob Sing Yau, Developmeni of a Village Level ImtalIed and Mafntuined Handpurnp: a hfaIaysian Erperience, (IL p., n. d.), p. 2, available fiom IDRC archives: archiv (626.83 595) G 5


out of the piston or foot valve seal. In the common handpump, recovering the cylinder

requires pulling up the drop pipe as well, fiequently when it is still full of water. This is

heavy work. The system of pivots and bars comecting the handle to the piston rods and

to the pump head c m easily Wear. When it does so, the whole apparatus can become

ioose. The handle may move side to side in addition to up and down. This introduces

lateral stress on the handle. the pivots and the pump rods, al1 of which can break. In

addition, a steel pipe or iron cylinder may crack or rust and require replacing.

Replacements were expensive and seldom on hand in a rural village. Many developing

nations did not have the capacity to produce steel cheaply if at all. As a result, the purnps

remained broken until a r e p a h a n and replacement parts could arrive fiom a central

location. The parts may even have needed importing. This could take weeks or months.

in the meantirne the villagers turned elsewhere for water, perhaps to the polluted surface

sources the pump was installed to replace.


7. The 1970's: Development Organizations Choose the Handpump.

It would be wrong to Say that there was no redesign of handpumps in recognition

of Developing World conditions before the 1970's began. Even the Dempster 23F

represented a slight simplification on the design of the common handpump (the Dempster

23F has no guides for the pump rod) which meant fewer parts to repair or replace. USAiD

cornrnissioiied Battelle Memorial Institute in 1966 to design a pump which wouid endure

under severe conditions, could be operated easily by women and children and could be

readily maintained and rnanufact~red.~' The project published at least two reports before

1970.~' Nevertheless, the original USADlBattelle project was unsuccessful at organizing

large scale field evaluation of the pumps.93 It was not until the 1970's, that the handpurnp

maintenance problem received widespread attention. After 1970, Western development

organizations such as the World Bank turned their attention to the plight of the rural poor

and resolved to improve their health by improving their water supply. They seized upon

the handpump as a key technology in their strategy. Perhaps the new interest in the

handpurnp explains why, by 1976, USAID had fmally successfully arranged for field

testing of the AID/Battelle pump with the Georgia institute of ~ e c h n o l o ~ y ~ ~ With the

-

9' Mclunkin, Hund Putnps, p. 132. Frink, D. W. and Fannon, R. D. Ir. , Finai Report on the Development o f o Water Pump for

Underdeveloped Counrries ro Rgency for International Development. (Battelle mernorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 1967): Frink, D.W. Fannon, RD. Battelie Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH; US. AiD, Development of a water pump for underdeveloped countries :final report. (Columbus, Ohio : Battelle Memorial institute, Columbus Laboratories, 1967). 93 McJunkin, Hmd Pumps, p. 1 36. 94 Ibid., p. 137.


spotlight on the handpump, the maintenance problem became apparent to everyone. The

decade of the 1970's saw the search for new handpump designs.

7.1 A Shift in Western Development Thought:

A comprehensive history of development thought has yet to be written, however

the story of the handpump may give some clues as to what it will look like. A major

feature of the history of development thought will be the shedding of assumptions. As we

will see, the story of the handpump is full of assumptions which were discarded when

their unsuitability became apparent. Many of these assumptions were quite broad, rooted

in the philosophy of development thoyht itself. It is generally recognized in the

development cornrnunity that the initial approach to development, Le. the remaking of the

Developing World in the image of Western history was discredited by the 1970's. The

philosophical roots of this initial approach and the inspiration for its abandonrnent will

only be speculated upon here. What is more definite is the qualitative and quantitative

impact that the change in development thought had on the attention paid to handpurnps.

7.1.1 Post-war technological assistance according to the Western rnodel.

It would of course be quite incorrect to Say that Europe had had no hand before

World War Two in the development of what we today cal1 the Third World. Europeans

had been conquering, colonizing and goveming large areas of Afiica, Asia, South and

Central America for centuries. While doing so, they introduced al1 manner of changes,

including European technology. It was not until after World War Two however, that

Euopeans (now spread out over enough of the globe to include "the West") embarked


upon a program explicitly designed to raise the material condition of the inhabitants of

Afica, Asia and Latin Amenca, specifically through the application of Western

technology.

The machinery of hancial assistance had aiready been developing in the decades

surrounding World War Two, most recently in Lend-Lease and in the Marshall Plan.

These programs had been designed to transfer Amencan wealth to Europe. first to assist

B i t a h in the war against Germany and then to finance much of the reconstruction of

Europe after the devastation of that war. The inclusion of technical assistance as a

formally int~grated aspect of foreign aid came in 1949 with President Truman's "Point

Foury' program.95 A year later, the British Commonwealth commenced the Colombo Plan

which included research and training support on the part of the wealthier countries of the

British ~ommonweal th .~~

It is easy to be cynical about the motives behind foreign aid and technical

assistance. One of purposes of the Point Four program and the Colombo Plan was to

provide a defense against the spread of ~ommunisrn.~' An equally good case can be made

that the programs were and are maintained to support the economic self-interest of the

donor nations. They were an investment in çtimulating foreign trade? For instance,

Canada, in the seventies, stipulated that no less than 65% of its non-food bilateral aid

-

'' J. L. Richardson, "Ethical Issues in North South Relations", in The Wesr and the Third World, ed. Roben O'Neill and R 1. Vincent, (New York, St. Martin's Press, 1990), p. 242; Henry Kissinger, Diplornas, (Toronto: Simon & Shuster, 1994), p. 424. 96 John Drexel, ed., Facfs on File Encyclopedia of the Twenrierh Century (New York: Facts on File, 1991 ), p. 213; T. B. Millar, "Australian Foreign Policy and the ïhird World", in The Wesr and the Third World, ed. Robert O'Neill and R J. Vincent, (New York, St. Martin's Press, 1990), pp. 95-96 97 ibid. 9%ichardson, Tthical Issues in North South Relations", p. 245


budget had to be spent on goods and services produced in Such tied-aid

policies may not be in the best interests of the recipient country, however, which might

find better ways to spend the money or cheaper suppliers outside Canada. Altruism may

not have been a deciding factor in Western govemment decisions to provide aid.

Nonetheless, altniism could explain why the Peace Corps is able to obtain so many

volunteers and the rhetoric of altruism was certainly used alongside containment and

economic self interest to justify the program to the Westem public:

"The United States and other f?ee nations of the world have a common concern for the material progress of these people, both as a humanitarian end in itself and because such progress will further the advance of human freedorn, the secure growth of commerce and the developrnent of international understanding and good will."lOO

Regardless of which combination of containment, economic self-interest and

altnlism is correct, the assumption was, in al1 cases, that foreign fuiancial and technical

aid would work.

Western pride in technology is not difficult to understand. Technological

achievements have given Westem nations the means to control and harness the physical

environment to an extent which has led to unprecedented material prosperity as well as to

the economic and political domination of the globe. It seems only natural that Westerners

would turn to technology to solve the problem of underdevelopment. If we explore

Westem attitudes to technology in even more depth, we may be able to provide even

more sophisticated explanations of the details of development thought.

99 Peter Wyse, Canadian Foreign .4id in the 1970s: an organkational audit. (Montreai: Centre for Developing Area Studies, McGiU University, 1983). 100 United States Department of State, Point Four Program: Cooperative Progront for Aid in the Development of Economicaliy Underdeveloped Areaif, (n. p., 1949), p. 2.


Michael Adas has written about the Western characteristic ofjudging nations by

theu technological achievements. Whereas, before the eighteenth century, religion

formed the basis of European sense of supenority over the inhabitants of other continents:

"By the mid-eighteenth century, scientific and technological gauges were playing a major and at times dominant role in European thinking about such civilizations as those of India and China.. .in the industrial era, scientific and technological measures of human work and potential dominated European thinking.. . ,,101

According to Adas, the use of the technological gauge heled a European sense of

supenority which not only justified a world-civilization mission and colonization, but was

ec hoed in post- World War Two modemization theory ' O 2

Adas' compelling thesis has, 1 think, an important implication which explains

much of the history of development effort and development thought and is consistent

with the story of the handpump in particular: because Westemen have adopted this

single measure of development, i.e. technological achievement, it follows naturally that

there is a single path to development, the technological path or at any rate that the

technological path represents the main path upon which al1 variations depend. This

implication of Adas' thesis manifests itself in the very terminology of "developed vs

"developing" world. The M e r dong this path a nation is, the greater is one's

technological development and the more "developed" a nation is. Moreover, since there

is a single path, we can expect that nations will have similar experiences as they journey

'O' Michael Adas, Mochines as the Memure of Men: Science, Technology und ideologies of Western Dominance, (Ithica, N.Y.: Cornel University Press, 1 SW), p.3. 'O' Adas. Machines as the Meanne of Men, pp. 4,402-403.


dong it, therefore the recent past of the developed nations provides a road map for the

underdeveloped nations.

Early post-war efforts by the West to assist third world development looked to the

history of Westem development for guidance. Perhaps the most widely respected

economic model of development was that of W.W. ~ostow.'" His mode1 included five

stages of growth, using Westem examples to illustrate them. The al1 important middle

stage, take-off, required heavy investment in the modem manufachiTing sector.

Another econornist, Arthur Lewis, provided a dual-economy model in which the

economy of a developing nation could be described in terrns of a traditional (usually

agricultural) and modem (industrial manufacturing) sector. According to Lewis, the

labour in agriculture was underemployed. The practice in the agricultural sector was not

to pay worken the marginal product of labour but the average product, meaning that even

unproductive workers got an equal share of the rewards of labour. Lewis argued that such

practices led to a situation where there was surplus labour in agriculture. The labour

ought to be rnoved to a sector where it could be more productive. The trick to

development then, was to induce labour to move fiorn the agricultural to the modern

sector. Heavy investment in the indusaial sector-and manufacniring would do nicely-

could provide the necessary jobs. The investment would be repaid by rapid growth.

These theoretical developments, embodying a Western "road-map" for

development, almost certainly owe their existence in part to pride in Western

achievernents and therefore Western history. It is not difficult to see the link between

'O3 W. W. Rostow. The Take-oE into Self-S~ained Growth", Economic J o u d 66,2548 (March 1956). '" Anhur Lewis. Thoory of Economic Growth. (London: Allen & Unwin, 1955).


manufacturing and technology, thus these developments are compatible with Adasy theory

and accommodate a bias for Westem technology, including for instance Westem

handpurnp designs. At any rate, the developments bo t - reflected and supported an

emphasis of attention on the urban sector. Development meant industnalization. The

traditional sector, agiculture, was seen as backward and inefficient. To duplicate the

success of the West, the third world had to develop its manufacturing sector. This

required investrnent in capital and technology. In this intellectual atmosphere, urban

industrial centres received far more attention than the rural agricultural areas. World

Bank loans for warer supply systems, for example, went almost exclusively to large urban

pojects. ' O 5

7.1.2 Two Decades of Experience Discredit the Western model.

However, throughout the 1950's and 196O's, the Developing World failed to grow

in the sarne way as the countries of the West upon which the Westem models had been

based. To be sure, some nations did exhibit tremendous growth: South Korea, Hong

Kong, Taiwan and Singapore as well as Latin America. However, these nations were

hardly developing the Westem liberal political structure that Rostow had included in his

model. Growth seemed to require an authoritarian political regime to introduce and

sustain policies of foreign borrowing and primary resource depletion.lo6 ft also becarne

los Charles Weiss and Nicolas Jequier eds.. Technology Finance and Development: An Analysis of the World Bank as a TechnologicaI Institution. (Toronto: Lexington Books, l984), p. 1 10. 'O6 J. S. Hoadley. bThe Rise and FaIl of the Basic Needs Approach", Cooperation and Conjlcr. 16, 149- 164 (198I), p. 151.


apparent, that where there was success, not everyone was sharing equally in it. There

were widening incorne gaps between the rich and the poor, especially in Latin

~merica . '~ ' The deviation from the predictions of Rostow's and Lewis' theories must

have been an affiod to Westem pride. The failure of Western science and technology to

take root in the Developing World and play centre stage in an industrial revolution, must

have seemed perplexing to those whose faith in them was so strong as to use them as a

measure of national worth and development must have been perplexing. Under such

circurnstances, the "appropriateness" of Westem models for third world development

naturally fell into doubt.

By the 1970Ys, the theoretical models of development and the policies informed

by them had undergone major change. Rival theories emerged to challenge Rostow and

Lewis. Some of these theories, such as Dependency, suggested that poverty in the

Developing World was sustained by the international economic system and that any

development which occurred mainly benefited the West and a small group of the very

rich in the Developing World. The great majonty of people remained poor.

Although Dependency and similar theories never dominated government and

NGû policy the way that Rostow's and Lewis' theones did, they were successful in

directing attention toward sustained poverty and the importance of non-manufacturhg

sectors, which often meant the agricultural sector. Prevailing theory in development

economics had to incorporate attention to income distribution, poverty alleviation and the

rural sector.

'O7 John A Booth and Thomas W . Walker, Understanding Centrai Anerica ied, (Boulder, San Francisco, Oxford: Westview Press, 1993). p. 58.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 5 1

An indication of the shifi in emphasis is found in the Basic Needs movement of

the 1970's. The basic needs approach was adopted and championed by the international

Labour Organization which also worked on definhg it. The concept behind basic needs

is that certain minimum conditions must be attained before individuais can contribute to

wealth creation. These include such things as food, shelter and clothing, but also access

to essential services such as transport, health services. the availability of fieely chosen

employment and -o f particular relevance for our study-safe drinking water. 'O8 n i e

basic needs approach also emphasized self-reliance over central control, individuals and

local groups rather than governments and advocated government to individual aid rather

than govemment to govemrnent. Al1 of this would be realized in the handpump programs

of organizations such as UNICEF and Canada's IDRC. Here we can see how it is

necessary to understand the change in Western attitudes if we are to understand the story

of the transfer of the handpump.

7.2 How the Western Change in Focus Led Development Organizations to

the Handpump

7.2.1 Pearson Commission Criticires Technology

With the appropriateness of Western economic models in question, it is not

surprishg to fmd a greater willingness to entertain doubts about the appropriateness of

Western technology. Shce the development community's attention had shifted more

emphasis to rural areas, it followed that rurai technologies would s i d a r l y receive more

1 O8 Hoadley, "Basic Needs Approach", p. 150.


attention. As can be seen fiom the Basic Needs movement, the process of reassessment

of development thought did not stop at econornic theory. Policy was affected, including

policies regarding technology. In 1968, World Bank President, Robert S. McNamara,

appointed former Canadian Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson, as head of the

Commission on International Development. The commission's very influential report

Purmers in Development, appeared in 1969. The report sweyed twenty years of

development experience, which included both success and disappointment. It outlined a

10 point strategy to revamp the international aid process. One of those ten points was to

redirect the program of technical assistance which had ". . .too ofien failed to adapt its

objectives and methods to actual requirements of developing countries.. .".log So it is not

surprishg that the 1970's saw a growth of attention paid to the handpump, a Western

technology transferred to the rural third world.

7.2.2 The World Bank Shifts Gears

During the early 197OYs, the World Bank responded to a shift in development

thought. As previously mentioned, the World Bank had had an urban emphasis in its

lending for water supply systems. However, as indicated in Robert McNamaraTs 1972

and 1973 addresses to the Bank's Board of Govemors, starting in the 1970's' the Bank

placed a new emphasis on the m a l poor.''O The Bank commissioned a series of research

109 Commission on international Development. Porrners in Development. (New York: Praeger, l969), p. 19. "O nte McNornma Yems at the World Bank: major policy addresses of Robert S. McNummo, 1968-1 99 1. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1 98 1).


projects to provide guidance to a new set of policies designed with rural areas in mind. ' ' ' In one of these projects, between 1972 and 1974, Saunders and Warford exarnined village

water supply and sanitation. ' '' Naturally, the handpurnp came to their attention as a

means of getting clean water in rural comrnunities.

By 1975 the World Bank recognized handpumps as the cheapest forrn of water

supply.''3 The Bank's sector policy paper on village water supply recomrnended the use

of handpumps.''4 A year later, the Bank published Village Wuter Suppiy, which

essentially reargwd the points put forth by Saunders and Warford in their previous report.

in addition it devoted space to Technical Aspects and Costs. "In areas where groundwater

is readily available, shallow wells with handpumps are by far the cheapest means of

providing good water ''

7.3 Legacy to the 1980's: The /ntemationa/ Dnnking Water Supply & Sanitation Decade.

Concentration on rural poverty and basic needs becarne such a fundamental

doctrine among the professional development community that it gave birth to a specific

policy program in the field of rural water supply and sanitation. The UN Conference on

III Julian Bharier, "Water SuppIy and Waste Disposal", in Technology, Finance and Developmenr: An Analysis of the World Bank as a Technological Imtiîution, Charles Weiss and Nicolas Jequier eds., (Toronto: Lexington Books, 1984), pp. 107-1 24., p. 1 1 1. "' World Bank, Village Wuter Supply, p. 21. This book is based on the report of Saunders and Warford, Village Water Suppfy and Sanitation in Less Developed Countries, P . U. Report No. Res. 2. "' F. E. McJunkin, F. E. and E. H. A. Hofkes, "Hand-Pump Techwlogy for the Development of Groundwater Resources", in Water Supply and Sanifation In Developing Countries, Eric J . Schiller and Ronald L. Droste, eds., (Am Arbor Science, 1982), p. 37. "* Charles Weiss and Nicolas Jequier e h . , Technology. Finance and Development: An Anaiysh of lhe World Bank us a Technological Institution, (Toronto: Lexington Books, l984), p. 1 13. "' World Bank, Village Water Suppiy, p. 9.


Human Settlements (HABITAT) met in Vancouver in 1 976. Delegates passed a

resolution calling for clean water for everyone in the World by 1990."~ Delegates to the

Mar del Plata coderence in Argentina in March 1977 followed up on this resolution by

declaring 198 1 - 1990 the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade

(ID WSSD).' '' In addition, *'. . .[w]ith more bravado than realism, they elaborated an

r,118 action plan costing 6 144,000 million in 1977 US dollars.. . to achieve this goal. Later

in the year, the 3 ln UN general assembly endorsed the Mar del Plata resolution regarding

the IDWSSD (though the expensive plan does not seem to have been mentioned again)."9

Since handpumps were the technology of choice by this time for rural water

supply, the DWSSD implied the deployrnent of millions of new handpumps. Some

estimates of the required number were as high as 20 million. This number represented a

calculation based on the assurnption that each pump would serve as few as 100 of the

estimated 2 billion people in need of clean drinking water.'" Given that a single

handpurnp could supply as many as 400 people and given that some comrnunities might

be served by spring fed gravity distribution systems, it seems more likely that the required

nurnber of handpumps was much lower. Saul Arlosoroff estimated that only 5-7 million

handpumps would be needed to reach the goal of water-for-everyone."' in any case, the

nurnber was large and the IDWSSD was the impetus for any nurnber of projects in

handpump design and deployment.

116 Krishnaswamy, nBDevelopment of a Dependable Deep-well Handpump". p. 51. I l 7 ibid. "' Maggie Black, The Handpump Cometh" in The ChiIdren und the Nations, The Story of WICEF. (New York: UNICEF, 1986), p. 304. 119 Handpurnps Testing and Development, ed. Tshannerl and Bryan, p. 5 1. "O John Reynolds, Handpumps, rowmd a sustuinable technology : resemch and deveIopment during the Water Supply and Sanitution Decade. (Washington, D.C. : World Bank, 1 W2), pp. 1-2


8. The 1970's and 1980's: Adapting Pump Designs

The decade of the 1970's saw a great deal of activity aimed at the design of pumps

for the Developing World. In order to solve the maintenance problern, development

organizations sponsored and commenced projects to design new handpumps which

featured some combination of increased durability (e.g. the hdia Mark 0, increased ease

of maintenance (e.g. the UNIMADE and the india Mark III) and increased ease

manufacture (e.g. the New No. 6). The number of pumps was large enough that by the

end of the decade, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) recognized the

need to set up a comprehensive testing program to compare them. That program becarne

the World B W n i t e d Nations Development Program Handpumps Project of the 1980's

which evaluated 70 models before it was done."'

Figure 8.1: Photo of India Mark II installed.

;ouce: India Mark II handpumps

8.1 The lndia Mark II: Success through lncreased Durability

The hdia Mark II pump (along with its more

easily maintained descendant, the Mark m) was the

most successful design ever deployed in the

Developing World. It was developed in India in the

mid-1970s. At the beginning of the 1970s there

'" Adosoroff, Sad, a'World Bank Handpumps Testing Programme", in Communify Water Development. ed. Charles Km, p. 156. '" ArlosoroEet ai. , p. k

Success and Faiiure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 56

were approximately 575,000 villages in ~ n d i a . ' ~ In 1975, there were an estimated

150,000 village handpumps in 1ndia.12' By 1984, there were 440,000 India Mark II's.125

By 1989, there were 1.3 million, serving 360 million pe0p1e.I~~ By 1996, over 2.5

million hdia Mark II and Mark III purnps were operating there, serving approximately

500 million people. By the late 1 98O's, exports reached throughout the world."' Over

40 countries irnported or manufactured the india Mark II,"' including ~ i ~ e r i a , " ~ Sri

ank ka'^^ and ~ a l a ~ s i a . 13' The UNDPMrB Handpumps Project tested the pump in 1 1

countries which it identified as commonly using the india Mark II: hdia, Sr i Lanka,

Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Sudan, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Philippines, china.'j2 in

the words of Maggie Black, the india Mark II ". . . is today's best-known handpurnp in the

rural water supply business wor~dwide."'~~ Nonetheless, the bulk of the pumps were

installed in india, making this success story not just one of a particular technology, but a

particular region.

There never was an India Mark 1. The narne Mark iI, denotes the fact that the

pump followed closely on purnp designs developed in india in the late 1960's and early

t23 Black. From Handpumps to Health, p. 5 4. '" New Inrernalionalist. Feb. 1975, as quoted in McDonald and Kay, Water Resources and Sirategies.. p. 74.

