Introduction of The Rope Pump in SNNPR, and Its Wider Implications

Introduction of the