Gerhard Tshannerl and Kedar Bryan, ed., Hondpumps tesring and developrnent : proceedings of o wotkshop in China. (Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : World Bank, 1985), p. 53. '" khn Reynolds. p. 84. "' Black, From Handpumps to Health, p. 62. "%UNICEF, b*Technologies for the Villagey'. ~http://www.doe.ernet.in~-unicefd/ul8.htm~ (March 17, 1999). Iz9 H. V. fishnaiswamy, Role ofRichardson & Cruddas (1972) Limited. in Developmenr and hfonufacrure of India hfmk II Deepwell Handpumps in Water Suppiy Programmes in India. (Conference of State Ministers of the Statdünion Temtories in Charge of Water SuppIy, February 7, 1986. Organized by The Ministry of Urban Deveiopment, Goverment of India), p. 3.

Knshnswany, Role of Richarmison and Cmddas, p. 3. 131 Goh Sing Yau, "Malaysia", p. 39.


1970's. '~~ During that t h e , the government of India and the United Nations International

Children's Emergency Fund were involved in the installation of handpumps in Indian

villages. UNICEF had originally become involved in response to drought in the

northwest in 1967.'~' Later, the installation of wells became part of a program designed

to bring safe water and sanitation to India's 575,000 ~ i 1 l a ~ e s . l ~ ~ The familiar problem of

break down plagued the indian project: surveys carried out in Tamil Nadu and

Maharashta in 1974 showed that around 75% of handpumps were not in working order."'

In the words of one author ". . .it appeared that a US% million plus investment in drilling

had supplied close to 9,000 villages with little more than a hole in the g r ~ u n d . " ' ~ ~

The solution adopted by UNICEF and its Indian partners was to find a purnp

which did not break down so easily. 13' The UNICEF water supply staff began a search

for a reliable pump, one which could withstand intensive use for long periods of time

without breakhg d o ~ n . ' ' ' ~ in Maharashtra, they discovered thousands of wells equipped

with handpurnps developed locally. These were the laina, the Jal-wad and the

~ h o l a ~ u r . ' ~ ' These three pumps were related. The Sholapur was a descendant of the Jal-

wad, which was in tum a descendant of the lalna. Pnor to the 1970's, the handpumps

13' Adosoroff et al. Communify Worer Supply, p. 11 5. The countries listed are sites of field testhg by the UNDPMrB Handpump Project. %id, p. 1 1 . A condition of field testing was that the pump had to be in common use in the country in which it was field tested.

Black, From Hundpumps to Health, p. 63. 134 Mudgai, India Handpump Revolurion, p. 3. 135 Black, "The Handpump Corneth", p. 285. 136 Black, From Hundpumps to Health, p. 54. "' Ibid.. p. 59. 13' %id. I J 9 Knshnaswamy, "Development of a Dependable Deep-well Hundpump", p. 53 '" Black, From Handpumps to Health, p. 60.

ibid.


installed in India were of or close to the comrnon design. They featured cast i r ~ n . ' ~ ~

Some, such as the Wasp, the Kirti (very much like the Wasp) and the Kaveri (very much

like the Dempster) were manufactued in [odia.lJ3 Naturally, these pumps were

vulnerable to the notonous maintenance problem.

In 1969, at the Church of Scotland mission in Jalna in the state of Maharashtra, a

self-taught Indian

mechanic and driller

by the name of

Cyrus Gaikwad

deveioped a more

durable '"' His innovations were

distinct fiom

previous

modifications on the

design of the

comrnon handpurnp

in that they did not merely consist of rninor simplifications, as was the case with the

Dempster. Nor did he achieve durability by increasing the size (and therefore cost) of the

parts, as the Battelle Mernorial Institute did, when cornmissioned to design a pump for

'" Knshnaswamy, *'Development of u Dependable Deep-well Handpump", p. 52; Black, From Hrmdpumps to Health, p. 60. 143 Pacey, Hmd Pump Maintenance, p. 1 7. lu Arlosoro ff et al., Comrnuniiy Water Suppb, p. 1 1 4. 14s Mudgal, lndia Handpump Revolution, p. 3.

Success and failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 59

Figure 8.2: Multi-pivo t Design

Most handpumps have a complex system of levers and

pivots to tum the rotary motion of the lever into a vertical

reciprocating motion of the rod. The rod is pulled up as

the lever is pushed down and the rod is pushed down as

the lever is puHed up.

USA ID.'^^ hstead, Gaikwad

altered the materials and

principles of design to achieve a

pump less prone to breakdown.

To begin with, he dispensed with

cast iron for the pumphead and

designed the Jalna to be made

Grom steel?' Steel is lighter and

stronger than cast iron. The next

innovation he made , and the

most distinctive, was to the lever,

its connection to the pump head

and to the pump rods. He

designed a single-pivot handle

with a sealed needle b e a ~ i n ~ . ' ' ' ~

Gaikwad also attached the pump

rod to the handle by means of a quadrant and linked hai in.'''^ This flexible connection, in

contrast with the cornparatively ngid and complex multi-pivot system eliminated lateral

movement and strain on the pump rods. By substituthg a single pivot for the more

common multi-pivot design, Gaikwad reduced the number of moving parts on the handle

mechanism and by sealing the bearing prevented Wear fiom dust, mud and tampering.

'* Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 18. f 47 Mudgal, lndia Handpump Revolution,p. 3. '" Ibié, p. 7b.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer, The Story of the Handpurnp 60

Gaikwad also ensured that the pump head was not physically attached to the rising main.

Because of this change, any strain placed on the pump head, nom rough usage for

instance, would not crack the rishg main. By the next year, 1970,9 men in a small

foundry in Jaha made 200 unit^.'^^ They made several hundred " M e yellow purnps"

- 1 *

: - over the next few years. '

Subsequently, the American Marathi

Mission Project at Wadala produced a

more accurately fabricated version of

the Jalna, called the al-wad.I5?

in the early 1970's, the

Sholapur Well Service (fùnded by the

Swedish Covenant Church) modified

Figure 8.3: Single Pivot Design of the lalna Handpump

jource: Mudgal

Figure 8.4: Sholapur WeU Head -

SHûUPUR PUYPHEAO VEAA - 1973

1 The Sholapur pump was the imrnediate

oreninner of the lndia Mark II. This illustration

;how the roller chain which was used to Iink the

iandle with the piston rods. It was one of the

nost significant innovations of the pump.

Source: Mudgal

--

'" lbid., p. 3, p. 7b. '" Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 17. IJ1 Mudgai, India Handpump Revolution, p. 3. IJ' Black, From Handputnps to Health, p. 60; Mudgal, India Xandpump Revolutim, p. 3.


/ Figure 8.5: Schematic of an India Mark O 1

* -TV - - __-

1 This figure shows some of the design features

1 of the lndia Mark II which helped it achieve

1 such a low break down rate. Aside from the

1 single pivot and the roller chain handlelpiston

1 rod connection, note the hooked spout which

1 prevented foreign material from entering the

1 pump and note also that the drop pipe is not

1 attached to the purnp stand assembly.

source: Shree S. K. industries

the design yet again.Is3 An engineer

named Oscaar Carlson replaced the

needle bearing with a bal1 bearing, which

was less prone to damage fiom lateral

motion. He also replaced the Iinked chain

with a roller chain. Finally, the Sholapur

Well Service ensured uniformity of parts

(and therefore spares) by manufacturing

them on jigs and fixtures. ISJ This was the

Sholapur. By 1974, one could see

thousands of Jalna, Jal-wad and Sholapur

pumps throughout Maharashtra, installed

by various NGOs coordinated by Action

for Agricultural Renewal in Maharashtra

(AFARM).'~~

UNICEF and Government of lndia

engineers were impressed enough to base

the design of their new pump on the Sholapur and its re1at i~es . l~~ M C E F developed the

India Mark iI in cooperation with Richardson & Cniddas (a govemment of India

company) and with MERADO (Mechanical Engineering Research and Development

15' Black, Frorn Hondpumps ?O Heolth, p. 60. 154 Mudgal, India Hmdpump Revulution, pp. 34,7c-7d. I s 5 Black, From Hondpumps to Heolth, p. 60. '" ibid.. pp. 60-1.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer. The Story of the Handpurnp 62

Organization, a govemment of India research unit).'" Richardson & Cruddas produced

the prototypes. MERADO provided design support. The UNICEF tearn, led by Ken

McLeod, coordinated the entire project.'58

Like its role models, the hdia Mark II was built for durability. It was made from

steel. It retained the chah and quadrant and the single pivot design. The above ground

assembly was concreted into the base.159 but not physically attached to the well casingi6'

The angled spout prevented foreign material fiom easily being shoved down the pump.

Rugged handle stops stood up to rough use and abuse?'

Also, some significant innovations distinguish the india Mark II fiom the

Sholapur. Designers increased the pedestal diameter frorn 5 to 6 inches in order to fit

easily over 5 inch diameter well casings which were commonly in use in India by 1976.'~~

They also replaced the pipe handle with a solid bar handle. The increased weight of the

handle provided a counter-balance to the pump rods, making the pump easier to

operate!' Approximately 1000 India Mark Il's were tested during 1977-78. The

breakdown fiequency was a mere 10%. The design was a success.

8.2 Appropriate Technology Influence

Development professionals involved with water and sanitation programs saw

redesign as a solution to the maintenance problem. The comection is logical: purnps are

-- - - -

157 Handpumps Testing and Development, ed. Tshcannerl and Bryan, , p. 52 '" Mudgal, India Handpump Revolution, p. 6. 159 Ken Gray and Rupert Talbot, "A Bnef History af the India Mark ï I Handpump", in Handpumps testing and development : proceedings of a worhhop in China. Gerhard Tschannerl and Kedar B q m eds. (Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : World Bank), 1985, p. 21 9. ''O Baldwin, "The India Mark iI" , p. 173.

Gray and Talbot, BriefHrStwy of the Indio Mark 11, p. 2 19. 16' Ibid., p. 6.


breakhg down; redesign the pumps. They might have adopted a different strategy

however. Development organizations could have responded with an Unmediate effort at

initiating and improving maintenance programs to support the handpumps. By the next

decade, they would do precisely this (see below). Alternatively, they might have

concluded that the handpump experiment was a failure and concentrated on alternative

means to secure clean water, for example piped water systems. It is possible that some of

the inspiration for the handpump redesign that did occur, paxticularly with regard to those

pumps that were designed for simple maintenance came fiom the Appropriate

Technology movement.

The Appropriate Technology philosophy peaked in popularity during the early

1970s. The birth of the Appropriate Technology (originally termed intermediate

technology) philosophy is usually credited to Ernst Friedrich Schumacher. His

enormously popular book Small is Beautiful appeared in 1 9 7 3 . ' ~ In it he argued that the

capital intensive technology of the West was not necessarily suitable to the needs of

developing nations. Schumacher was an econornist, therefore his argument was an

econornic one. Appropriate technology refers to the use of a technology which makes use

of factors of production in a manner consistent with the endowment of the nation.

Therefore, the labour-richkapital-poor nations of the worid should employ technologies

which are more labour-intensive than those of the capital-rich/labour-poor countries of

the West. Such technology need not be srnall, simple nor rurai. Nonetheless, it seems

intuitively appealing to suppose that appropriate technology is more likely to be

164 Ernst F. Schumacher. Small is Beautrfùl: a srudy of economics as ifpeople mattered. (London: Blond & Briggs Ltd., 1973).


associated with hoes hstead of tractors and hand operated pumps rather than motorized

ones.

It is suggestive that the new pump designs examined in this essay, the

USAID/Bettelle pump (late 1 96OYs), the New No. 6 (1 974), the India Mark 11 (1 979 , the

Waterloo-UNIMADE pump (mid- 1970's through l98O's), the Afiidev ( 1 985)-accurred

during the period when the Appropriate Technology movement was strongest, the mid-

1960's to the rnid- 1980's. 165 According to the historian, Carroll Pursell, the Appropriate

Technology movement was bom of dissatisfaction with the results of post-World War

Two technical aid efforts.'66 This is of course one of the majcr explanations I used eariier

to explain the urban-mal shift in development thought which led to a new focus on the

handpump. The coincidence of timing between the redesign of handpumps and the

Appropriate Technology movement might therefore show no more than that the two were

part of a larger phenornena. However, there are more direct links between them.

The literature surrounding handpump development projects paid homage to the

"Appropriate Technology" rnovement by using the t em liberally in connection with its

pump projects. This literature did not concem itself with the economic theory in

Schumacher's phiiosophy, but it did identiQ with the broader concept that the

Developing World needed technology specificaliy tailored to its needs. For example,

between 1976 and 1978, the World Bank adrninistered a project to identi@ appropriate

technology for water supply and waste disposal, even going so far as to give an

165 Carroll PurseIl, "The Rise and Fall of the Appropriate Technology Movement in the United States. 1965- 1 985" , Technology and Culture 34 (1 993): 629-637. '" Ibid. p. 629.


operational dennition of "appropriate t e c h n ~ l o ~ y " : ' ~ ~ ". . .a replicable process or

technique that provides a socially and enviromentally acceptable and a technically

upgradeable level of service or product at the least social ~ o s t " ' ~ ~ David Henry, who as

we shall soon see was an important figure in the early years of the IDRC handpump

program published an article in 1978 entitled "Designhg for Development: What is

Appropriate Technoloey for Rural ~ e v e l o ~ r n e n t ? " ' ~ ~ The trend continued past the

1970s: T h e application of appropriate technology in the field of rural water supplies in

3, 170 indonesia , is just one of rnany instances where the term was used in the 1980s.

Pacey's book. Hand Pump Maintenance in the Conrext of Community Weil Projeers was

published by Intermediate Technology Publications.

A less tangible, but more profound link between the Appropriate Technology

movement and the redesign of handpumps is the qualitative change in handpump design

which occurred in the mid- 1 970's: early attempts at redesigning pumps, such as the india

Mark ii and the USAID~Battelle Mernorial Institute pump employed a strategy of

increasing the durability of pumps. One mi@ cal1 this the "rugged pump" approach.

Later innovations, such as the IDRC's UNIMADE, the india Mark III and the Village

Level Operated and Maintained (VLOM) strategy of the United Nations Development

Prograrn/World Bank Handpumps Project (see below) concentrated on making the pumps

not necessarily so rugged, but easier for niral Developing World villagers to maintain,

- -

167 Charles, G. Gunnerson, "Sanitation Systems for DeveIoping Coutries", in Technology, Finance and Development: ..ln ..inalysrS of the World Bank as a Technoiogical Institution, Charles Weiss and Nicolas Jequier eds., (Toronto: Lexington Books, 1984), p. 125. 16' Gunnenon, *Sanitauon Sysrems for Developing Countties", p. 125, citing L. Squire and H. van der Ta'. Economic Analysk of Projects, (Baithore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975). 169 David Henry "Designing for Development: What is Appmpnate Technology for Rural Development'', Water Suppiy & Management, vol. 2, pp. 365-72. (CM'ord, Pergamon Press Ltd., 197%).


particularly through the use of local materials. The strategy resembles arguments made

by Schurnacher in Small is Beaufifi, before the design of any of these later pumps had

begun:

"The intermediate technology would aiso fit much more smoothly into the relatively unsophisticated environment in which it is to be utilized. The equipment would be fairiy simple and suitable for maintenance and repair on the spot."'

The change in strategy suggests a change in philosophy, a move away fiom viewing the

handpump as a more or less autonomous artifact to a recognition of the handpump as a

machine operating within a technological network, which hcludes not just other

machines (e.g. drilling rigs) but people, such as on-site caretakers and mobile mechanics,

with specific capabilities, resources and availability. Despite the fact that the "rugged

purnp" approach (an approach reaiized with success in die india Mark IF) evolved in an

atmosphere of fmiliarity with the conditions under which a machine must operate in a

Developing World environment, it nonetheless promoted the production of a purnp which

could work in spite of a Developing World environment rather than a pump which couid

work as part of a Developing World environment.

The distinction is similar to an observation Carroll Pursell made about the

Appropriate Technology movemed: Appropriate Technology was perceived as

ferninine.'" Appropriate technology championed ideas of partnership, harmony and

intimate relationships. These ideas stood in contrast to ". . .the rhetoric of conquest and

domination, rationality and control, that are often associated with masculine constructions

''O S. P. Mathur, "The Application of Appropriate Technology in the Field of Rural Water Supplies in Indonesia", Worfd Heaith Statistic. @arterly 39(1), 7 1-80 (1 986). 171 Shurnacher, Small IS Beaufifiri, p. 1 68. '" Pursell. The Rise and Faü of the Appropriate Technology Movement", pp 635636.

Success and Failure in Tectinology Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 67

of te~hnolo~y"."~ It is not very difficult to characterize the India Mark II as a "rugged

individual" while describing the UNIMADE as a "CO-operative tearn player".

There is good reason to speculate about a lidc between the Appropriate

Technology movement and the history of the redesign of handpumps. Proponents of the

Appropriate Technology movernent and the development professionals active in

handpurnp projects were aware of one another. Some cross pollination undoubtedly

occurred. Moreover, it is plausible that both groups were indicative of the change in

developrnent thought unfolding in the early 1970s, wherein the applicability of

unrnodified Westem technology in the Developing World was in question. The new

vogue was to h d or develop technology suitable or "appropriate" to the Developing

World setting. This 1in.k between a Westem movement and the policy of development

organizations is a M e r indication of the importance of understanding Westem culture

and history in solving the riddles of technology transfer.

The story of the development of the üNIMADE is indicative of how engineers

changed pump designs to suit the Developing World and how they continued to change

them when they introduced hem to different environments.

8.3 Development of the UNIMADE.

8.3.1 The Waterloo Prototype

The influential report of the Pearson commission, Pariners in Development,

specifically spoke of the need for institutional support for experts engaged in technical


assi~tance."~ Given that the federal govemment of Canada was at this time in the hands

of the Liberal Pierre Elliot Trudeau , formetly a rninister in Pearson's cabinet, it is

pertiaps not surprishg to find that in Canada the advice of this hi&-profile report was

tangibly realized. The inaugural meeting of the Board of Govemon of the International

Development Research Centre took place in October, 1970. The govemment of Canada

gave the Centre CS 1 million and a mandate *' . . . to initiate. encourage. support and

conduct research . . . into the means for applying and adapting scientific, technical and

othet knowledge to the econornic and social advancement of [developing nati~ns]"."~

The D R C came into being just as the development community was shifting focus to the

problems of rural development and during the period when the appropriateness of

Western technology was in question. in such an atmosphere, it seems reasonable that the

new development organization should become active in the field of handpump research.

At any rate, by the end of the decade, the Centre was committirig hundreds of thousands

of dollars to the development of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) handpump for use in rural

areas of developing countries, a pump whose most successful incarnation was named

"UNIMADE".

The UNIMADE pump was a plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pump developed in

Canada and Malaysia as a pump which could be easily repaired and maintained in rural

developing areas. The project began in Canada with IDRC in the mid- 1 970's. By the

mid-1980's it had become a network of projects in rnany countries of Afiica, Asia and

Latin Amenca. In the rnid-1 97OYs, David Henry became Assistant Director of the Health

- - -

1 74 Commission on Development, Parrners in Development, (New York: Praeger, 1969, pp. 20-2 1. 17' Goverment of Canada. Intemationol Development Resemch Centre Act. 1 SVO. Section 4. Subsection 1.


Sciences Division of the IDRC. If we c m identi& the shift to a rural focus among the

development community and the questioning of the appropriateness of Western

technology as providing the conditions conducive to the IDRCYs entry into handpump

research, we can identify David Henry as the specific individual inside IDRC in whom

the potential of those conditions was realized. His expenence as a field officer for

UNICEF in India during the early 1970's (before the arrivai of the India Mark

exposed him to the shortcomings of the common handpump when used in rural areas of

develophg countries. He got a chance to see the maintenance problem of the cornmon

handpump first hand: "hported pumps that were designed for use by individual families

in Europe and North America, when installed in villages of 500 people, wore out in a

week."'" Given his background, it is not surprising that he took notice of the 1974

üMCEF survey in hdia which noted that 75% of purnps were not in working order (the

same survey which stimulated the development of the hdia Mark II, referred to in section

8.1). Henry referred to the survey in an article published in 1976."~ Henry's interest in

solving the problem was the beginning of the IDRC project.

The design that eventually evolved into UNIMADE, came to IDRC with World

Bank consultant W. K. (a. k.a. Tim) Journey. Village Water Supply, the publication of

1976 based on the work of Saunders and Warford over the previous few years (see

section 7.2.2) recornmended that handpumps on shallow wells should be used wherever

possible; that the systems must be designed for simple, trouble fiee operation and be

capable of king maintained and operated by local technicians; that equipment mwt be

-

'" David Henry, BbTechnology Tramfer: Old Myths and New Realities", Journal of Developing Societies 7(l), ( lWl) , p. 97. In Henry. "Technology Transfer" , p. 97.

Success and Failure in Technolociy Transfer. The Story of the Handpump 70

durable and replacement parts readily available and that standard designs, capable of

slight modification for local conditions should be d e v e l ~ ~ e d . " ~ Journey wrote a paper

outlining the design for a plastic pump to m e t most of these criteria for the World Bank

in October 1976.1a0 Given the high profile of rural water supply in general at the tirne, of

World Bank projects in particular and Henry's interest in the handpump, one can ody

assume that he was aware of and interested in Journey's idea. This assurnption. at any

Figure 3: Cornparison of the Journey Design to the Common EIandpump.

Journey Desrgn Traditionai Descgn

rate, explains why Journey came

to work for IDRC. '" He brought

his idea for a plastic pump with

him.

The Journey pump, when

compared to the common pump,

featured a simplified (therefore

cheaper) design and the use of

cheaper matenals such as plastic,

wood and leather. '82 h the

common design, the drop pipe is

placed inside a larger pipe, lcnown

as the well casing. instead of

178 David Henry. "Will it work, will it last, can 1 afTord it?" Reports. 5(J), (1976) 16-1 7. '" World Bank, Village Wuter Supply, p. 3 1 . 180 W. K. Joumey, A Hand Pump for Rural Areas of Deveioping Couniries. (World Bank, 1976). intemationai Bank for Reconstruction and Development document, P.U. Report No, RES 9, 1976. "' Goh, 'Deveiopmmt of a.. .HandumpW, p. 2. '" Joumey. Hand Pump for Rural Areas, p. 2.


havhg a separate well casing and &op pipe, in Joumey's design one pipe performed both

functions. '83 This pipe was not steel, but PVC. By the mid- 1 97OYs, PVC was more

readily available than steel or other alternatives such as asbestos cernent in developing

countries and considerably ~ h e a ~ e r . " ~ The use of PVC also had other advantageç over

steel. PVC c m be solvent welded, which requires very little equipment or expertise

compared with the welding of iron and steel. Thus PVC pumps, ceteris paribus, were

easier to construct and to repair in rural areas of developing nations. PVC is also lighter

than steel, making it easier for villagers to install the pump or pull it up to repair it.

The pump rod was to be made from wood or even bamboo. Ioumey also

dispensed with the pump rod guide, which he argued was ~ n n e c e s s a r ~ . ' ~ ~ Joumey's

design called for the piston seals to be made out of leather.'" Naturally these seals are

subject to a great deal of Wction as the piston moves up and down in the cylinder.

Leather seals Wear out relatively quickly, but since both leather and Ieather workers are

generally in plentifid supply in the countryside, replacing the seals did not pose a

prob lem.

The Joumey pump also employed an interchangeable piston and foot valve. The

Joumey piston and foot valve both consisted of perforated PVC disks with nylon

reinforced neoprene flaps placed over the holes to act as valve^.'^' Journey probably

hoped that interchangeable parts would have made stocking spares easier as well as

s impl img manufacture. Because the drop pipe acts as the pump cylinder, both the

-- - -

Ig3 Ibid. I BJ Glennie, Colin. Village warer suppiy in the decade : lessonrfi.ornfield experience. (Chichester [Sussex] ; Toronto: J. Wiley, I983), p. 92. la' Joumey, Hand Pump for Rural Areas, p. 4. 196 Ibid., pp. 5-6.


1 Figure 4: The Journey PistoilFoot Valve

1 source: Journey

piston and the foot valve cm be taken

out or "recovered" sirnply by pulling

thern up the length of the drop pipe.

This cannot be done in common designs

where the cylinder and therefore the

piston is of a larger diarneter than the

riser pipe. in such designs, if the user

wants to recover the piston (to inspect it

for damage for instance) he or she is

obliged to pull up the entire drop pipe

and cylinder which are often full of

water. That is a three person job. In

Journey's design, pulling up the piston

and then the foot valve was only a one

For al1 Journey's attention to detail, he still only had a conceptual design

inasmuch as he liad not proMded engineering drawings in his paper. David Henry went to

the University of Waterloo to visit the Mechanical Engineering Department. He knocked

on the door of Professor Alan Plumtree and asked if the professor could design a

handpump for use in the rural third w0r1d.I~~ Dr. Plumtree must have heard something he

liked, because at the start of 1976, he almg with Dr. A. Rudin were working under an

'" Md., p. 3. la' ibid., p. 3. '" Richard CarnRhers, private conversation, February 1998.


DRC gant to design a handpump for

third world u d g O Their liaison with

IDRC was through David Henry and W.

K. lourney. The pump which they

eventually developed followed the

principles set down in Joumey's

conceptual design. in January of the next

year, the research team was in full

swing.19' By Apcil of 1978, they had a

working prototype of a PVC purnp.

in the spirit of Joumey's design

Figure 5: The Waterloo F&np PistonEoot Valve

jource: Rudin and Plumtree

the Waterloo design substituted PVC plastic for the steel drop pipe. It retained the idea of

an interchangeable PVC piston and foot valve. Instead of leather seals on the piston and

foot valve, the Waterloo pump featured hvo split polyethylene ring seals on the piston and

a polyethylene cup for the foot valve.192 Ln spite of the modifications however, the

Waterloo pump remained m e to the philosophy of the Joumey design, ease of

maintenance. It was simple Ui design and made fiom cheap materials. This made it

easier for villagers to understand how it worked, how to repair it and to get hold of

replacement parts and repair materials.

The Waterloo Pump underwent testing at the Consumer's Association Testing

Facility in England (as part of project sponsored by Bntain's Overseas Development

'* IDRC, &Water Pump Systm", Project 760158. May 1999. IDRC Development Research Information System (IDRIS) < http9/~~~.minweb.idrc.ca/idrisiog.htm > (July 26, 1999). 19' David Henry, "Wanted: A Better Hand Pump", Reports 6(4), p 14 (1 977).


Ministry) later that year. The CA labs suggested a few modifications having identified the

Waterloo Purnp's vulnerability to Wear when handling water containing sand and

abrasives, nonetheless the overall assessrnent was positive.'93 With a university

developed and laboratory tested design, IDRC was ready to take the next step, field

testing. DRC dispersed ~ $ 5 8 2 , 0 8 0 ~ ~ ~ to test the Waterloo pump under field conditions

in Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ethiopia and Malawi. lg5

8.3.2 Field Testing 1 978-82: Lessons and Modifications

The first phase of testing, the one which DRC initiated to see how the newly

designed Waterloo pump would perfonn under field conditions lasted over three years.

Only the below ground components, Le. the drop pipe, the pump rod, the piston and the

foot valve were taken fiom the Waterloo Purnp. Each country designed its own pump

stand assembly. LDRC did not administer the project directly, but rather provided funding

and technical support to organizations in the host countries. Even though it had been

designed specifically for mal third world use, adaptation of the Waterloo pump to local

conditions was fiequently necessary.

'" Gok b'Development of the Unimade Handpump", p. 2. 193 "Hand Pump Test Lab (England)", Project 770 122, May 1999, IDRIS. (July 76,1999) '%A list of sources is necessary here: "Rural Water Technology Research:, Project 7601 87; "'Pumping Technology Research (Ethiopia)", Project 770022; "Shallow Well Pump Research (Malawi)", Project 770 107; "Water hunping Technolow (Global)", Project 78ûû 16, "Water-Pumping Tecbology (Malaysia) - Phase I", Project 780022, "Handpump Testing (Sri Lanka)" Project 780105, IDRC Developmmt Research Idormation System CI]3RIS) c http~hvww.minweb.idrc.calidrislog.htm > ( M y 26, 1999). (Note: DRIS is a database which contains summaries of each project to which the IDRC has granted fini&. ) The figure given in the text is amived at by adding up the values of the grants for aii projects. 19' Goh, *bDevelopment of a.. .Handpumpw, p. 2.


8.3.2.1 Ethiopia: Back to Metal

In the early 198OYs, the IDRC provided the Ethiopian Water Resources Authority

(EWRA) with C$166,380 to add the Waterloo Pump to its program of testing and

development. EWRA tested six handpumps which included the Waterloo Pump and

pumps designed by the University of Addis Abbaba. Eighty-four Waterloo pumps were

installed in Ethiopian villages and monitored for a penod of about one year. Tested for

volumetric eficiency, foot valve le& rates and pump rod forces at three different depths,

the pump perforined well over the year. Researchers declared the pumps Wear resistant

and inexpensive and believed that the pump could be manufactured l o ~ a l l ~ . ' ~ ~

Ultimately, the Ethiopians did not adopt the Waterloo Pump, but they did

incorporate part of its design in the pump they did d e v e ~ o ~ . ~ ~ ' The EWRA developed a

series of pumps cailed BP pumps. They settled on the BP-50. The BP-50 was a

substantial departure from the Waterloo design. It did not even incorporate Journey's

concept of a predominantly plastic purnp. The Ethiopians did not have a very good supply

of quality PVC pipe.'98 They did have a plentiful supply of artisans involved in a long

established metal indust~y.'~~ So, the PVC drop pipe was abandoned in favour of a return

to metal. However, the Ethiopians did not give up on a more basic concept behind the

pumps such as that of the Waterloo design, the idea of simplicity. in a departure fiom the

conventionai design, instead of a lever, EWRA attached the pump rod, steel now, rather

--

IW *'himpkg Technology Research (Ethiopia)" 19' World Bank, United Nations Development Programme. Laboratory Tesring, Field Trials and Technological Development. (World Bank Rural Water Supply Handpumps Project Report. 1, Washington, D. C., 1982), p. ii clear1y identifies "LDRC Ethiopia Type BP", identifjing the iDRC pump with the BP line developed by Ethiopian Water Research Authority (EWM). 19' Arlosomff et al.. Community Water Supply, p. 1 52. '" C. Bailey et al., Handle On Health, (Ottawa: IDRC, 1990) Video.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer The Story of the Handpump 76

than PVC, to a simple handle, rather like the straight handlebars one might find on a

pogo-stick. This arrangement dispenses with the mechanical advantage afforded by a

lever of course, but it also means fewer moving parts to break down on the pump.

8.3.2.2 Sri Lanka: lncorporating Wood

In 1958, A. T. Ariyaratne, a teacher at Nalanda College, a Buddhist high school in

Colombo organized a group of teachers, students and government workers into a work

camp to assist the residents of the poor, low-caste village of ~anatoluwa. '~~ It was the

beginning of the Sarvodaya movement (full name: Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana

Movement (~nc.)'~~) The rnovement was cornmitted to the Buddhist ideal of self

reaiization for the individual and the community. "Sarvodaya" means "awakening of

all". "Sarvodaya" was achieved through "shramadana" which means the sharing of one's

lab~ur.'~' By the 1980's the Sarvodaya rnovement was an established organization in

grassroots community-development work.'03 It involved over 1 million people and

covered over 3000 villages and was beginning to involve itself in small industries.'"

This combination of interests led them to consider the manufacture of handpumps.

Sarvodaya looked for a pump which could be built and repaired in the villages. As the

literature surrounding village water supply fiequently points out, fetching water in

" George D. Bond, The Buddhist Revival in Sri Lanka: Religious Tradition, Reihterpretation and Response, (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1 988), p. 244. "' Sharp and Graham, Village Hondpump Technology, p. 20. 'O' Macy, loanna, Dharma and Development: Religion 4s Resource in the Survodaya Se[/-Hel' ~Movemenr. (West Hartford, Corn.: Kumarian Press, l985), p. 1 16. 'O3 Ssharp and Graham, Village Handpump Technotogy, p. 9. 'w George McRobie, "The Cornmunity's Role in Appropriate Technology" Second Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures October 1982, Cathedrai St. John the Divine, New York City, ed. Hildegarde Hannum, 1999 <http://www.schumachersociety.org/lec-mc (June 10, 1999). May be purchased in pamphiet form fkom the E. F. Schumacha Society, 140 Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 01 230, (4 13) 528-1 73 7, <www.schumacfiersociety.orglpublication.h~~.


traditional societies is usually women's work. Maintenance is therefore easier if the

pumps are designed with women in mhd. PVC pumps are useful, because they are

lightweight, more easily drawn up out of the ground for repair

Once again, this is a story of modification and adaptation. Firstly, the prograrn

participants modXed the existing steel pump stands and levers to accommodate the

below ground cornponents of the Waterloo ~ u m ~ . ~ ~ ~ Secondly, the below ground

components themselves were modified from the Waterloo design. Solid PVC stock was

unavailable in Sri Lanka, so they fashioned the piston and foot valve fiom PVC pipe with

a core of wood. They also replaced the polyethylene seals with a leather cup.'06

Polyethylene was difficult to obtain in Sri Lanka, but leather was plentifid. Leather also

had a further advantage. It made a better seal against the rough inside, typical of PVC

pipe in Sri ank ka."' Some of the parts could be made in the village centres, though the

pistons, seals, valves and above ground components had to be produced at the Sarvodaya

Main centre.''* The project was still operating well five years later when film maken

came to record its progress.209

8.3.2.3 Thailand: A Leaky Foot valve

The Thai experience of the Waterloo handpump in the early LggO's, was to have a

direct influence on the design of the UNIMADE. Once again, D R C introduced its pump

into an existing pump program. The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) tested the

'Os Mark Rogm "An Appropriated Technology: Handpumps in Sri Lanka". Reports 13 (3) (October 1984) p. IO* '06 Pathirana Dharmadasa, Upali Wickramasinghe, and Douglas Chandrasiri, Sri Lanka" , in Village Hundpump Technology. Donald Sharp and Michel Graham, eds. (Ottawa, DRC, 1982), p. 18. " ibid., p. 18. 'O8 Ibid, p. 12. '" Bailey et al., Handle on Heulth.

Success and Failure in Technotogy Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 78

Waterloo pump alongside two other pumps then currently in widespread use in Thailand,

the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) pump (a descendant of the Dempster

pump"4 and the Office of Accelerated Rural Development (ARD) pump.''t Based on

Iaboratory tests, a modified pump was d e ~ e l o ~ e d . ~ " It employed a modified piston and

foot valve and a steel casing was placed around the PVC linde der."^ AIT discovered the

foot valve of the Waterloo pump leaked, because the PVC valve flaps did not provide an

effective water seal. The Thais replaced the PVC flaps with a rubber flap with brass

backing plate glued to it. Further, they elevated the valve seat to prevent it becoming

blocked with sand. They attached a spring to press the valve flap ont0 the seat. However,

the backing plate came unglued in practice and the Thais resorted to a single rubber disk

with no backing plate."" They also abandoned the idea of a recoverable foot valve that

could be used as a spare Fi£ty-four pumps were installed in three regions of

Thailand for field testing? With the results both of the laboratory tests and the field

tests. the Thais designed a new purnp, the AIT-PVC which hcorporated some of the

above modifications, particularly to the foot valve." '

8.3.2.4 Malaysia: A Better Foot valve

The AIT-PVC pump did not lead directly to the UNIMADE. However, the

Maiaysians studied the record of the Thai efforts while they made their own

"O Pichai N i tyongsM and Pisidhi Karasudhi, Thailand", p. 21. TI I Ibid., pp. 21-22. '" Ibid.. p. 29. 213 Ibid., p. 26. Il4 Ibid.. pp. 26-7. TI5 Ibid., p. 27. ''' *'Water Purnping Technology (Global)", Project 780016, , IDRC Development Research information System (IDRIS). 37 Goh, "Maiaysia?', p. 29.


modifications. The Malaysian project was

ultimately to be the most f i t f u l of the early

testing projects. This was the project which

brought Dr. Goh Sing Y au of the University

of Malaya to the design of PVC handpumps.

His redesign of the Waterloo purnp, later

known as the UNMADE (UNiversity of

MAlaya DEsigned) "' pump was to be the

most successful to emergc from the iDRC

handpump project and would later be used in

locations throughout the world.

The initial project lasted fiom January jource: Reynolds, "IDRC-üM Handpurnp"

L

1979 to June 1982."9 The Malaysians manufactured 12 lift purnps and 5 suction pumps

according to the Waterloo design. The Malaysians made use of the experience gained by

the Thais, though their solutions were diflerent. Noting the leakage past the foot valve

observed by the Thais, the Malaysians redesigned the foot valve. Unlike the Thais they

did not resort to a non-recoverable foot valve. hstead of a polyethylene cup featured on

the Waterloo pump, Goh and his team used a double-lip rubber seal. Thus they preserved

the recoverable foot valve.u0

-

"' Goh, "Developrnent of the Unimade Handpump", p. 6. '19 Sharp and Graham, Village Hodpump Technology, p. 39. "O Goh. "Development of a.. .Handpumpy', p. 3.

Success and Failure in Technotogy Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 80

1 Figure 6: The UMMADE PistodFoot Valve

Double lip tub ber seal i for foot vafve oniy -' l

8.3.3 The UNIMADE In August of 1982 participants in the

six field test projects met at an end-of-project

seminar at the University of Malaya in Kuala

Lumpur to discuss results."' From there, a

second round of field testing began.

The pumps used in the second round

were a11 rnodified €rom the Waterloo pump.

Apparently, the participants in the

conference were impressed with what they

heard fiom Goh Sing Yau, because the

Thais, the Filipinos and the Malaysians al1

opted for designs based on the modifications

made by Dr. Goh at the University of Malaya.

Meanwhile, although David Henry had left IDRC, the handpump project was now

in the hands of Donald Sharp who pursued it vigorously. The gant he obtained for

setting up the IDRC handpump network and research facility was the largest gant the

IDRC had ever made. It took Sharp a year to convince the board of govemors to approve

it.'" The Malaysian group fomed the centre of a handpump network in Asia, but

Donald Sharp, "The IDRC Handpump Program" , in Hmdpumps testing and developntent : proceedings of a w o h h o p in China. Gerhard Tschannerl and Kedar Bryan eds. (Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : Worici Bank), 1985, p. 194nl. The resdts presented at this serauiar are presented in Sharp and Graham.

interview with Donald Sharp, April1998.

Success and Failure in Technoloqy Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 81

eventually to include operations in such places as Kenya, the ~ h i l i ~ ~ i n e s , ~ ~ ~ Carneroon

and Costa lXica2". Among the services the Maiaysian group provided was the supply of

pumps if local production facilities did not yet exist, for example in Costa Rica2?

Professor Goh personally provided technical assistance when other organizations

undertook the manufacture of the pumps, for example the Water Conservancy Bureau of

Xinjiang,

By 1 984, the first pump to bear the narne üNlMADE, the UNIMADE Mark 1,

was built at the University of ~ a l a ~ a . ~ ' In the tradition of the Iourney design and the

Waterloo Purnp, the Mark 1 featured a PVC piston and foot valve. These were located

inside a PVC drop pipe which also served as pump cylinder. Unlike the Iourney design.

the UNIMA.DE featured a separate well cashg.?'* It still had the polyethylene piston

rings of the Waterloo Pump, but the foot valve featured the double lip rubber seal which

had been developed at the University of Malaya. Above ground, there was a 6 inch steel

pipe atop which was installed a largely wooden Ieverage ~ ~ s t e r n . ' ~ ~ The

bearings for the pivot and hanger joints on the leverage system were made fiom oil-

" Gendrano, Carme10 M., 'The IDRC Handpump Project in the Philippines: Experiences and Prospects". paper presented at ïhe D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reporfs of the IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 21-25 October 1992, Beijing, China. (N.p., [DRC?], [1992?]). (Conference Proceedings) Available fiom IDRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5. i74 - Rosaies. * * ~ a n d ~ u r n ~ koject in Costa Rica". 225 ibid.. P. 2. zb ZhaG ~i De Troject Situation in Popularization of IDRC Handpump and its Prospect on Cornmerciaiization Development in Xinjiang", paper presented at The IDRC Handpump Nenvork Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nehvork Meeting, 21-25 October 1992, Bepng, China. (N.F., [IDRC?], [1992?]). (Conference Proceedings), p. 2, Available fiom iDRC archives: archiv 63 1 -65 G 5. " Goh, "Development of the Unimade.. .", p. 6. "' Graham and Sharp, p. 44. See figure. 229 Goh, "Development of the Unimade.. .", p. 9.

Arlosoroff et al., Communify Water Suppb, p. 154.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfec The Story of the Handpump 82

impregnated ti~nber-'~' All the working components of the pump were either wood or

plastic. The stand was made from steel pipe.

8.4 The United Nations Development PIanAModd Bank Handpumps Project and the "VLOM" Concept

The interest in the development of handpumps suited for use in the Developing

World gained steam in the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. As the nurnber of

"appropriate" pumps grew, the question of cornparison arose. During the late 1970's the

British Overseas Development Ministry contracted with the Consurners Association to

analyze the characteristics of 10 commercially manufactured pumps fiom the

industrialized world. The tests were c&ed out at the Consurners Association Testing

and Research Laboratory in Harpenden, UK. It was to this program that the IDRC turned

when they wanted the Waterloo pump independently e~a lua t ed?~~ ln 1979, with the

DWSSD in rnind, the Consurners Association and the International Reference Centre for

Comrnunity Water Supply (IRC), based in Den Haag, Netherlands ran the international

Conference on Testing and Evaluation of Handpumps. Representatives of the World

Bank attended. Within a year, the World Bank contracted with the Consumers

Association Testing and Research Laboratory to test two more p ~ p s . 2 3 3 One year after

that, the United Nations Development Program chose the World Bank to undertake the

- -

231 Goh Sing Yau. Laborato?y und Field Testing of Hundpumps. (Ottawa: IDRC, 198S), pp. 62-68. 3L Sharp and Graham, Village Hondpump Technology, p. 7 "3 World Bank, United NationsDevelopmmt Programme, Rural lYorer Supply Hundpump Project: Laboratory Tesring, Field Triols and Technologicul Development, p. ii.


Rural Water Supply Handpumps ~roject.'~"e World Bank continued to use the

Consumer Association labs for the lab testing portion of the project, which lasted to

1 982.23s A field testing program began in 198 1 .'36 By mid- 1986 it had tested 2700

handpurnps in 17 co~t r i es . ' ~ ' The project's 1987 report entitled Community Water

Supply: The Ha;.tdpr<mp ~ ~ t i o n , ~ ~ * became a well known and ofl-quoted document in

rural water supply literature. The report contained evaluation of most of the important

new handpurnps fiom the 1970's and early 1980's, including the hdia Mark II, the

Afridev (a popular pump of which many thousands are in use in Afnca, Pakistan and the

~ h i l i ~ ~ i n e s ' ~ ~ ) the üNiMADE. It was this project which coined the terni "VLOM

(Village Level Operated and Maintained) pumps.'JO The term referred to a concept which

had been developing throughout the 1970's and which was probably an outgrowth of the

belief in making pumps "appropriate" for Developing World cornmunities. The concept

entailed creating a pump which could be repaired by villagers using local resources.

Villagers would then not be dependent upon distant mechanics or supplies of spare parts.

Joumey's pump, fiom which the UNIMADE design developed embodied precisely this

reasoning, though it was too early to get the name "VLOM". VLOM was a concept

which the LJNDPMrorld Bank Handpumps Project championed and to which many pump

designs of the l97O's, 1980's and L 990's aspired.

- -- -

234 Arlosoroff, S.. D. Grey and W. Jouney, preface to Rural Water Suppiy Handpumps Project - Hmdpumps Testing and Developrnent: Progress Reporr on Field and Loboratoty Tesring. (Series: World Bank Technicd Paper, 29, UNDP Project Management Report. 1984). 23 5 Arlosorff, "World Bank Handpumps Testing Programme", p. 157.

Ibid.. "' Allosoroff et ai., preface to Cornrnunity Water Suppiy, preface.

bid. 3 9 Erich Baumanu, private communication, June 29, 1999. The numbers represent Mr. Baumann's estimates based on rnemory. IU> Arlosoro ff et al., Community Water Supply? p. 1 3.


Between 1983 and 1988, UNICEF and hdia even redesigned the hdia Mark II to

conform to the VLOM principles.'4' For example, the chief drawback to the India Mark

II, so far as village level maintenance was concemed, was that the piston and footvalve

were of wider diameter than the nser pipe and could not be removed for routine

maintenance (particularly replacement of the piston seals) without pulling up the entire

riser pipe. That operation requires heavy equipment, a few hours and two or three

me~hanics. '~~ The India Mark III used a piston and footvalve of slightly under 2.5 .' in

diameter which allowed them to be pufled up without lifting the nser main.''-' The entire

job could be done without heavy equipment and within an heur? By 1995 there were

2.3 million India Mark II's in I.ndia;14' by 1996 there were 2.6 million India Mark II's and

Mark III's."'6 This rneans that 300,GOO India Mark Di purnps have been installed since

the purnp's development (which ended in 1988). Given that in 1995 there were 36

qualified suppliers of the hdia Mark II with a combined annual production capacity of

150,000 purnps, it would appear that the India Mark iU represents a sizeable portion of

the production, though perhaps still lagging behind its older brother, possibly because of a

higher cost?'

"' hiudgal, lndia Handpump Revolution, p. 23. "' Mudgal, India Handpump Revolution, p. 20; Arlosoroff et al., Comnunity Watet Suppiy, p. 1 17. 3' Mudgal, Indio Hondpunp RevoZution, p. 27. f u Arlosoroff et al., Communify Wuter Supply, p. 1 17. "' Mudgd. India Handpump Revofution, p. 1 1 . '* ibid., p. 17. "' %id, p. 18.


9. The Late 1970's: Adapting the Environment

The results of the handpump redesign efforts of the 1970's were mixed. Al1 were

irnprovements over the nineteenth century common handpump they were meant to

replace, but development organizations also came to recognize that there was more to

successfbily introducing the handpump to the Developing World than good pump

designs. For al1 its v h e s , the UNMADE'S innovative design proved to be only one

factor in &terminhg the success of attempts to introduce it in pilot projects throughout

the Developing World. As we shall see, a great deal of attention focused on maintenance

systems. So long as the issues involved were fairly technical in nature, related for

instance to the construction and maintenance of handpumps, development organizations

like iDRC had little difficulty in meeting the challenge.

9.1 Establishing Construction Faciljties and Standards.

Naturally, an important component of any network to support handpumps is the

manufacturing facility. Some pump designs were adapted to ensure that manufacture was

not beyond the capabilities of local manufachirers. One of the vimies of the extremely

successful New No. 6 pump in Bangladesh (there are approximately 3,000,000 there'"8)

was that it was a very simple pump without fiFe toleran~es.?~~ Ease of manufacture was

'Is Exich Baumann, private communication, June 19,1999. The numbm represent Mr. Baumann's estimates based on memory. "' Black, From Handpumps to Heafth, p. 24; Arlosoroff et al., Comrnunity Water Supply, p. 174.


one of the principal tenets of the design program which developed the ~fkidev."~ Once

Goh had a workable design, he turned attention to the constniction of a small-scale

rnanufacturing plant. Project managers could not simply rely on such facilities k ing

available. The Indonesian organization participating in the iDRC handpump network,

Dian Desa, a village based ("Desa" means village'5') Appropriate Technology g ~ o u ~ , ~ ~ '

was unable to find a private manufacturer for its version of the UNIMADE pump. The

lack of a local manufacturer hurt their program. Local organizations expressed dismay

when they could not purchase the pump locally. Presumably, imports were expensive. In

1992, Dian Desa was çtill trying to secure funding to build its own fa~ility."~ Once

qualified manufacturers were found, organizations such as UNICEF and iDRC might fmd

themselves involved in the establishment of quality control standards .'*'

9.2 Maintenance Systems

in 1976. Oxfarn first published a pamphlet by Arnold Pacey under the title: Hand

Pzrmp Maintenance and the Objectives of Community Well Projects. in the next year it

was republished by Intermediate Technology Publications as Hand Pzmp Maintenance in

the Context of Community Well ~rojects ."~ The essay becarne widely known and Pacey

appeared in the bibliographies of texts on handpurnps prepared by development

Arlosoroff et al., Comrnunity Wuter Supply, p. 62. For wide use, note Erich Baumann, private communication, June 29, 1999. The numbers represent Mr. Baumann's estimates based on memory. "' Avril Gupta, "Rural Water Supplies in hdonesia", (master's thesis, University of Waterloo, 1994) , p. 136. " Christina Anstanti, The D R C Handpump Project in hdonesia and its Commercialization Prospects", paper ptesented at The D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nerwork Meeting, 21-25 October 1992, Beij'ing, China. (Np., @DRC?], f l992?]). (Conference Proceedings), p. 1. AvailabIe fkom IDRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5. 253 ibid., pp. 6-7. ?Y Donald Sharp. The PVC Pump Branches Out", Reports 14 (3/4), pp. 22-23. (October 1985) 25' Pacey, among tint pages (unnumbered) of Hand Pump Maintenance.


professionals.'56 Pacey made the argument that there was much more to the success of

handpump projects than the design of the pumps. He went so far as to suggest that the

success of handpump projects had more to do with comrnunity o i g ~ t i o n than with

pump design:

"A hand-pump is only appropriate if it fits the pattern of organization, social responsibility and ski11 which exists in the comunity. Suitable purnps cannot be produced if the arrangements for maintenance and water use in the villages ubere they will be used are never examined. Programmes based only on laboratory tests and technical investigations can improve the construction and reliability of the band-purnps, but can never make them more acceptable to the users without community inv~lvement,"'~'

Pacey's book was probably the k t in handpump literature to make a vigorous

argument which explicity acknowledged that machines do not operate in isolation but

function as a component of a larger system.

As Pacey pointed out, some development professionals had, by the mid- 1970's,

already recognized the need to organize regular maintenance as a part of handpump

projects and had developed strategies to address the problem. By 1975, for instance, the

requirement that one villager l e m maintenance on the well and handpump was a

condition for Oxfarn gants for water suppl JS8 From the mid-1970's on, maintenance

received a great deal of attention in the literature surrounding handpurnps. McJunkin

addressed the organization of maintenance in WHO'S draft guideline on handpurnps.'59

By the 19803, the discussion of maintenance appeared in the literature of the handpump

projects themselves. 'Ihe lack of a maintenance prograrn was explicitiy recognized as an

- - -

E.g. Arlosoroff et al. Communiiy Wuter Supply and also McJunkin, H d Pumpc. " Pacey, Hand Purnp Maintenance, p. 6.

~ a ~ g i e Black. A Cuuse for Our Times : Oxfom : thefirst 50 yems. (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 148. 39 Pacey, Hund Pump iclointenance, p. 14.


obstacle in the USAID handpump project in Tunisia in the early 80 's . ' ~~ D. Donaldson, a

professional working on the USAID'S Water and Sanitation for Health (WASH) Program

who wrote the technical reports for the Honduras project, felt that operation and

maintenance deserved its own repod6 ' The World Bank/UNDP Handpumps Project

included discussions of maintenance systems in its publications.'6' The IDRC project

produced an illustrated manual, to train local mechanics how to maintain and repair the

pumps.'63 In Allahabad, India, the Lnstitute of Engineering and Rural Technology reieased

a manual: Do it YourseifMaintenance of the India Mark 11.'~ IDRC projects also

fiequently included training sessions for designated persons in the recipient

c~mmunities. '~~

9.2.1 The lndia Mark II Handpump and its Three-Tier Maintenance System

In the field, attention to maintenance translated into considerable expense and

effort in support of the establishment of maintenance programs and the assignment of

responsibility to specific individuals. The most obvious example is contained in the story

- --

'a P. W . Potts. USAID Handpump Program in Tunisia, WASH Field Report no. 100. (Arlington, VA.: Water and Sanitation for Heaith, 1983). '*' Donaidson, D. A TechnicalUhfanagerial Review of MD Handpump Programs in Sri Lanka, ~ h e Philippines, Honduras, and the Domincan Republic. WASH Working Paper No. 79. (Arlington: Water And Sanitation for Health, 1983); Donaidson, D., Operation and maintenance of rural drinking water and lapine programs in Honduras, Arlington, Va. : WASH field report no. 129. (Water And Sanitation for Heaith, 1984); Donaldson. D., Ttrsting of USAID type handpump (Honduras), WASH Field Report No. 130, (Arfington, Va. : Water And Sanitation for Health, 1984). '6' Adosoroff et al.. Communify Water Supply, pp. 3 1-5.37 and throughout the remahder of the book. 263 Goh Sing Yau W I U D E 3OM handpump: a guide for installation, repair and maintenance. (Kuala Lumpur : University of Maiaya, 1987). '" Mishra, M., Do it YourselfMuintenance of lndia Mark-II Hand Pump. (Allahabad: unitute of Engineering and Rural Technolow, 1994?). "' Samiha El Katsha, "Experience of the IDRC Handpump Project in Egypt" , Papa presented at The lDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, Oaober 1992. Avaiiable in Reports ofthe IDRC Handpump Nehvork Meeting, 21 -2.5 October 1992, Beijing, China. (Np., P R C ? ] , [1992?]). (Conférence Proceedings), p. 3. Available fiom IDRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5, p. 3; Aristanti. "The IDRC Handpump Project in indonesia", p. 5.

Success and Failure in Technoloqy Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 89

of the India Mark II. A major feature of the India Mark II program was the ofi-described

three-tier maintenance system instituted by water supply authorities in India, beginning in

1 9 7 6 . ' ~ ~ The approach developed fiom NGO projects in Maduari, Coimbatore and

aln na.'^' Each pump received minor maintenance fiom a single, local caretaker. More

difficult maintenance was the responsibility of trained mechanics, each of whom had

responsibility for approximately 100 pumps. What he or she codd not handle was lefi to

a district mobile repair crew responsible for approxirnately 1000 pumps?68

The designers of the three-tier maintenance system took the idea of the village

caretaker fiom an experimental project in Salem District in Tamil Nadu, which had

çought to stress comrnunity inv~lvernent.'~~ The caretaker was responsible for routine

maintenance and monitoring on a single pump. He would demonstrate to other users.

how to operate the pump and perfom such simple and fiequent duties as keeping the

purnp area clean, tightening nuts and greasing the c h a h When breakdowns of

malfunctions occurred, it was his job to report them to the district engineer."' UNICEF

supported a training program for village caretakers in such Indian states as Tamil Nadu,

Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Karnataka. Two day training camps taught batches of 50-

100 caretakers about the pump's basic workings and about hygiene."' The block level

mechanic handled more difficult maintenance work, though not that which required

pulling up the below-ground components of the pumps. The block level mechanic had

tools and a bicycle. He would visit each of his 50- : 00 pumps once a month, to carry out

'W Black, From Handpumps ro Heulth pp. 63-70. "' Mudgal, India Hmdpunp Revolution, p. 1 8 "' Black, From Handpurnps ro Healrh, p. 65. 269 Mudgal, India Handpump Revolution, pp. 17-1 8. "O Krishanswamy, "'Rurai Dnnkuig Water Supply hogamme in india", p. 57.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfec The Story of the Handpump 90

minor repairs on the pump head assembly, but not the dom-the-hole components. He

also advised the district engineer whenever he suspected that a major repair was

m e n t . 2 7 2

The most difficult maintenance tasks, including those such as replacing the

cylinder seals were lefi to the district mobile team. On the highest tier, looking after 500-

1000 pumps. the district levet mobile team consisted of a junior engineer. a senior

mechanic, a dnvedmechanic and a fitter. They were equipped with a diesel pickup truck

and a small workshop. They took care of major preventative and corrective maintenance,

particularly any having to do with the below ground ~orn~onen t s . ' ~~ The state

govemment paid for the program.'74

Part of the strategy of the three-tier program was to improve communication of

pump malfunctions to those who were capable of effecting repairs. The village caretaker

had a supply of preprinted postcards on which was a list of fiequently encountered

malfunctions. When the caretaker encountered a problem he could not take care of

himself, he merely had to place a tick beside the appropriate entry on the list and send it

to the auth~rities."~

The +hree-tier program looked well designed. By 1979, UNICEF and the Tamil

Nadu Water Supply & Drainage Board had fïnalized the design of the program and it

received goverment of India approval in 1979y6 However, in practice, there twned out

to be many flaws. In spite of the efforts to improve communications and shorten

'" Mudgai. India Handpurnp Revolution, p. 1 8. " Krishanswamy, -'Rd ïhinking Water Supply Programme in india", .57. " ibid., p. 57. 17' Krishanswamy, -'Rurai ûrinking Water Supply Programme in M a " , -57. " Mudgal, India Handpurnp Revolution, p. 1 8.


response tirne, an average of about 45 days elapsed between break-dom and repair.'"

The problem lay not so much in what the program design contained, but in what it

overloo ked.

I.n the words of Arun Mudgal, a UNICEF project ~ff icer ' '~ who worked on the

Lndia Mark II project,279 ". . .technical solutions becarne dependent on not-so-neat

arrangements such as methods of communication between the pump users and a block-

level mechanic. Solutions also depended on the availability of these mechanics, their

ability to travel, availability of spare parts, and the interest on the part of relatively

sluggish administrative r n a ~ h i n e r ~ . " ~ ~ ~

Despite UNICEF support and the active involvement of Indian authorities such a

the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED),'~' by 1984 no state in hdia had

succesçfully implemented the complete three-tier pr~gram.?~' in practice, the two top

tiers (block level and district level) received institutional support and attention, but

authorities neglected the lowest level. that of the caretaker. As a result, many of the

caretakers, whoTd been working on a volunteer basis, dropped out of the p r ~ ~ r a r n . ' ~ ~

Experience also showed that the response time of the district level repair teams was too

281 long.

" ibid, p. 18. ibid.. p. 18.

'" Proceedings of the National Worhhop on Potenrial Improvements in Mark III Deepwell Design: hfay 25 & 25, I W O , India International Centre, M m Mueller Marg, New Delhi. (N. p., t 990?). '" ANn Mudgal, personal communication, May 14. 1999. ''O Mudgal, India Hmidpump Revolution, p. 1 9. '" ibid, p. 18. "' Gray and Talbot, " A Brief History of the hdia Mark II", p. 221. '" Mudgal, India Handpump Revolution, p. 1 8. 2w Ibid., p. 19.


The Social Work Research Centre in Tilonia, Rajasthan tried a one-tier system

aimed at simplification and decentralization of the maintenance program. Under the

system, the governent gave school leavers and dropouts training, pay, tools and made

them answerable to local authorities, the village "panchayats". However, the new

mechanics got caught between obligations to panchayats and the Public Health

Engineering Department. The system did not function well. and had to be supplemented

with 6-month repair c a ~ n ~ a i g n s . ~ ~ ~

The example illustrates the complexity of the problem of setting up a maintenance

system and thc effort that can be expended in m o d i w g the environment surrounding the

handpump in a bid to ensure the program's success. While, on the face of it, handpump

maintenance was a purely technical problem, the success of a maintenance program was

dependent upon non-technical environmental factors such as communication systems, the

presence of skilled workers and institutional support. Certain indian authorities and

UNICEF spent a great deal of effort addressing these. They taught new skills to the

recipient communities and set up new organizations to support the pumps. When they

were not successful in doing so, the maintenance programs failed.

" Ibid., pp. 1 8-1 9.


10. The 1980's: Encountering Non-technical Issues:

IO. 1 Non-technical Issues Described:

As the importance of maintenance systems demonstrates, pump design was not

the only factor in rural water supply projects. Sometimes the environment included

amusing surprises. In the Malawi portion of the iDRC handpump program, the white

colour of the PVC plastic pipe tumed out to be a problem. Hyenas thought they looked

very much like bone and chewed on the above ground portions of the pumps, damaging

hem badly? Frequently however, problems were more human in nature. One can

imagine the type of hurdles the f ~ s t attempt at an IDRC project in Kenya faced when one

reads the line in the post-project sumrnary which says the project never got under way

because of "penonal, administrative and political factor^".'^' Non-technical issues could

mean min for a handpump project.

Politics can play a decisive role: in the Sudan water merchants brought political

pressure to maintain a certain scarcity in water, and areas of poor purchashg power were

not s e r ~ e d ? ~ When pumps meant for the Harijan people (Le. untouchables) of India were

placed on Hindu upper caste land a serious problem a r~se . "~ Handpump projects could

not succeed under such conditions. Another non-technical issue, user preferences, could

'" @'A Quick Fix" Reports, 13 (3), (October, 1984) p. 6. '" .'Water Pumping Technology (Global)" "' A. W. Shepherd and Asha Mustapha el Neima, Popular Participation in Decentralhed Wafer Suppiy Planning: A Case Stuùy in the Western DeisîriCt of Northern Kardofm Province Sudan, (n. p. Development Administration Group, Occasional Paper no. 1 7. fanuary 1 983), pp. 66-7. 189 Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 1 1 .

Success and Failure in Technoiogy Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 94

also undermine efforts at establishing handpurnps in communities. Users sometimes

preferred traditional sources of water to handpump because they disliked the iron taste of

the handpump ~ater.'~' Kenyan workers on the IDRC pump project noticed that pumps

which discharged slightly salty or hard water got less use than pumps that did n ~ t . ' ~ '

Then too. religion can be a complicating factor in skills transfer. in most societies,

drawing water is women's work, therefore they need the training on the operation and

daily maintenance of the pumps. In strict Muslim societies, male educators may not be

allowed to interact with or even see the women. Women educators stand a better chance

of gaining access to the women of the comrnunity, but may experience more difficulty

establishing their credibility as educators than men do.

Whether one wishes to include non-technical issues as components in a

technological system is a matter of definition. It is defensible to hold that the components

of a technological system ought, in some way, to be technical in nature such as is the

case, one might argue, that machines, rnanufacturing facilities and maintenance systerns

are technical in nature. However, by applying the defmition of "system" presented in the

introduction-an organized set of things connected so as to fom a complex unity-1 will

defme the technological system to include non-technical issues as components. Politics,

religion and perception al1 have a role to play in detennining how well a machine

fùnctions or even if it fùnctions at dl. To be effective at solving the problem of water

supply, the technological system focused on the handpump must accommodate and adapt

" Saunders, Robert I. and Ieremy J. Warford Village Wu~er Suppiy and Saniration in Less Developed Countries. (World Bank, 1974), p. 22.


to non-technicai issues as well as to techaical ones, so that it justifiable to include both as

components.

10.1.1 Tunisian Example

The lack of attention to non-technical issues is significant because issues such as

user perception of the value of drinking groundwater could be critical to the success of a

handpump project. in March of 1980, the USAID mission in Tunisia cabled Water and

Sanitation for Health (WASH), a project set up under USAID auspices, requesting

assistance with a handpump project. WASH dispatched a team of project workers to

supply selected rural Tunisian communities with handpumps. The fiutration the workers

experienced came through in the project report. The report states that handpumps were

not appropriate for rural Tunisia because rural Tunisians did not have an awareness of

water-related disea~es. '~~ "Water is considered 'good' if it is fiee of visible matter and

tastes 'sweet'. . .Many do not believe water can cause i l ~ n e s s . " ~ ~ ~ Furthemore the pumps

annoyed the locals because their presence forced users to queue up for water, something

rural Tunisians were unaccustomed to d ~ i n g ' ~ ~ Previously they had k e n able to crowd

around the open wells and several people at a time could draw water. The purnps could

only be operated by one person at a time. Those waiting in line were impatient and those

"' Karama et. al.. The Experience on Unimade Handpump in Kenya and the Commercialization Prospects", paper presented at The D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 2 1-25 Ocrober 1992, Beijing, China. N.p., [IDRC? 1, [1992?]. (Coderence Proceedings), p. 6. Available fkom IDRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5. 191 Potts, U W D Handpump Program in Tunisia, p. 33. " Potts, USAI. Handpump Program in Tunisia, p. 28 taken hom a 1980 USAID evduation repon 'W mici, 31.


at the pump felt pressured to finish quickly.?g5 Sometime d e r the pumps had been

installed, project workers retumed to make inspections. They discovered several had

been vandalized. Photos of inoperable broken purnps or pumps rnissing pieces made it

into the report.'96 Schoolboys were responsible. Addts did not prevent the damage

because they themselves did not want the purnps.'97 The fnistrated development workee

concluded that they needed the expertise of a sociologist to solve the problem of getting

the Tunisians to accept the purnps. Five of the eight recommendations made in the

project report called for better understanding of social and cultural factors.'98

10.2 Recognition of Non-technical Issues and Lack of Expertise

The existence of relevant non-technical issues was not unrecognized by

handpump professionals, as the Tunisian exarnple shows. As another exarnple, one

individual connected with the LJNIMADE program in Costa Rica wrote: "Experience has

demonstrated that the water supply program can not be treated or attacked as a cornmon

technical problem, but a wider analysis that includes important aspects such as:

community participation, health, sanitation and cultural attitude, is required."299 Another

commentator, discussing the status of development thought during the middle of the

international Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade noted that technology

transfer must be approached with a sensitivity to the culture of the u~ers.~''

295 ibid., p. 29. 2% lbid., pp. 25-7. 197 Ibid., p. 29. " Ibid.. pp. 32-33. 299 Rodes, "Handpump Project in Costa Rica", p. 2. jûû P. G. Williams and L.R I. Van Vuren, "Appropriate Technology for Rural Watw Supplies", in World Wuter '86: Water technoloayfor rhe Developing World. (London: Thomas Telford Ltd., 1986, pp. 99- IOO), p. 200.


10.2.1 Role of Women

Among the relevant non-technical factors which came to be recognized in the

rural development projects was the role of women. Fetching water in traditional societies

is usually women's work. A handpump program, particularly one which is designed to

rely on the local users to perform routine maintenance, will stand a much better chance of

success if it takes wornen into account. Donald Sharp advised that when conducting

surveys in villages to determine where to put handpurnps, (vis-à-vis the existing

geogaphy of water sources and latrines) one should interview women and men

9, 301 separairly: "you might get different answers .

One might assume that water carriers, male or female, would be grateful if a

handpump were placed inside or close to the village so as to eliminate a long walk to the

river or watering hole. These distances could be between 1 and 15 miles.jo2 Consultation

with the women may reveal a very different story, however. Field workers discovered

that the old watering holes and rivers sometimes fulfilled a social function for women.

They were a place to meet with fi-iends, spend some time away fiom the house, exchange

news. Some women actually preferred to walk some distance to water as this was their

oniy opportunity for socializing during the daye303

It was not until the 1980's that women received much in the way of specific

attention in the handpump literature. A report by Fannon in 1975 notes the need to

'O' interview with Don Sharp, April 1998. 'O' Allen Momsson, "in Third World Villages, A Simple Handpump Saves Lives" , Civil Engineering Maguzine, (October 1983), p. 7 1. 'O3 Rogers, Barbara *'Water Women's Work" iri Community Water Developnent, p. 199.


weight the handle so that even women and children cm operate pump,3W but the topic of

women as users is not covered in the World Bank's monograph Village Water ~ u ~ ~ l y . ' ~ '

Pacey does not devote any specific attention to the role of women in Hand Pztmp

Maintenance, despite his emphasis on the importance of organization and social

responsibility within the community. It is interesting to note that, although Pacey does

not mention the prevalence of women as users, in the only drawing he includes which

depicts the operator of a pump, that operator is a ~ o r n a n . ~ ~ ~ McJunkin also has a sirnilar

d r a ~ i n ~ , ~ ~ ' though he also does not address the issue in the text.

Attention to the role of women grew during the 1980's. Titles along the lines of

Participation of Women in Commtrnity Water Suppiy and Sunitdion: Roles and

~eal i t ies , 308 Village Women. Water and ~ e v e l o ~ m e n ~ ~ ~ and Women and water3'*

appeared. This interest in women and water continued into the 19903, perhaps even

broadening with titles such as: Women and ivater pumps in Bangladesh: the impact of

participation in irrigation groups on wornen S stat2is.

Probably one of the first handpump projects to be designed with women

specifically in mind was the D R C supported project in S n Lanka, run by the Sarvodaya

Movement. In an IDRC supported handpump project during the 1980's, Sarvodaya

'0.1 R D. Fannon, absaact to Field Research and Testing of a Water Hand Pumpfor Use in Developing Countires. Final Research Report to Agency for international Development. (Ohio: Battelle Columbus Laboratones, January 3 1, 1975). 'O' World Bank, Village Water Supply. 3W Pacey. Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 23. 'O7 Mclunklli. Hond Purnps, p. 1 53. 'O8 CC. A. Wijk-Sibesma. Participaiion of Women in Communiîy Water Supply and Sonitation: roles and realities. Technicd Paper no. 22. (The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC, 1985). '" R M. Harkness, Village Wonten Water and Development: an evahative study of the water suppiy projeci in Bolgatanga DIStricf, Upper Region, Ghana.. (Ottawa, Canada, Carleton University. 2 983).

'O Roark, P. . Women and Water. In Water und Sonitation: economic and sociologicai perspectivest ed. Peter Bounie, (Orlando, USA. Academic Press, 1984), pp. 49-68.


specifically focused on ~ o r n e n . ~ ' ~ Women were trained in metalwork, carpentry,

masonry, well-drilling techniques, management and accounting. These women went on

to train other women who then worked in local workshops in t o m s and villages where

components of the purnps and tools were

10.2.2 Community Participation:

By the l98O's, handpump literature, including project reports, normaily contained

at least a sentence afimiing the importance of cornmunity participation as an ingredient

in a successful handpump prograrn.31J Most of the projects associated with the IDRC

handpump network in the 1980's reported some degree of community participation. in

the Philippines, the involvement of cornmunity level organizations was a priority.315

Villagers were consulted on their willuigness to engage in a community water project.'16

Villager recommendations were incorporated into the development of a field manual for

maintenance and repak3" in Mali, an Association Malienne de Recherche Action pow

le Developpement (AMRAD) project which participated in the handpump network, held

'" Barbara van Koppen, ed.. Women and Water Pumps in Bangladesh the Impact of Participation in irrigation Groups on Women 's Starus, (London: Intermediate Techriology Publications, 1996).

Sharp, T h e D R C Handpump Program", p. 192. "' 9 r i Lankan Women's Handpump Enterprise" , in DeveIoprnent Journal, ( 3 ) 1991. 314 For example, Ariosoroff, p. 47, Brown, p. 1 1 . 315 Meâiatrtv P . Valera, Terminal Report on the Village Handpump (Philippines) Projecr. ( 1 986). Avaüable through EDRC archives: archiv 621.65(914) V 3., p. 14. j16 ibià, p. 3. 317 Emeiina S Almario, "Feasibility of Commerciaily Producing and Marketing the DRC-ml Handpump in the Philippines", in IDRC Handpump Network Proceedings ofthe Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thailund, 1-3 Oct. 1986, ed. Emelina S. Aimario, (Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, IDRC Manuscipt Report), p. 9 1.


public debates to decide the placement of pumps.318 Most of the other projects report

some form of survey of preferences or consultation with the villagers.

10.3 Lack of Focus on Non-Technical Issues:

Nevertheless, the literature produced by organizations running handpurnp projects

does not give the impression that non-technical issues were handled with anything like

the consistency and expertise that technical issues such as design and maintenance were.

Donald Sharp wrote:

"lt has been repeatedly stated in the Iiterature that a key elaiient to the successfui introduction of a technology is the involvement of the end-users, the villagers. However, in reality they are rarely consulted, nor are they involved in the accual re~earch.'"~

Even in the IDRC program, over which Sharp had considerable influence and which

featured villager participation as described above, community involvement varied a great

deal in level and kind between projects. The rhetoric of the Costa Rican project echoed

the cornmitment to community involvernent of the Philippine project by advocating a

"participatory strategy" which included placing commmity members ". ..in charge of

development, monitoring and evaluation of the spread of water supply and sanitation

projects"3'0 Howevet, Goh Sing Yau's description of the Malaysian project indicates

only that a questionaire was prepared to survey attitudes and preferences and sociological

factors affecting the maintenance cost and economic life of handpumps. There is no

Mamadou Diallo, The Roblem of Drinking Water Supply in Mali and the Action of AMRAD" . in IDRC Handpump Network Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thailand, 1-3 Oct. 1986, ed. Emelina S. Almario, (Onawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, IDRC Manuscipt Report), p. 136. 319 Donald Sharp, "Low Cost Handpumps for Developing Corntries: The IDRC Approach to Techology introduction" , in intemational Water Resources Association, Waterfor world development : proceedings of the Uth IWRII World Congress on Water Resources. Urbana, Ill. : international Water Resomces Association, 1988, p. 222.


indication that those surveyed took any part in the decision making process."' The

pattern of decision making was quite possibly like that of Indonesia where handpump

recipients were chosen by project workers on the basis of a sirnilar sociological s ~ r v e ~ . ~ "

Sometimes, even this level of consultation did not occur, for exarnple, Ethiopia:

"Looking back, the weak point of the handpump training program, was that the community was not consuited in the pianning phase before the hand umps were instailed. The people therefore did not always regard the pump as their own. .&3

To obtain insight into why community involvement, or for that matter any "non-

technical issue" could receive a great deal of acknowledgment in the literature, but only

inconsistent attention in the field it is usehl to examine the IDRC experience with one

non-technical issue in particular-marketing. Here, it is evident that the D R C personnel

were aware of the need for marketing, but in practice did not focus their attention on it.

1 0.3.1 l DRC Marketing Example

Most of the later projects hanced by the IDRC as part of its Handpump Network,

employed Goh's UNIMADE pump. Goh and Donald Sharp made plans to set up a pilot

production facility and research centre at the University of Malaysia and establish the

pump commercially throughout the Developing ~orld. '" As might be expected, the

commercialization prospects varied among projects and situations. Among the rosiest

"O Rosales, .'Handpurnp Roject in Costa Rica", p. 3. "' Goh Suig Yau -*From Research and Development to Mass Production of Handpumps" , in IDRC Handpump Network Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thailand 1-3 Ocr. 1986, ed. Emelina S. Aimario, (Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, DRC Manuscipt Report), pp. 33-34. 322 Christine Soedjwaro, "Introducing the PVC Handpump in hdoaesia" , in IDRC h n d p u m p Nenvork Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok Thailand, 1-3 Oc?. 1986, ed. Emelina S. Aimario, (Ottawa, Ont.: DRC, 1987, iDRC Manuscipt Report), p. 63. "-' Jima Jemah, "Technical Report on the Ethiopian Handpump" , in IDRC Handpump Nelwork Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thailand. 1-3 Oc?. 1986, ed. Emelina S. Aimario, (Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, IDRC Manuscipt Report), p. 9.

Success and F ailure in Tedinology Transfer: The Story of the Handpump 102

prospects were those of Kenya (despite the failure of an initial IDRC project in the late

1970s'~~): demonstration models shown at agricultural fairs generated so much interest

that project organizers were inundated with inquiries about the pump and felt it necessary

to withdraw the pump from display at the fairs until such tirne as production could

actually be ~tar ted.~ '~ Later, in 1988, the Kenya Medical Research institute (KEMRI)

contracted with lDRC and the University of Malaya to allow the KEMRI Engineering

Department to produce 200 purnps for commercial sale. This was one of the first such

orders received for the LJNIMADE.~'' On the other hand, in [ndia, UNIMA.DE faced the

challenge of carving a niche in a market dominated by the India Mark ll. in 1992, project

organizen, who up to then had only worked with 16 pumps supplied by the University of

Malaya, called for multiple demonstration projects on the order of 500 pumps e a ~ h . ~ ' ~

Even though they were working on a much larger scale, the Indians, unlike the Kenyans,

did not expect to sel1 these purnps for profit.

Contracts for production of the UMMADE existed with the Philippines, (March

1990) Kenya (July 1 W2), Costa Rica (September 1992) and China, (September 1 992).329

Nevertheless, the UMMADE never enjoyed the success of its rival, the india Mark iI. By

- --

324 Donald Sharp, 'Zow Cost Handpumps for Developing Countries", pp. 227-228. j3 "Water Pumping Technology (Global)". 326 Karma, M. et. al.. **The E.xpeRence On Unimade Handpump in Kenya and the Cornrnercialization Prospects", paper presented at The D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 21-25 October 1992. Beijing, China. (N.p.. [IDRC?], [1992?]). (Conference Proceedings), p. 7. Available &om IDRC archives: archiv 622.65 G 5 , 3 27 Ibid., pp. 1,7. "' Ranjit Singh, "Teshg and Development of IDRC Handpump (PVC Handpump) in India and its Commercialization Prospects", Papa presented at The D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1 992. AvaiIable in Reports of the lDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 21-25 October 1992, Beijing, China. (N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]). (Conference Proceedings) , pp. 3,8. Available from IDRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5.


the mid- 1 990's over one million India Mark II pumps existed. Each year, 1 00,000 were

installed throughout the Developing ~ o r l d . ' ~ ~ By 1992 the participants in the IDRC

handpump network had installed less than 9000 purnps world~ide. '~' At least part of the

explanation for the UNIMADE'S poor sales figures lies in price. Relative pnce was an

obstacle to the adoption of the UNIMADE pump, as in the case of the Philippines where

cornpetition &om cheaper pumps created a problem for suppliers of the UNIMADE. 332

Cornpetition came both fiom imported and locally manufachired pumps.333 The local

purnps appear to have been of foreign design. One was the Clayton Mark pump with a

brass cylinder, used in Tunisia in the 1970's3'" and the other was the Maldev, a

f o r e m e r of the ~ f r i d e v . - ' ~ ~ The Maldev was the product of a development project in

Malawi in 198 1 .'j6 Price was also a concern in ~ndonesia'~' and Costa this time

in absolute terms, that is, the intended user's ability to pay for a pump at all.

It is difficult to compare the costs of the pumps directly, since complete cost

includes the pump, the drop pipe, drilling, installation etc.. Figures quoted in the

literature do not al ways inc lude equivalent components. Even Community Water Supply

- - -

3 29 Sieh Lee Mei Ling. "Commercialization of the Unimade handpump : an evaluation", paper presented at The D R C Handpump Nework Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the lDRC Handpump Nenvork Meeting. 2 1-22 October 1992, Beijing. China. (N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]). (Conference Proceedigs), p. 1 1. Available fiom [DRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5.

UNICEF *'Village Water Supplies". ~Http://www.rmicef.org/sow96/hpump.hmi~ (November I 1, 1998.) '" Goh, "Development of the Unimade Handpump", p. 1. "' Carmelo M. Gendrano. T h e IDRC Handpump Roject in the Philippines: Experiences and Prospects", paper presented at The DRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992). Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 21-25 October 1992, Beving, China. N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]. (Conference Proceedings), p. 2. Available fiom lDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5. '" ibid. p. 3. "' Potis, U U I D Handpump Program in Tunbia, p. 6.

Gendrano, "The IDRC Handpump Pmject in the Philippines", p. 5. 336 Ariosoroff et al., Communiîy Water Supply, p. 62. '" Aristanti, *The DRC Handpump Project in indonesia", p. 6. 338 Rosales, "Handpump Project in Costa Rica", p. 6.


which Arlosoroff et al. at the World Bank/UNDP handpump project prepared as a

catalogue to compare handpumps, though it includes pricing information for each pump,

does not always do so in a manner which makes cornparison easy."' This fact probably

reflects the difficulty in fïnding the appropriate pricing idormation. Furthemore, prices

Vary with region, depending on the cost of certain supplies (e.g. steel, PVC) and whether

or not parts or al1 of the pump must be imported.

For deepwell pumps, the India Mark II has enjoyed the most success. Reported

prices for the india Mark II Vary somewhat. Baldwin reports the cheapest cost. He

claims that in 1979, an India Mark II, complete with pumphead. cyiinder, nsing main and

comecting rods cost a mere US$ 182. He does not include figures on the depth of nsing

main and length of pumprod. Pacey's estimate for 1977 is similar. He pnces the pump at

US$200 including 50 metres of &op pipe.3J0 However, Alrosoroff, in the mid-1980's,

when the India Mark II was being produced in the tens of thousands per year, quotes a

pnce of USS295 for a 35 metre depth.3J1

Arlosoroff also reports that the üMMADE handpump cost US$290 + US$

2.00/metre of pumprod + USS5.00Imetre of rising main (which works out to

approximately US$535 for a 35 metre ~ e l l ) . ~ ' ' ~ Gendrano writing in the Philippines in

the early 19903, wrote that the handpump (ie. pump stand and cylinder assembly) cost

ody USS158 to US$168 and the pump rods cost US$1.57/metre and the rising main cost

US$3.44/metre to US$4.95/inetre (which works out to approximately $333 to USS396

339 Arlosoroff et al., Community Wczter Suppiy. 340 Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 6. 341 Arlosoroff, Community Water Supply, p. 1 14 '" Ibid., p. 154

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 1 05

for a 35 metre ~ e l l ) . ~ " Goh and Low report that the UNIMADE cost only US$ 130 for

pump and maintenance in Malaysia in the early 1 980's.~"

Table 10.1 : Price Estimates for UNIMADE and Corn petitor Oeepwell Pumps.

The table provides a summary of the p r i e cornparisons made in the text. The cornparison is approximate since data are not available to compare pumps of the exact same depth, location and year. References are indicated: full details and precise page references can be found by consulting the text.

Pump

Afridev

UNIMADE

lndia Mark II

usso-200 Range

US$130 or more (in Malaysia) [Goh and Law]

US$$200 (35 m well) [Paceyl

US$l82 (pumphead, cyîinder, rising main) JBaldwinl

US$200400 Range

US$333-396 (for 35 m well; in Philippines) [Gendrano]

US$450 (for 30 m well) [Arlosoroffl

US$400-600 Range

US$535 (for 35 m well) [Ariosoroffl

US$6OO+ Range

US$450-900 (in Africa)

It appears that the India Mark II enjoyed a price advantage, however it is not clear

that the difference is enough to explain the orders of magnitude difference in sales

figures, especially given the wide variation in prices reported. Nor can one coddently

Say that the LMIMADE was an idenor purnp. In fact, in sorne important categories, such

as corrosion resistance and ease of maintenance-which ought to have k e n of

'" Gendrano, *The LDRC Handpump Project in the Philippines", p. 5. Note: Gendrano's prices were for a later mode1 of the UNMA.DE, the D-series, than that which Arlosoroff referred to (the Unimade Mark 1). 3-84 Goh Sing Yau and Low Kwai Sim, 'Waysian Villagers Comment on Simple Plastic Handpumps" in Communiîy Water Developrnent, ed. Charles Kerr, (London: intermediate Technology Publications Ltd., 1 !NB), p. 168.


significance both to those who selected the pumps and those who had to depend on

them-the UNIMADE received a better rating fiom the World BankNNDP handpump

project than the India Mark II did (though the project concluded that the IDRC pump was

good only for wells of no more than 12 metres depth).345 Though it is significant that the

project recommended the UNIMADE only for wells of 12 metres depth or less. The

project also gave the pump a good reliability rating (i.e. likelihood of being in good

working order) only when pumping less than 1.5 cubic metres of water per day.3J6

Morover, the UNIMA.DE has also not performed as well as the Afndev, another

deepwell handpump which uses PVC parts. The Afndev is frequently mentioned in the

literature, otten alongside the hdia Mark Ii. Arlosoroff reported that an Afndev for a 30

metre well cost US$450. Michael Wood reported that Afiidev's cost between $450 and

$900 in ~frica.'" In spite of the high cost, the Anidev is very popular in Afnca. It is

manufactured for instance in ~ e n ~ a , " ~ ~ t h i o ~ i a ~ ' ~ and ~ a l a w i . ~ ~ ' There are also

manufacturers in ~ndia.~'' However, it appears to be at least as expensive as the

üMMADE. Something beside up-fiont price must be responsible for the relative lack of

success of the LMIMADE as a deepwell pump.

Efforts to market the UNIMADE were hampered by the fact that although the

pump was designed for use by nirai third world villagers, the largest buyers for

345 Adosoroff et al., Community Wuter Suppfy, p. 8 1 . '" Arlosoroff et al., Community Wuter Supply, p. 1 55. '" Michael Wood. *-Are Handpumps Really Atfordable?" 20' WEDC Conference ~http:/linfo. lboro.ac.uk~deparmients/cv/wedc/papwood. h 1 994 (Jue 8 , 1 999) """Industriai Components Limited", <http://~~~..Uidumial-Itd.com/home~html> (.lune 8,1999). 3.19 GIobai Applied Research Network, Evduation of Water Supply, Sanitufion and Health Education Projects, Aàwa and North Gondor Ethiopia, 1997. <http:/lwww. Iboro.ac.uk/gamet/dlcasewateraidl3 .html> (June 8, 1 999). "O "Section 2.4 Conmintes et Problemes du Secteur de L'Eau et de L'Assainissement" <http://~.telesenrices.sn/bad/partic.h June 8, 1999


handpumps were the various governrnental and non-govemmental agencies involved in

rural water supply projects. Many of these received fwiding fiom the World Bank, but

such projects used World Bank guidelines for the selection of purnps. UNIMADE was

not favoured in such guidelines. The Drap Sample Bidding Documents for the

Proctcrement of Handpumps prepared by the World Bank for use by organizations

receiving World Bank funding and shopping arnong manufacturers/suppliers for purnps,

specifically identified the need to establish specifications for the depth of lift and the

volumetric flow rate expected of the pumps.35' The World B a n k i W P handpumps

project had specifically identified limitations for the [MIMADE in these two criteria (i.e.

they recommended the pump only for lies of 12 metres or less and for flow rates of less

than 1.5 cubic metres per day), which in effect limited the scope of application of the

üNlMADE to low lift wells and low flow rates. The Tulangan sa Tubingan Foundation's

plans for commercialization in the Philippines were dashed when they failed to secure a

government contract because of the specifications of the World ~ank."~ In this case, the

author of the report referred to the limited scope of application for the CMIMADE as

reported by the World B a n k W P handpumps project.

However much of the UNIMADE'S low sales figures can be explained by pnce

cornpetition and lack of World Bank endorsement, an examination of the literature

suggests that marketing was not pursued with great vigour in any case. Don Sharp, who

managed the IDRC handpump project in the 1980's, defmed comrnercialization of the

"' Micahael Wood. 'Are Handpumps Reaiiy Affordable?" World Bank, Dqfî SampZe Bidding Docttnents for the Procwement of Handpumps. (Washington:

World Bank, 1986), p. 36. 353 Gendrano, "The IDRC Handpinnp Roject in the Philippines", p. 10.


Y, 354 LNIMA.DE as "selling pumps for profit . The statement suggests a practical attitude

and perhaps a determination to see the comrnercialization succeed. However, it appears

that profits were to be obtained without assigning as much pnority to marketing as to

development and production. The majority of the literature surrounding the

IDRCNMMADE project fkom the 1970's and 1980's is technical in nature. It does not

indicate that much attention was paid to questions of market research and demand.

Village Handpump Technology, which appeared in the 1980's as a comprehensive

description of the IDRC handpurnp project, includes a chapter by Tan Bock Thiam

entitled "Economic Analysis and Potential ~arkets".'~' Tan makes a reasonable attempt,

given the information he had at that tirne, to forecast the pnce of a mass-produced

LJM~IADE,~'~ to detemine the number of people without access to alternative water

supply (such as piped water ~ ~ s t e r n s ) ~ ~ ~ and to estirnate the number of pumps required by

govenunent sponsored projects.'58 However, this chapter covers only 10 pages of the 72

page book. Descriptions of the research and deveiopment receive four times as much

space. Moreover, while Tan makes reference to concepts or details addressed in the other

chapters, such as VLOM and the niai problem with the footvalve, the other chapters do

not make references to the issues of market dernand that Tan brings up. This suggests

that the main focus of the other authors was narrower than Tan's and did not include

marketing concems. If the technical focus was dominant among the project leaders and

managers, it is unlikely that issues of marketing and demand received hi& pnority.

3 55 Donald Sharp, personal communication, April22, 1 998.

"' Tan Bock Thiam, *'Economic Analysis and Potentiai Markets", in ViZhge Handpump Technology, Donald Sharp and Michel Graham eds. Ottawa, IDRC, 1982, pp. 57-66. 3 56 Md., p. 64. 357 Ibid.

Success and Failure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 1 09

The two most Muential of the project's managers in the 1980's were obviously

Goh Sing Yau and Donald Sharp, who can be given miich of the credit for the survival

and advance of the U W E . However, their focus seems to have been on issues of

supply which were largely technical, (e.g. the design of the purnp, the cost of production,

the development of production facilities) rather than on issues of demand and marketing.

The conclusion of Village Handpump Technology, which Sharp CO-edited outlines

Goh's plan "to bridge the gap between developmental research and

3,359 cornmercialization . Note that the points listed concem supply issues, not demand

issues:

"-thoroughiy understand the manufacturing processes and the actual costs involved in producing each component; develop the necessary expertise required to consult with manuf'acturing units on production procedures; -condut cost assessrnents of various rnanufacturing options; for example, subcontracting versus manufacture at point of assembly; -establish quality conuol guidelines and standards; -field test (utilizing Ministry of Health personnel) mass-produced models of the pump to evaluate their technical performance; -develop appropriate manuals for tramferring the technologies to other interested groups; and -support cornplementiuy projects by providing prototypes, training, and research on solving any problems chat may occur. .S60

To be sure, m e r down the page one reads that certain research priorties had

been identified which included "development of methodologies designed to promote

cornrnunity acceptance" and "development and testing of community financing and self-

help ~chernes".~~' However these issues are not attached to Goh's plan for

commercialization and are not given as much prestige and emphasis in the article. Most,

''' ibid., pp. 61-2. ' 5 9 Graham and Sbarp, Village Handpump Technology, p. 69. j6û ibid., p. 69. 36 1 Ibid., p. 69.

Success and Failure in Technology Ttansfer: The Story of the Handpump 110

if not all, the components of Goh's plan were cealized. Sharp acquired the funds fiom

IDRC to set up a regional research and training centre and communications network to

share technical information. There were more field tests. D R C donated C$96,835 to

develop an installation manual in the ~ h i l i ~ ~ i n e s . ~ ~ ~ The University of Malaya, Goh's

employer, also published a manual for the installation and repair of the UNI MADE.'^^

Goh secured nearly CS 600.000 in 1982 to fund a project which established a mass

production facility, investigated means to reduce production costs, established quality

control and featured Malaysian Ministry of Health empioyees testing 550 pumps in the

field.3a Goh's team supplied prototypes, training and technical assistance to IDRC

funded handpump projects, such as in T h a i ~ a n d , ~ ~ ~ the ~ h i l i ~ ~ i n e s . ' ~ ~ There was no

comparable support for promoting cornmwiity acceptance or developing community

hancing.

Sharp and Goh continued to show a supply side focus in later publications. In the

last section of an article describing the DRC's handpump program, Sharp identified the

cornmercialization strategy as "demand-dnven", but what he talked about was supply, the

ability to produce the p ~ p s . 3 6 7 When Goh Sing Yau referred to commercialization, he

X' -*Handpump Manual (Asia)" Project 830066. in IDRC Development Research Information Service (IDRIS). lb3 Goh Sing Yau, LBVlMDE 3OM huna'pump: a guidefor instullation, r e p i r and nioinrenmce Kuala Lumpur : University oCMalaya, 1987. '" .'Water Pumping Technology (Malaysia) - Phase III", Project 820162 in IDRIS. j6' Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visit to *'hoducing PVC Handpump (Thaüand) Project From 23" to 28' Aprii, l98S", p. 1-2, in Goh Sing Yay Report on Vhii to C2AMWPDMPBSPfiom 16* ~ p i l - 3 & M i , 1985. Available chrough IDRC archives: archiv 621.65(593) G 6. 366 Report on Visit to "Village Handpump (Philippines) Roject From 29' Aprii to 3" May, 1985, p. 1 in Goh Sing Yau, Reporr on Visit to C M P D A / P B S P @ m 1 6 ~ ~prii-3d Moy. 1985. Available through IDRC archives: archiv 621.65(593) G 6. 567 Donald Sharp, "Low Cost Handpumps for Developing Countries", pp. 227-8.


described it in terms of the ability to achieve large scale rnanufact~re.~" He did not

discuss demand issues.

Apparently the technical and supply bias was not restricted to Goh and Sharp.

Representatives of projects from the various countries participating in the IDRC

handpump program delivered reports at a meeting held in Beijing. Tme enough, alrnost

al1 these papers addressed commercialization. However, the one paper specifically

concemed with evaluating the comrnercialization of the CTNIMADE, was very critical in

tone. According to the s w e y conducted by the author, Sieh, while technical

development goals were attained in al1 projects, commercialization goals were the least

a ~ h i e v e d . ~ ~ ~ Sieh explained that project personnel were biased toward technical goals,

probably because of training and personal intere~t."~ Project workers were very good at

building pumps, but not at selling thcm.

1 0.3.2 Little Attention to Non-technical Issues.

In general, less technical issues, such as strategies for involving the recipient

community closely in handpump projects or ensuring that they understood the health

benefits associated with drinking ground water, received far less attention than handpump

design or the organization of maintenance. The notion that the comrnunity should be

involved in the choice of technology and the project which introduces it is present in the

literature, but it does not get much elaboration. The final report of the World

BanklLMDP Handpumps project, Community Water Suppfy, contains 202 pages. The

j6' Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visit to C W S , Beijing (16 -23 April, 1985), p. 6 in Goh Sing Yau, Report on Virit to C W P D A / P B S P f i o m 166 ~ ~ r i l - 3 & May, I988. Avdable through IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65(593) G 6.. 369 Sieh, Tommercialization of the Unimade handpump", p. 7.


notion of comrnunity involvement is mentioned in more than one place in the book, but

ody as a line or two each time and there is little elaboration on what it will entai1 and

how it c m be secured. j7' In cornparison the maintenance strategies are outlined in five

pages, and reprised paragraphs at a t h e throughout the book. 37' Well over 100 pages

concem technical details and assessments of handpumps and the various designs

available. Similady the pages of F. E. McJunkin's ~anci~icrn~s.'~~ vimially the firçt

major work on handpumps produced by anyone connected with the development effort,

are filled with illustrations of different pump designs and while the book is thick with

technical detail, the need to educate potential users about the health benefits of clean

water merely gets a mention with no elaboration. Almost 70 pages go to a technical

description of handpumps. Another 70 describe the different designs of handpumps

developed and the manner of their construction. Comrnunity motivation and health

education are listed at the beginning of the section on project administration, but the

section is given over mostly to a discussion of maintenance ~ ~ s t e r n s . ~ ~ ' This pattern of

affirmation without elaboration suggests that "non-technical" or "software" issues were

not well understood, which explains why they were inconsistently handled.

Time constraints have, unfortunately, prevented a more comprehensive

investigation in this thesis of the background of the decision makers involved in

handpump projects. Goh Sing Yau was probably the single most influential individual in

the UNIMADE project. He was a professor of mechanical engineering with a clearly

370 ibid., p. 6. "' Adosoroff et ai., Community Water Supply, p. 37, p. 47. '" ibid., pp. 3 1-35,37. '73 McJunkin, Hond Pumps. j7' Mdunkin, Hmd Pumps, p. 107.


technical focus, which had a decided impact on the allocation of money and resources in

the project, such that issues of supply and production were efficiently and effectively

handled, apparently at sorne expense to issues of demand. It would be instructive to learn

whether the observation that Sieh made for the UMMADE project-that project

personnel were biased toward technical goals, because of training and interest-holds

true for other handpump projects. Handpump projects naturally involve a large

proportion of engineers. Of the 43 persons listed as attending the national Conference on

Deepwell Handpurnps in Madurai, India, Iuly 10- 13, 1979, approximately half (2 1) had

the word "engineer" in their title.jÏ5 If the project officers responsible for overseekg the

design and implementation of m a l water supply programs are drawn fiom the ranks of

engineers and similarly technical personnel, then Sieh ' s observation probably holds

generally. However, development organizations and government departments hire from a

nurnber of different disciplines, so that someone with the title "project officet" cannot

simply be assurned to be an engineer.

Whether or not Sieh's observation about training and interest holds generally, the

literature definitely shows a technical focus. While non-technical issues are clearly

recognized, they are not analyzed in detail, nor are the strategies for dealing with them

developed to the same sophistication as with the technical issues.

'" Report of the National Confèmce on Deepwell Hmdpumps, Madurai, July 10-1 3,1979, pp. 70-3.


11. Commentary:

f .I. 7 The Importance of Systems

Technology is environment dependent. Designed for a particular environment a

given machine will fail to fùnction satisfactorily if moved to a radically new environment

without attention to the adaptation of the machine or the environment or both. Engines

desiped for North America may overheat in the tropics. Pumps designed for use on fiesh

water lakes corrode quickly when asked to handle salt water. Snowmobiles are

inappropriate for navigating the Everglades. Holes can develop in a PVC riser pipe

hstalled in rocky soil.

A machine cm also fail to perform satisfactorily if the society and culture it was

designed for differs significantly fiom that into which it is deployed. Machines cannot

work at optimal efficiency if the organizational structure assumed to exist by the

designers, is absent, if for instance there are no trained mechanics or no distribution

system fiom which to obtain spare parts. User preferences also impact the effectiveness

of a given technology in achieving a given goal. Water taken fiom a handpump often has

an objectionable taste in the opinion of the users, many of whom have been used to river

or hand dug well water.

Machines may have to undergo adaptation before they can move to a new

environment. At this task, the Western development organizations and their counterparts

in the Developing World excelled-once they recognized the need, at least. The durable


india Mark II and its VLOM descendant the India Mark III, the Afiidev and even the less

successfÙi UNIMADE are al1 vastly better suited to the rural Developing World than the

cornmon cast iron models they were designed to replace. Yet if the machine sometimes

needs adaptation, so does the environment into which it is placed. Even the India Mark II

program struggled to establish a workable maintenance system amongst the communities

which the pump served. Wherever there were pump programs, the organizers had to

concem themselves with questions of supply, of identifjmg or even creating

rnanufacturing facilities and ensuring the existence of quality controls.

To Say that a technology is environment dependant is to recognize that machines

do not operate in a vaccuurn, but are components in a technological system. It is possible

to approach the study of hurnans fiom an individual or collective fiame of reference. We

c m examine Mr. Smith and identiQ various intemal and extemal factors which influence

the way Mr. Smith behaves. Altematively we c m snidy a society as a whole, which has a

behaviour which affects and is affected by the various components, including Mt. Smith,

within it. Similarly an economist may study an individual firm or a collection of fums

and economic actors making up an industry. Altematively, he or she may choose to

examine an economy as a whoie, recognizing, for arguments sake at least, a single,

collective entity with component parts. One may consider the heart on its own or as part

of the respiratory system. In the sarne way, one may choose to study a technology in

terms of individual artifacts or one may conceive of a single structure made up not only of

machines, but of various components of the environment which affects them and which

they affect, such as inventors, manufacturers, weather conditions, users, consumers,

competing machines (diesel engines vs. gasoline engines), supporthg machines or


physical artifacts (what is the bow without the arrow?), operators, inputs, power supplies,

rnechanics. One c a . cal1 this structure a technological system.

Because machines such as the handpump represent only one component in a

system, technology transfer requires not only the installation of machines in new

communities, but the developrnent of entire systems which serve and are served by the

machine. There must be someone who lmows how to fix the pump and some way of

getting spare parts. There need to be manufacturers, inspectors and educators.

Constraints on the type of system which can be developed may require changes in the

design of the machine. For economic reasons, the maintenance and supply systems of the

rurai Developing World is less able to ensure quick response by mechanics or the prompt

delivery of difficult-to-manufacture spare parts at an affordable pnce than is the rural

Westem maintenance system. As a result, the handpumps of the Developing World need

to be of slightly different design than those of the rural Westem world. Both the

environment and the machine must adapt.

Some components of the technological system are easy to recognize: the

machines; the factories; the mechanics. Other components are less obvious, but no less

necessary. A technological system camot even begin to form if no one can supply the

labour and capital. If the community has no means to pay for handpumps or their upkeep

(or no one else foots the bill), then there will be no handpumps in that community.

Perhaps the most often overlooked component of the handpump system in the context of

development projects was user demand. Where there was a desire for handpumps, the

transfer of handpumps succeeded. Where there was little desire for handpumps, the

transfer struggled.


11.2 Demand: An Essential Component of the System

The real world being the complex phenornenon that it is, we should not be

surpnsed that there is more than one source of demand for handpump technology. By the

mid- 1 9 7 0 ' ~ ~ NGOs and the World Bank had corne to favour handpumps as a means for

combating water-bom disease, however, that was not the only reason that people turned

to handpumps. The choice of well technology may dictate or at least heavily favour the

adoption of handpumps. In some cases, as with the tubewell in Bangladesh, the choice of

well technology may be influenced by suspicions about the health impact of surface

water. In other cases, the choice of well technology, and therefore purnp technology, may

be primariiy related to questions of access to water, quite apart fiom questions of water-

bom disease. Whatever its characteristics, there must be demand befoce a community

will adopt a technology.

1 1.2.1 The lndian Basis of Demand: Scarce Water and Drilled Wells

India has achieved a great deal of success in bringing access to safe water to the

majonty of its population. In 1970, only 18% of India's m a l population, that is less than

87 million of a population of approximately 480 million, had access to safe drinking

~ a t e r . ~ ~ ~ By 199 1, the situation had improved tremendously. Of the rural population

World Bank, Social Indicarors of Development, 1 989, p. 142; World Bank, Social Indicators of Development 2991-1992, p. 142.

Success and Faiiure in Technology Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 118

which by then had risen to approximately 675 million people, 69% or 466 million had

acce~s.~" Much of the change came as a result of the India Mark II handpurnp program.

Despite the success of water supply programs to get Indian villagen to use clean

water sources, the Indian Rural Water Supply and Sanitation programme

". ..ha failed, since its inception, to galvanize the same interest and support for sanitation and health education as it has for water. While no one can dispute that e.upanded water supplies have immeasurably upgraded the quality of life for women and childeren in India's 'hard-rock-villages'. as yet, the service.. . h a no more than scratched the surface of poor hygiene. related infection and environmental c~eanliness."~~'

Even today the percentage of people in india with access to sanitation facilities is

less than 30%~~'~

One factor which may help account for the discrepancy in levels of success of the

two wings of the program is the motivation of the users to adopt handpumps; if rural

Indians turned to the handpump as a source of micro-orgaiiism fiee water then they

should have been just as interested in the sanitation aspects of the Indian Rural Water

Supply and Sanitation programme; if, on the other hand, we discover that rural Indians

adopted the handpurnp for reasons having nothing to do with micro-organisms, the lower

rate of success among sanitation programs is easier to understand.

Ln the late 1960s and early 19709, at the govemment of India's request, LTNICEF

assisted with the drilling of wells in India to relieve d r o ~ g h t . ' ~ ~ The project that UNICEF

had been invited to join was not srnail: in 1974, 150,000 drinkuig water wells were

3n World Bank, Social Indicators of Development, 1993, p. 153. 578 Black, From Handpumps tu Health, p. 54. 379 UMCEF. "Access to Sanitation", ir#omrrtion: Statktics, source: LTNICEF, World Health ûrganization (WHO) and Multiple uidicator CIuster Surveys (MICS). ~http://www.unice£org/statislSanitationhtm~ (July 6, 1 999). "O Black, From Handpumps to Heulth, pp. 53-56.


completed in India within programmes involving UNICEF.~~' Pacey laments that during

these early projects in India, issues of social education. such as health education were

neglected. He concedes that this is understandable since the main objective of installing

the boreholes and pumps was ". . .to provide water to people in desperate need of it."

Pacey goes on to explain how UNICEF and the Indian authorities later broadened their

approach to include educational and training programs and the three-tier maintenance

~ ~ s t e r n . ~ ~ ~ Pacey does not descnbe the attitude of the rural Indians to the new approach,

however. One could hypothesize that they remained interested in the handpumps only as

a source of water, never mind UNICEF's or the health authorities' concems over water-

bom disease. To maintain this position, one needs to provide some reason for the Indians

adopting the handpurnp as a means of securing water supply. It is not enough to Say that

the pumps were affordable or that the program enjoyed govemrnent support, because the

same was true in Malaysia, where purnp programs failed to achieve anything like the

success seen in india. in hdia, the environment favoured drilled wells as a water source

and the use of àrilled wells favoured the use of handpumps.

Black explains how the drilled well becarne essential in india. Approximately

70% of India consists of hard rock shield. Much of this area was drought prone, with

surface water sources disappearing in the dry season. Disaster stmck if the monsoon

season failed to recharge them. The traditional means of getting at the ground water was

to dig d o m to the bedrock and to break through it using fire and ice. At the tirne that

UNICEF became involved in Indian rural water supply, the late 1960's, the population of

381 Pacey, Hand Pump Maintenance, p. 9. Ibid., pp. 27-28.


india was rising sharply. The Indian population in about 196 1 had been 487 million,383

By about 197 1 it was 6 13 million.384 By 1983 it was approximately 765 million.38s

increasing environmental pressure was forcing the water table deeper and deeper into the

hard rock. The ody way to dig a well through this rock with any speed was to use an air

driven, down-the-hole harnrner

Naturally. these drilled boreholes are kept as narrow as practical. The Halco

Tiger rigs, used by UNICEF in 1967 in the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh drought, bored a 4-

1 0 inch hole, 150 feet.38' Because the water table was low, the water level in the well

would be near the bottom of the borehole. There was no way a rope and bucket could be

used to get water out of such wells. The bucket would be so skinny and the time to raise

and lower it so long, that water just could not be retrieved at an acceptable rate.

Handpurnps, on the other hand, were ideally suited to extracting water from drilled wells.

Furthemore, handpumps were cheaper than motorized purnps.

The population was rising, the water table was dropping and the traditional means

of blasting a well through the rock was no longer feasible. Rural Indians had to turn to

the drilled well for a source of water in the dry season. The dnlled wells necessitated

handpumps and that was why there was comparatively little difficulty in getting rural

indians to adopt the handpump. In the 1970's however, the efforts of UNICEF and other

donor agencies at funiishing safe water supplies to the rural third world were focused on

technical aspects such as pump design. Analysis of demand was not a general feature of

383 World Bank, Social lndicarors of Development, 1988, p. 1 42. Ibid.

j" World Bank, Social hdicators of Development, 1996, p. 157. '" Black, From Handpumps to Health, pp. 54-55. '" ibib, p. 57.


handpump projects. Only towards the end of the decade would activities expand to

address the recipient's reasons for adopting a given technology and the rest of the

network of factors important to the tramfer of the handpump.

11.2.2 The Bangladeshi Basis of Demand: Tubewells and Convenience Items

In contrast with india, because of the wet conditions prevalent in Bangladesh,

there is no difficulty in obtaining water per se; however, it is difficult to obtain safe

drùiking water. When the water table is so high as to be very near or even above the

surface, it is nearly impossible to keep the "surface" water fiom mixing directly with the

"ground" water. A traditional dug wetl, which draws on ground water near the surface,

will easily become contaminated. The solution to the problem is the tubewell. This is a

long tube or pipe. It cm be made of metal, but may also be made of natural materials

such as b a r n b o ~ . ~ ~ ~ The tube runs vertically fiom a metre or so above the surface down

many metres into the ground. The tube is open at either end, but otherwise impervious to

water. For this reason, the only place for water to enter the tube is fiom the top, where it

will be covered to prevent this fiom happening, or frorn the bottom. The water entering

the tube, therefore is groundwater fiom deep below the surface. Contamination fiom the

surface is very uniikely to have spread to this water. Since the water level inside the tube

'" AAdrian McDodd and David Kay, Water Resources and Stmtegies. (New York Longman Scientific & Technical copublished with John Wiley and Sons, l988), pp. 7 1-72,

Success and Faiiure in Technology Transfer The Story of the Handpump 1 22

must correspond to the water table outside the

tube,389 this clean water makes its way up the

tube.

The watet must still be drawn out of the

tube, however. Since the tube is narrow, a rope

and bucket cannot be used. A simple suction

handpump, such as the New No. 6, works quite

well. Perhaps as many as 3 million of these

simple pumps nave been Uistalled in

~ a n ~ l a d e s h . ' ~ ~ It may seem incongnious that

such a successfbl pump features a pump head

made fiom cast iron, generally considered one

of the weakness of the common handpump for

Fig 11.1: The Tubewell

The tubewell is a device for gaining

mess to dean groundwater in

ocations where the upper levels of that

groundwater are contaminated. The

mly water entenng the tubewell cornes

'rom the very bottom of the well, where

:he groundwater is comparatively clean.

Developing World use. However, the New No. 6 was designed to have no close

to~erances.~~' The absence of close tolerances means that quality control can be relaxed

and puts the manufacture of the pumps well within the capability of Bangladeshi

foundries. By the end of 1975, six Bangaladeshi foundries had produced 7000 pumps a

month, with an installation rate of 50,00O/year, and a supply of spare parts?92

389 The principle is the same as that which govem the entry of water into the nser pipe of a pump. One can explain it in terms of the necessity to obtain equal pressure at equal levels as explained in Section 4. '90 Erich Baurnann, Private Communication, $une 29, 1999. The nurnbers represent Mr. Baumann's estimates based on memory. 39' Adosoroff et al. Comrnunify Water SuppZy, p. 1 74. 'z Black, From Handpurnps to Heolth, p. 24


It is of course possible to use a very wide tube so that a rope and bucket can fit

down it, however not only does the cost of tubes hcrease with their diameter, but the cost

of drilling holes to put them d o m increases even

fast er.

So there is some similarity between the

indian and the Bangladeshi examples in that in

both cases, the choice of well technology favoured

the adoption of the handpump. It is important to

understand the reason behind the popularity of the

tubewell and handpump in Bangladesh, however.

The Department of Public Health with assistance

fiom the World Health Organization (WHO) and

üNICEF installed 500,000 by the mid- 1980's.

-

Fig 11.2: The N ~ W No. 6

Source: ShalIowell Handpump

4pproximately 3 million New No. 6 iandpumps are in use atop tubewells in 3angladesh. Although the pump head s fashioned from cast iron, the parts do lot have close tolerances, which keeps ts manufacture within the capability of ocal foundries.

Their motivation was to improve public health. This is not the reason that the population

at large has chosen to use the pumps however. The purnps and the tubewells are seen as a

convenience, much like a refiigerator or washing machine in the West, but they are not

coveted for their health benef i t~ . '~~

1 1.2.3 The Filipino Basis of Demand: Concem About Health

Another country which has witnessed some success in the transfer of handpump

technology is the Philippines. There are, for instance, perhaps 20,000 handpumps

conforming to some derivative of the Afndev design. By 1992, there was a demand for

'" Ibid., pp. 18-20.


15,000 to 20,000 deepwell pumps per year.394 The demand was supplied by three local

mmufacturers and a pair of ~ n p o r t e r s . ~ ~ ~ Perhaps the transfer had begun even before

development organizations became active in the field. At any rate, one of the problems

encountered by the IDRC project in the mid- 1980's was that they had cornpetition fiom

local suppliers of "traditional" pumps (Clayton Mark purnps with brass ~ ~ l i n d e r s ) . ' ~ ~

Why was the handpump successful in the Philippines. even before iDRC got

there? The m a l villagers of the Philippines appear to have had an appreciation for the

connection between drinking water and disease. When interviewed by workers involved

with the D R C project in the Philippines in the mid- 1980's, Filipino villagers c o ~ e c t e d

dirty water with abdominal pain, vomiting and d i a ~ ~ h e a . ' ~ ~ Clean water was clear, came

fiom a naturally flowing source and could support ~hr i rn~s . '~* One interviewee

responded that the only tnie test of water's potability was laboratory t e ~ t i n ~ . ' ~ ~ This type

of awareness was found both among those who had handpumps and those who did net?"

A 1985 study found that almost al1 households were willing to spend money to irnprove

the quality of their water."'' Another indication that Filipinos understand rnicrobiology

and water is the relative success of sanitation prograrns. The percentage of the rural

population with access to sanitation in the Philippines is 63%:" By the sarne argument

Black uses to show how a low percentage access to sanitation in hdia reflects low

jW Gendrano. The D R C Handpump Project in the Philippines". p. 3. 395 bid. j96 Ibid., p. 2,s. 397 Almario. **Commercially Producing and Marketing the IDRC-UM Handpmp". p. 84. j9' ibid. 399 Ibid.

aiid., p. 84. 'O' Philippine Business for Social Progress, A Bateline Study of a Village Handpumps Project (Philippines), N. p., I98S. p. 38. AvaiIabIe through D R C archives: archiv 621.65(9 14) PS.

Success and Faifure in Technology Transfec The Story of the Handpump 125

appreciation for the microbiologicai aspects of drinking water, a high percentage indicates

a high appreciation for those same aspects in the Philippines. The health workers

message will be well received in the Philippines, but it was not the health worker's

message that created grassroots demand for handpumps in India and Bangladesh. Those

people had other reasons to demand the handpump. When people have no other reason to

demand the handpump. the health care worker's argument is not enough.

41 1.3 Absence of Demand as a Reason Behind Failure to Transfer

in spite of obstacles, the transfer of handpumps succeeded to the extent that

perhaps five to ten million handpumps are in use in the rural Developing World today.

They serve hundreds of millions of people. One might ask, though, why it took until

recent decades for handpumps to appear in large numbers in the Developing World. The

handpump must have been brought to the Developing World long before Point Four and

the Colombo Plan ever existed. It seems hardly credible that the long involvement of

Spain in Latin Amenca and of Britain in India could have occurred without someone,

sometirne, bringing over a handpump. it is reasonable to assume that this happened a

number of times. It was not the obscurity of the handpump wliich prevented Latin

Americans, Aficans and Asians of the three centuries preceding the Second World War

fiom adopting the handpump. Rather, there was no apparent need for them to do so.

Without a knowledge of microbiology, these people had no reason to believe that water

taken fiom a river or a well might be contaminateci with tiny, invisible disease causing

--

a' W C E F , Tdormation: Statistics: Philippines" @np~/~~~..unicef.org!statidco~ay_l Page l4O.htrni.


organisms. Nor, were their weiis of a type that required a long, thin device for extracting

water fiom them. Had these peoples relied on drilled wells, then they might have found

the geometry of the classical handpump very appealing. It appears, however, that dug

wells are the traditional form of well in the Developing World. Presurnably they have

been used there for a very long tirne. A rope and bucket is quite sufficient to haul water

out of a dug well. if one is to adopt a handpurnp, then one must be able to find a

manufacturer fiom whom to purchase it and one must also be willing and able to maintain

it. Ropes and buckets would not place much of a burden on traditional infrastnictures.

Handpumps would. Any technology is part of a network which includes complernentary

technology, supporting infiastructure and supporting values which generate demand.

Since none of these existed, no transfer to Latin America, Afiica or Asia took place.

The weakness of this portrayal of the non-transfer of the handpump is that it does

not explain why the handpump was adopted in Europe as far back as the classical era,

long before Europeans had any knowledge of microbiology and while they were still

drawing ârinking water fiom nvers and dug wells. Perhaps the handpurnp first appeared

for use in ships or in mines. With an established demand, the appropriate infrastructure

would have had a reason to grow and develop. Unlike the Developing World case,

manufacturers and mechanics would then be on hand if someone should see advantage in

applying the technology to drinking water supply. However, the present literature does

not yet provide enough guidance to the development and adoption of the handpump in

Europe and it is beyond the scope of this paper to do so.


Notwithstanding the question marks around the European story, the modem

experience of West to South transfer of handpurnps is consistent with the previous

explmation for the lack of transfer in prior centuries. The Western aid organization and

development professionals saw the handpump as an instrument for improving the health

of the rural population of the third world. It was a means to secure relatively

microorganism-free drinking water. However, the concept of microorganisms causing

disease belongs to Western science. While it is safe enough to assume a belief in science

arnong almost any group of people in the West, the same cannot be said for the

inhabitants of the rural Developing World. These intended recipients did not necessarily

share the development professional's opinion of the supenority of the handpump over

traditional water sources. Consequently, even many of those who had been persuaded to

try the pumps, abandoned them when maintainhg the pump took substantial time and

effort, as was the case when spare parts were difficult to obtain or whenever they

perceived the pumps to be an inconvenience or a nuisance of some sort, as the USAID

team discovered in Tunisia, or when it interfered with some other aspect of life, as with

the women who missed out on the social opportunity that a trip to the water hole

provided. When the pumps broke down fiequently and when there were no mechanics on

hand to repair them when they did, the opportunity to abandon the pump must have

presented itself fiequently. Purnps were vandalized, removed and set aside to rust. When

handpumps were rejected by the very villages which donor agencies selected as places to

introduce the pumps to a region or country, it is unlikely that the use of the pump would

spread.


No doubt, education programs can create an appreciation of the health benefits of

handpumps and lessen the likelihood of the purnp k ing rejected. Andersson reported

that in the Shinyanga region of Tanzania, the incidence of vandalism of pumps (stealing

the wooden pieces for use as firewood) had àropped and ventures that the change in

behaviour is due to an increased appreciation of the pump.Jo3 Moreover, the rural

Filipinos, particularly the one who refened to laboratory testing as the only true means of

testing water's potability, have clearly absorbed some concepts nom Western science.

Nonetheless, health education does not appear to be responsible for the large numbers of

handpuinps in use in India and Bangladesh. It is dificult to assess the impact that health

education h3s made. What is clear is that the handpump succeeded when it was valued,

but beyond the development professionals, it was often not valued as a means to health.

Il. Poor Assumptions

The history of the transfer of the handpump is Full of failures arising fiom poor

assumptions and the improved success due to subsequent efforts to correct for bad

assumptions. The pattern of assurnption and corrective action reveals an initial failure to

identiQ technological hardware as part of a system. As development projects became

more sophisticated, they encompassed first technical and then non-technical aspects of

the system. hitially, development workers made the assumption that neither the

handpumps nor the communities they served needed modification for successfid

technology transfer. The result was a lot of broken, nisting, unused handpumps. By the

1970's, the most popular solution to this problem, in the West at least, was deemed to be

Anderssoa Welk and Handpumps in the Shinymgu Region. T m n i a , pp. 35-36.


the design of new purnps incorporating the principle of easy maintenance and the

possibility of local manufacture. The faulty assumption here was that the rural

Developing World communities would necessarily have the know how and existing

organizations to take advantage of these design features. Before the decade was out. the

development community discovered that they needed to expend money and effort in

training mechanics and setting up maintenance organizations and providing technical

assistance to local manufacturen. Thus far, development workers (most of them

Western) proved themselves equal to overcoming problems once they had recognized

them. However, they discovered that the technological systems wirh which they dealt

extended beyond the technical. n i e success of the transfer depended upon certain values

and tastes, such as what good water tasted like and the perception of what clean water

was. Development workers could not assume that villagers had these values. Workers

could not even assume that the wornen of the village would welcome being relieved of a

long jouniey to fetch water. By the mid 19803, the orthodox wisdom as reflected in the

handpump literature was that community involvement and education was necessary to

identiQ and handle these non-technical issues. However, judging by the lack of

elaboration on these non-technical issues in the professional literahue compared with

technical matters, it seems likely that the non-technical issues did not get the attention

they required. This was not a traditional field of expertise for NGO's and nual extension

services. Consequently, they handled it less adroitly.


12. Conclusion

The story of the transfer of handpump technology fiom the West to the

Developing World has meaning both for those interested in the history of development

and those who would like to draw lessons fiom that history. Both groups of people must

comprehend how technology interacts with its environment, that it operates as part of a

system. They need to understand the needs and demands of the recipient culture as well

as the philosophy and assumptions of the donor culture.

In bringing the handpump to new cultures, Western development workers learned

first hand about the implications of the cultural and social interaction of technology. The

consequences of the interaction with the cultural and social environment were of as much

practical importance as the consequences of the interactions with the physical

environment. in either case, failure to make adjustments to the technology or to the

environment, in other words failure to create a viable technological system, meant failure

of the entire project. Naïve Western concepts of technology made it difficult to perceive

even the technical components of the technological system. The technical bias of the

workers made it very difficult for them to deal effectively with its non-technical

components. Experience led to criticism of Western technology, even in the West, and

removed the fust difficulty. Developrnent workers still stmggle with the second

di fficulty.

By the 1980's development professionals working on handpump projects

recognized the need to treat the handpump as a component in a system. This system

included manufacturing facilities, networks of suppliers and, as Arnold Pacey recognized,

maintenance systems, the clearest example of which was the three-tier maintenance


system designed to support the india Mark II program. It had taken three decades fiom

the launch of Truman's Point Four program and the Colombo Plan of the British

Commonwealth for this conception of technology to appear and establish itself in

development thought and fiom there to make its way hto policy. Westem faith in its own

brand of technology had to be shaken by events, like the atrocious performance of the

early cast-iron handpumps, or like the poor record of development projects, before

Westerners would examine the nature of technology close enough to apprehend that

Westem technology was not invincible, that it required modification when brought to a

new environment. The India Mark II was the product of enlightenrnent bom of

disappointment. The VLOM strategy, which produced the UN[MADE, the Afridev and

the india Mark III was a M e r recognition of the handpump's role as a cornponent in a

system, because it was an attempt to adapt the handpump more closely to the systems of

manufacture and maintenance which could be put in place in the Developing World. The

influence of the Appropriate Technology movement was probably a large factor in

promoting this view of the handpump-as-component.

Where the questions remained technical, development workers were by and large

successful at seeing past their previous assumptions about the independent nature of

machines and perceiving the technological system surroundhg the handpump. They did

not find it difficult to grasp the need for maintenance systems once Pacey and other s

pointed it out. They had little trouble redesigning the pumps. It is the non-technical

components that the development professionals dealt with least successfully, probably

because these people were technically oriented by training and practice. Perhaps also

because the Westem philosophy of technology was a poor framework in which to


recognize the importance of non-technical components, or even their existence. Where

the handpump professionals did recognize non-technical components, such as community

motivation and perception of health benefits, they had few detailed plans for coping with

hem, certainly nothing to compare with the plans worked out for technical issues.

Probably the most important non-technical issue in the handpump projects was that of

demand. The success of handpump projects in the Developing World depended upon the

degree to which the intended users perceived a need for them. Where need was felt

whether it was a need sirnply for water (e.g. India), a need for clean water (e.g. the

Philippines) or a "nee8' for a convenience item (e.g. Bangladesh), demand for the pumps

existed and handpump programs were successful; arnong comrnunities which did not feel

a need for handpumps, for instance the villages of rural Tunisia targeted by USAD in the

early 19803, the handpump programs failed. It is certain that the perception of need was

not a suEcient condition for success; for instance, handpumps needed redesign before

they could operate reliably in a Developing World environment. However, the perception

of need appears to have been a necessary condition.

Does it seem likely that the story of the handpump is unique in the history of the

transfer of technology between countries of widely dif5erent history and culture? 1s it not

more likely that other technologies, ofien more complex than the simple handpump, also

required the existence or creation of a complex neh~ork of organizational support,

knowledge and values to thrive in the new environment? It seems more likely that the

handpump is indicative of patterns present in the larger history of development: naïve

assumptions about technology, about its requirements and the recipient cornmunities

desire and capability to absorb it; disappointment bringing enlightenment; awareness of


techological networks growing as old assumptions are shed and new models and

explmations gain acceptance; finaily, the awkwardness experienced by technical workers

trying to cope with non-technical issues.

The transfer of technology will almost always require adaptation to the artifacts

they centred on and the environment into which they were htroduced. It will be

necessary to understand the physical, social and cultural aspects of the new environment.

However, to identie what adaptations are needed it is necessary to examine the

assumptions the donors have about the technology in question and why people should

want to adopt it. Understanding the culture of the donors will be as important as

understanding the culture of the recipients.

It is clear that Western development organizations succeeded to some degree in

transferring handpump technology across different cultural environrnents. As they did so.

they discovered that the interaction between a technology and its environment is complex,

involving technical and non-technical aspects. Given the complexity of the task the

donors chose, instead of asking why handpunp programs have failed to provide access to

safe water for all, one might rather wonder how they accomplished as much as they did.

What originally seemed like a simple problem, revealed itself to be multifaceted,

involving questions of engineering, economics, sociology and culture. A half century of

experience revealed faulty assumptions and the handpump projects of the 1990s were

much more sophisticated than those of the 1950s and 1960s. With time the Western

development professionals recognized the importance of understanding the needs and

desires of the recipients, the demands the technology made of the community in which it

was deployed and the changes the technology was likely to bring.


List of Acronyms:

AFARM

AIT

ARD

AMRAD

DMR

EWRA

D R C

DWSSD

IRC

KEMRI

M E W O

PHED

PVC

UNDP

UNICEF

LJMMA.DE

USAID

WASH

WHO

VLOM

Action For AgicuihuaI Renewai in Maharashm

Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand)

Office of Accelerated Rural Developrnent (Thailand)

Association Malienne de Recherche Action pour te Developpement

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (formerly, Cooperative for American Rernittances to Europe)

Department of Mineral Resources (Thailand)

Ethiopian Water Research Authority

International Development Research Centre (Canada)

international Dtinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade

international Reference Centre for Cornmunity Water Supply

Kenya Medical Research Institute

Mechanical Engineering Research and Development Organization india

Oxford Commîttee for Famine Relief UK

Public Health Engineering Department (india)

United Nations Development Program

United Nations International Children's Emsrgency Fund

üniversiry of Malaya Designed handpurnp

Uni1.d States Agency for international Development

Water and Sanitation for Hedth (a USAiD project)

World Health Organization

Village-Level Operated and Maintained


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Drexel, John, ed., Facts on File Encyclopedia of the Twentieth Cenhrry, New York: Facts on File, 1991.

Eubanks, Bernard M.. This is a Story ofthe Pump and ifs Relatives. Privately published. Salem, Or., 1971.

Ewbank, Thomas. -4 descriptive and historical account of hydraulic and ofher machines for raising water. London: Tilt and Bogue, 1 842. Reprint Edition New York: Arno Press, 1972.

Glennie, Colin. Village water supply in the decade : lessomjiomfield experience. Chichester [Sussex] ; Toronto : J. Wiley, c 1983.

Goh Sing Yau, Laburutory and Field Tesring offiandpumps. Ottawa: iDRC, 1985.

Goh Sing Yau, "bhlaysia". In Filluge Handpump Technoiogy, Donald Sharp and Michaei Gnham. eds. Ottawa, IDRC, 1982, pp. 39-52.

Goh Sing Yau, CINIhLADE 3 O M handpump: a guide for installation, repair and maintenance Kuala Lumpur : University of Malaya, 1987.

Goh Sing Yau and Low Kwai Sim, "Malaysian Villagers Comment on Simple Plastic Handpumps". In Communiv Water Development, ed. Charles Kerr. London, Intermediate TechnoIogy Publications, 1989, pp. 163- 168. First published in Waterlines 3(2) (October, 198 4).

Gray, Ken and Rupert Talbot, '*A Brief History of the india Mark II Handpump". In Handpumps resring und development : proceedings of a workshop in China. Gerhard Tschannerl and Kedar Bryan eds. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : WorId Bank, 1985, pp. 21 6-223.

Gunnerson, Charles, G.. "Sanitation Systems for DeveIoping countries". in Technology, Finance and Development: ..ln Anaiysis of the World Bank as a Technological Institution, Charles Weiss and Nicolas lequier eds., Toronto: Lexington Books, 1984, pp. 125- 1 39.

Henry, David, "Designing for Development: What is Appropriate Technology for Rural Development". Wufer Stipp!v & Management, vol. 2 , pp. 365-72. Oxford, Pergarnon Press Ltd., 1978.

Henry, David, "Technology Transfer: Old Myths and New Realities". Journal of Developing Socieries 7(1), 97-109, (1991).

Henry, David. "Wanted: A Better Hand Pump". Reports 6(4), 14, (1977).

Henry, David, "Will It Work, Wi11 It Last, Can 1 M o r d It?" Reports 5(4),16-17, (1976).

Hoadley. J. S.. *The Rise and Fall of the Basic Needs Approach". Cooperation and Conflict, 16, 149-1 64, (1981)

Hodgkin, J., Susfainabiiity ofdonor arskted rural water suppiy projects. Washington, DC : Water and Sanitation for Health Project, 1994.

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Kalbermatten, J.M., Julius, D.S., G~tlflerson, C.G. Appropriate Technology for Water Supply and


Saniration-a Surnrnary of Technical and Economic Options. Washington, World Bank, 1980.

Kerr, Charles, ed., Cornmuniq Water Development, London, intermediate Technology Publications, 1989.

Kissinger, Henry, D@lamacy, Toronto: Simon & Shuster, 1994.

Krishnaswamy, H. V.. 'The Rural hinking Water Supply Programme in uidia and the Development of a Dependable Deep-well Handpump". in Handpumps tes ting and developrnent : proceedings of a workshop in China. Gerhard Tschannerl and Kedar Bryan eds. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : World Bank, 1985, pp. 5 1-58.

Lewis, Arthur, Theory ofEconomic Growth. London: Allen & Unwin, 1955.

Macy, Joanna, Dharma and Development: Religion as Resource in the Sanrodaya Self-Help Movement. West Hartford, Conn.: Kumarian Press, 1985.

Mathur, S. P., "nie application of appropriate technology in the field of rural water supplies in Indonesin", World Heaith Statistics Quarrerly 39(1), 71-80. (1986)

McDonald, Adrian and David Kay, Water Resources and Straregies. New York: Longman Scientific & Technical copublished with John Wiley and Sons, 1988.

McJunkin, F. E. and E. H. A. Hofkes, "Hand-Pump Technolog for the Development of Groundwater Resources". In Water Supply and Sanitaiion In Developing Countries. Eric J . Schiller and Ronaid L. Droste, eds. Ann Arbor Science, 1982, pp. 37-52.

McJwikin, F. E.. Hand Pumps for Use in Drinking FVater Supplies in Developing Countries. The Hague : International Reference Centre for Comrnunity Water Supply, 1977.

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Milfat, T. B., 'Auseralian Foreign Policy and the Third World)'. In The West and rhe Third World, ed. Robert O'Neill and R J. Vincent, New York, St. Martin's Press, 1990, pp. 91-107.

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Momsson, Allen, "In Third World Villages, A Simple Handpump Saves Lives" . Civil Engineering Maguzine, pp. 68-72 (October 1983).

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Oleson, John Peter, Greek and Roman mechanical water-l@ing devices : rhe history of the technology, Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1984

Pacey, Amoid, Hand-pump Maintenance in the Context of Cornmunis, WeII Projects. N. p.: intermedate Technology Publications, 1985.

Pichai Nimityongskd and Pisidhi Karasudhi, "Thailand", in Village Handpump Technology, ed. Donald S Sharp and Michael Graham, (ûttawa, IDRC, l982), pp. 2 1-32.

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Reynolds, John, Handpumps, toward a sustainable technology : resemch and development during the


Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1 992.

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Roark, P., "Wornen and Wa ter", in Water and Sanitation: Economic and Sociological Perspectives, ed. Peter Borne, ûrlando, USA, Academic Press, 1984, pp. 49-68.

Rogers, Barbara '*Water: Women's Work". in Comrnunity Water Developmenr, ed. Charles Kerr, London, intermediate Technology Publications, 1989, pp. 1 99-20 1 . First published in Wurerlines I(1), (July 1982).

Rogers, Everett M.. Diffusion of lnnovafions..3* ed. New York: Free Press,. 1983

Rogers, Mark "An Appropnated Technology: handpumps in Sri Lanka". Reports 13(3), 9- 10 (October 1984).

Rostow, W. W., "The Take-off into Self Sustained Growth". Economic Journal 6 6 , 3 5 4 (March 1965).

Saunders, Robert J. and Jeremy J. Warford, Village Water Suppfv: Ecanomics and Policy in the Developing World, Baltimore: World Bank, 1976.

Schumacher, Ernst F. Small is Beautiful: a srudy of econornics m fpeopk mattered. London: BIond & Briggs Ltd., 1973.

Shapiro, Shefdon. "The Ongin of the Suction Pump". te ch no log^ and Culrure 5,566-576 ( 1 964).

Sharp, Donald and Michael Graham. Eds. Village Handpump Technology. Ottawa, IDRC, 1 982.

Sharp, Donald, "Low Cost Handpurnps for Developing Countries: The D R C Approach to Technology tntroduction". in international Water Resources Association, Water for world deveiopment : proceedings of the VIth WRtl World Congress an Water Resources. Urbana, III. : international Water Resources Association, 1988, pp. 221 -229.

Sharp, Donald, "The IDRC Handpump Prognm". in Handpurnps testing and development : proceedings of a workshop in China. Gerhard Tschannerl and Kedar Bryan eds. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : World Bank, 1985, pp. 189-194.

Sharp, Donald. "The PVC Pump Branches Out". Reporfs 14 (3/4), 22-23 (October 1985).

Spurgeon, David, "Low-Cost Handpumps for the W d World". In Developing World Water, ed, John Pickford. London: Grosvenor Press International, 1988.

Squire, L. and H. van der Tak, Economic Analysis of Projects, Baitimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975.

"Sri Lankan Women's Handpump Enterprise" in Developmenr Journal 3 ( 199 1 ).

Tschamerl, Gerhard and Kedar Bryan., eds Handpumps testing and development : proceedings of a workshop in China. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. : World Bank, 1985.

United States Department of State, Point Four Progrom: Couperative Program for Aid in the Developmenr of Economicaliy Underdeveloped Areas. N. p., 1949.

Valera, Mediaükx P., Terminal Report on the Village Hmdpump (Philippines) Project. 1 986. Available


through iDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65(9 t 4) V 3.

van Koppen, Barbara, ed., Women and Warer Pumps in Bangladesh the Impact of Participation in Irrigation Groicps on Wornen S Starus, London: intemediate Technology hbIications, 1996.

Wagner, Edmund G. and J. N. Lanoix, Water Suppiy for Rural ,-ireas and Small Communities, Geneva: World Weaith Organization, 1959.

Weiss, Charles and Nicolas Jequier eds., Technology, Finance and Developrnent: .An Analysis of the World Bank as a Technological Institution. Toronto: Le-xington Books, 1984.

Wellin, E., "Water Boiling in a Peruvian Town" In Health, Culture and Commzcnis), ed. B. D. Paul, New York: Russell Sage Foundation (E) 1955.

WHO "Cornmunity Water Supply and Sewage Disposal in DeveIoping Countries". World Health Staiistics, 26( 1 1 ), (1 973).

Williams, P. G. and L.R. J. Van Vuren, "Appropriate Technology for Rural Water Supplies". in World Water '86: Water technology for the Developing World, pp. 99- 100, London: Thomas Telford Ltd.. 1986.

World Bank, Social Indicators oj'Drvelopmenr 1989. Baltimore: World Bank, 1989

World Bank, Social Indicarors ofûevelopment 1991-1992 Baltimore: World Bank, 1992.

World Bank. Social Indicarors ofDeveloprnenr 1993. Baltimore: World Bank, 1993.

World Bank, Social Indicators of Development 1996. Baltimore: World Bank, 1996.

World Bank, Viliuge Water Supply. Washington: The World Bank, 1976.

World Bank, Drafi Sarnple Bidding Documents for the Procurement of Handpumps. Washington: World Bank, 1986. p. 36.

Wyse, Peter, Canadian Foreign Aid in the 1970 's: un organizarional audit. Montreal: Centre for Developing Area Studies, McGill University, 1983.

Arcbival Material

This includes material which may be publically availabte, but is not as readily accessible as formally published work.

IDRC Manuscript Reports include meeting documents, interna1 reports and preliminary technical documents given a small distributions to a higfily specialized audience.

Almario, Emelina S. "FeasibiUty of Commercially Producing and Marketing the IDRC-UM Handpump in the Philippines". in IDRC Handpump Network Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok. Thailand, 1-3 Oct. 2986. ed. Emelina S. Aimario. Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, IDRC Manuscipt Report, pp. 93-95.

Almario, Emelina S. ed., IDRC Handpurnp Network Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thaihd, 1-3 Oct. 1986, ûttawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, DRC Manuscipt Report.

Success and Failure in Technofogy Transfer: The Story of the Handpurnp 140

Anstanti, Christina. ''The IDRC Handpump Project in Indonesia and its Cornmerciaikation Prospects". Paper presented at The IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the iDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 2 1-25 October 1992, Beijing, China. N. p., [IDRC?], [1992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available Erom IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.

Dharmadasa, Pathirana, Upali Wickramasinghe, and Douglas Chandrasin, "Sri Lanka" , in Village Handpump Technology. Donald Sharp and Michael Graham, eds. Ottawa, IDRC, 1982.

Diallo, Mamadou, "The Problem of DiUiking Water Supply in Mali and the Action of AMRAD. in IDRC Handpump Nenvork Proceedings oj'the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thaiiand, 1-3 Oct. 1986. ed. Emelina S. h a r i o . Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, DRC Manuscipt Report, pp. 13 1-1 38.

Donaldson, D. -4 TechnicalUManagerial Review of -4ID Handpump Prugrams in Sri Lanka, the Philippines. Hondurm, and the Dornincan Republic. WASH Workuig Paper No. 29.. Arlington: Water And Sanitation for Health, 1 983.

Donaldson. D., Operation and maintenance of rural drinking water and latrine programs in Honduras, WASH Field Report No. 129, Arlington, Va.: Water And Sanitation for Health, 1984.

Donaldson. D., Trsting of USAID type hundpump (Honduras) WASH Field Report No. 130, Arlington, Va.: Writer And Sanitation for Health, t 984.

Fannon, R D., abstract to Field Research and Testing of a m e r Hand Pumpfor Use in Developing Countires. Final Research Report to Agency for international Development. Ohio: Bartelle Columbus Laboratories, January 3 1, 1975.

Frink, D. W. and Fannon, R D. Jr. , Final Report on the Development of a Water Pumpfor Underdevrloped Countries to rlgencyfor International Deveiopmenr. Battelle mernorial institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 1967.

Frink, D.W. Fmon, RD. Banelle Memorial institue, Columbus, OH; US. AiD, Development of a water pump for underdeveloped countries ifinal report. Columbus, Ohio : Battelle Memorial Institute. CoIurnbus Laboratories 1967.

Gendrano, Carme10 M., "The IDRC Handpump Project in the Philippines: Experiences and Prospects". Paper presented at The IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nenvork Meeting, 71-25 October I N , ' , Beging, China. N. p., [IDRC?], [l992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available tkom iDRC archives: archiv 631.65 G 5.

Goh Sing Yau "From Research and Development to Mass Production of Handpumps" . in IDRC Handpümp Network Proceedings ofthe hfeeting Held in Bangkok, Thaihnd, 1-3 Oct. 1986, ed. Emelina S. Almario, Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, IDRC Manuscipt Report, pp. 30-40.

Goh Sing Yau and Low Kwai S i m , "Appropriate plastic handpump for rural water supply in Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Dec. 1984". in ''International Symposium on Technology, Culture and Development Kuala Lumpur 12- 14 Dec., 1983". N. p., 1984, pp. 69-74. AvaiIabIe through iDRC archives: archiv 631.6 1 5 1983,

Goh Sing Yau, "Development of the Unimade Handpump". Paper presented at The iDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Hondpump Network Meeting, 21-25 Ocfober 1991, Beijing, China. N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]. (Conkence Proceedings) Available kom DRC archives: archiv 621 -65 G 5.

Goh Sing Yau, Developrnent of a Village Level Inrtalled and Maintuined Handpump-A Malaysian Experience. N.p,, ad, available h m IDRC archives: archiv (626.83 595) G 5


Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visit to *'introducing PVC Handpump (Thailand) Project". From ~3~ to 28" Apnl, 1985. ui Goh SUig Yau, Report on Visit to CahLFPDrVPBSPfrom 1 tjh .+wil-3"' ~Cfay, 1985. Available through iDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65(593) G 6.

Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visit to "Village Handpump (Philippines) Project From 29" April to 3d May. 1 985. in Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visii t0 CrLA MSPDdPBSP fiom I & +ri/-3& May, 19235 Available through IDRC archives: archiv 621.65(593) G 6.

Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visit to CAAMS, Beijing (16-23 April, 1985). Ln Goh Sing Yau, Report on Visit to C;UMS/PDA/PBSPfrorn 1 fh April-3"' Moy. 1 985. Available through IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65(593) G 6.

Goh Sing Yau, Report on k i t to CMi\fS/PD..YPBSP from 16lh ;lpril-3" ibfay, 1985. Available through IDRC archives: archiv 621.65(593) G 6.

Gupta, Avril, "Rural Water Supplies in indonesia". Master's Thesis, University of Waterloo, 1994.

Wandpurnp Manual (Asia)" Project 830066. in IDRIS.

Harkness, R M., Village FVomen, CYarer and Developmsnt: an Evaluative Stirdy of the Vater Supplv Project in Bolgaranga District, Upper Region, Ghana. Master's Thesis. Carleton University, O a a m Canada, 1 983.

Hodgkin, J., Operation and maintenance of rural warer supplies in the Yemen Arab Republic, WASH field report no. 359, Arlington, Va.: Water and Sanitation for Health (WASH), 1989.

James, B. E. , USAID Handpump Program in Earador. WASH Field Repon no. 123. Arlington, USA, WASH (Water and Sanitation for Health), 1984.

Jemati, Jima *Technical Repon on the Ethiopian Handpump" . In IDRC Harrdpump Neiwork Proceedings ofthe hfeeting Htdd in Bangkok, Thailand, 1-3 Oct. 1986, ed. Emeiina S. Almario, Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1 987, D R C Manuscipt Report, pp. 5- 10,

Journey, W. K. "A Hand E%mp for Rural Areas of Developing Coutnries". World Bank, 1976. Lnternational Bank for Reconstruction and Developrnent document. P.U. Report No. RES 9, 1976.

Karama, M. et. al.. 'The Expenence On Unimade Handpurnp in Kenya and the Commercialization Prospects''. Paper presented at The DRC Handpurnp Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 21-23 October 1992, Beijing, China. N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]. (Conference Proceedings) AvailabIe Fom IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.

Katsha, Samiha El "E.xperience of the IDRC Handpump in Egypt". Paper presented at The D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nerwork Meeting, 21-15 October 1992, Berj'ng, China. N.p., PRC?] , [ 1 992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available from IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.

Krishnaswamy, H. V., Rote of Richardson & Cruddas (1 972) Limited, in Development and Manufacture of India Mark II Deepwell Handpumps in Water Supply Programmes in India. Conference o f State Ministers of the State/Union Territones in Charge of Water Supply, February 7, 1986. Organized by The Ministry of Urban Developrnent, Government of India.

Mishra, M., Do it yourself: maintenance ofIndia Mir&-II handpump. Allahabad: Wtute o f Engineering and Rural Tec hno logy, 1 994?


Mudgal, Arun Kumar, India Handpump Revolution: Challenge and Change. Handpump Technology Network Working Paper: WP 01/97. Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation in Technology Management (SKAT), 1997.

Philippine Business for Social Progress, A Baseline Stuc& ofa Village Handpumps Projeci (Philippines), N. p., 1985. Available through IDRC archives: archiv 62 t .65(914) P5.

Potts, P. W., U U l D Handpump Program in Tunisia, WASH Field Report no. 100. Arlington, VA.: Water and Sanitation for Health, 1983.

Proceedings of the National Workshop on Potenrial Irnprovernents in Mark II/ Deepwell Design: hfuy 25 & 25, 1990, India International Centre, Max Mueller hfarg, New Delhi. N. p., 1 W O ? The cover page identifies UNICEF, New Delhi; National Drinking Water Mission, Department of Rural DeveI opment, Government of India; and the UNDPtWorld Bank Water and Sanitation Program, Regional Water and Sanitation Group-South Asia. 1 obtained my copy of this document through the UNICEF, New Deihi Office.

Reports ofthe IDRC Handpump Nenvork Meeting, 21 -25 October 2 996, Beging, China. N. p., [IDRC?] , [1992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available fiom IDRC archives: archiv 621.65 G 5.

Rrporr of fhe Narional Conference on Deepwell Handpumps, Madurai, July 10-13, 1979. Sponsored by the Minisûy of Public Works and Housing [India], Central Public Health & Environmental Engineering Organization (CPHEEO) and W C E F . 1 obtained my copy of this document through the UNICEF, New Delhi Office.

Reynolds, John and Ian Collins, "IDRC-UM Handpump". [Harpenden?]: Consumers' Association (UK) 1986. Unpublished report by the Consumers' Association (üK). Available through IDRC archives: archiv 63 1.65 MFICHE-Lib- 104390.

Rosales, Elias, "Report on the E.uperience of the D R C Handpump Project in Costa Rica and the Commercialization Prospects". Paper presented at The iDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nenvork Meeting, 72-23 October 1992, BeQing, China. N.p., [IDRC?], [1992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available Eom D R C archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.

Rudin, A. and Alan Plumtree, Designfor Plastic Hand Pump and Well. University of Waterloo, March, 1978.

Saunders, Robert J. and Jeremy J. Warford. Village Water Supply and Sanifation in L m Developed Couniries. Wortd Bank, P. U. Report No. Res. 2, 1974.

Shepherd, A, W. and Asha Mustapha el Neima, Popular Participation in Decentralised Water Suppiy Pfanning: A Case Sttrdy in the Western Deisirict of Northern Kordofan Province Sudan. N . p.: Development Administration Group, Occasional Paper no. 17. January 1983.

Sieh, Lee Mei Ling, "Commercialization of the Unimade handpurnp: an evaluation". Pape presented at The D R C Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpurnp Network Meeting, 21 -25 October 1992, Beijing, China. N. p., [IDRC?], [ 1992?]. (Conférence Proceedings) AvailabIe iiom D R C archives: archiv 621.65 G 5.

Sin& Ranjit. "Testing and Development of iDRC Handpump (PVC Handpump) in M a and its Commerciaiization Prospects". Paper presented at The IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1992. Avdable in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Network Meeting, 2 1-25 October 1992, Beijing, China. N.p., WRC?], [1992?]. (Conference Proceedings) AvaiIabIe 6om


IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.

Soedjwaro, Christine, "introducing the PVC Handpurnp in Indonesia" . in IDRC Handpump Nerwork Proceedings of the Meeting Held in Bangkok, Thailand, 1-3 Oct. 1986, ed. Emelina S . Almario. Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, IDRC Manuscipt Report, pp. 60-66.

Tan Bock Thim, "Economic Analysis and Potential Markets" . in Village Handpump Technologv, Donald Sharp and Michael Graham eds. Ottawa, IDRC, 1982, pp. 57-66.

Tan Bock Thiam, "Feasibility of Commercially Producing and Marketing the IDRC-UM Handpurnp in the Philippines" . In IDRC Handpump N e ~ o r k Proceedings ofthe bfeeting Held in Bangkok, Thailand, 1-3 Ocr. 1986, ed., Emelina S . Ahnario, Ottawa, Ont.: IDRC, 1987, [DRC Manuscipt Report, pp. 96-1 16.

Wijk-Sibesma, C.A., Purriciparion of Nomen in Communiiy Warer Suppiy and Saniturion: Roles and Realitirs. Technical Paper no. 22, The Hague, The Netherlands, iRC, 1985.

World Bank, United Nations.Development Programme, Laboratory Testing, Field Trials and Technological Development. R l d Water Supply Handpumps Project - Senes: World Bank Rural Water Supply Handpumps Project Report. 1, Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1982.

Zhang Li De "Project Situation in Popularization of IDRC Handpump and its Prospect on Cornrnercialization Development in Xinjiang" . Paper presented at The IDRC Handpurnp Network Meeting, Beijing, October 1993. Available in Reports of the IDRC Handpump Nrhvork Meeting, 21-25 Ocrober 1992. BeiJ'ing, China. N p . . [IDRC?], [ l992?]. (Conference Proceedings) Available fiom IDRC archives: archiv 62 1.65 G 5.

On-line Databases and Internet Sources.

The IDRC Developrnent Research Information System (IDNS), contains swnmaries of each project to which the iDRC has granted funds. The summary identifies such information as the amount of money awarded, the recipient of the fùncis, the date of the project, the statu (open, closed) and it also contains a brief description of the project. The author of the summary is never indicated, but we can assume that it is a sta f f member of IDRC, probably the project manager. The database is available via the world wide web at < http://www.minweb.idrc.cdidnslog.hn>.

A note on intemet sources: The worId wide web has ody been with us for a few years as a mass access tool. For that reason, standards regarding its use in academic writing are still forming. The vas amount of information available through this medium makes it difficult to ignore in a comprehensive sntdy. However, there is no editorial filter to vouch for the competence of the author. Its use demands prudence and discretion on the part of the academic. For my part, I have avoided using internet materiai to back up potentially controversial material or as a basis for details of fact unless the facts put forward are plausible given supporting rnaterial published in the traditional fashion. 1 have also used internet copies of documents which would normally be accepted as sources in a historical study if they had been obtained through conventional channels.

Afkican Development Bank, "Section 2.4.7 Participation du Secteur Prive", Politique Sectorielle de L'Eau et de Lilssoinissement., <hctp://www.teleservices.sn/bad~partic.htm> (June 8, 1999).

CARE "Health and Population" C . Program. <http://www.care.org~programs/fiealttilwater-s~~tio~ htmi (June 9, 1 999).


"Dempster Hand Pump Kits for 23F and 40F". Hand and Gravity Purnps, <http://jademoun~.cotn/handpumps.htm (JuIy 15, 1999).

Global Applied Research Network, Evaluation of Wafer Supply, Sanitution and HeaIth Edzication Projecis. tldwa and North Gondar Ethiopia, 1997. <http://www.lboro.ac.~ganiet/dlcasewateraidI 3.html> (June 8, 1999).

Global Applied Research Network. Evaiuation of Water Supply, Sanitation and Health Education Projects, Adwa and North Gondar Ethiopia, <htrp://www.lboro.ac.uk/gmetlallcasewate~dI 3 . h t m l (June 8, 1999).

"Handpump Testing (Sri Lanka)" Project 780105, IDRIS. (July 26, 1999).

Hoang, Dustin X., "A Buddhist Economic System: Lessons fiom the Samodaya Shramadana Movement in Sn Lanka". Http://www. buddhanetz.net/texte/sarvodaya.htm, June 10, 1999.

"industrial Components Limited", <hnp://www.hdusuial-Ltd.com/home.html> (June 8, 1999)

Lifewater, "The India Mark 11" <http:llLifewater.cdmmk2.htm> (July 22, 1999).

McRobie, George, T h e Cornmunity's Role in Appropriate Technology" Second Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures October 1982, Cathedra1 St- John the Divine, New York City, ed. Hildegarde Hannum, 1999 ~http://www.schumachersociety.or~ec-rn- (June 10, 1999). May be purchased in pamphlet form from the E. F. Schumacher Society, 1 JO Jug End Road, Great Barrington, MA 0 1230, (41 3) 528- 1737, ~www.schumachersociety.org/publication.html~.

"E'mping Techno Iogy Research (Ethiopia)", Project 770022, IDRIS. (July 36, 1 999).

"Rural Water Technology Research:, Project 7601 87, IDRIS. (July 26, 1999).

"Shallow Weil Pump Research (Malawi)", Project 770107, iDRiS. (July 26, 1999).

Shree S. K. industries, India hfmk II Detaiis, ~http:llskind.hypennart.netlmak2~details.h (July 22, 1999)

Shree S. K. industries, Shalloweii Handpump, ~http://skind.hypemart.net~shallowell.hm~ (My 22, 1 999).

UNICEF, "Village Water Supplies". <Http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/hpump.htm> (November 1 1, 1998.)

UMCEF, "'TechnoIogies for the Village". <http://www.doe.met.in/-unicefd/u18.htm> (March 1 7, 1999).

UNICEF, Information: Statistics: Philippines, <http:llwww.unicef.org/statidco~ntry~l Page 14O.html> (July 22, 1999).

W C E F , "Access to Sanitation", Information: Staristics, <http://www.unicef.or~statis/sanitation,htm> (fdy 6, 1999). The information contained at this site is compiled fiom UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO) and Multiple hdicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

"Water Pumping Technology (Global)", Project 7800 16, IDRIS. ( M y 26, 1999).

"Water-Pumping Technology (Malaysia) - Phase i", Project 780022, IDRIS. ( M y 36, 1999).


Private Communication

Baumann, Erich, Personal communication, lune 29, 1999.

Carnithers, Richard, Private interview, February 1998.

Mudgal, Anrn, Personai Communication, May 1 4, 1 999.

Sharp. Donald, Private interview, April22, 1998.

Other Material

Bailey, C. Whitehead, W. del Grandé, L. McKee, N., Handle On Healrh. Ottawa: IDRC, 1 990. Video.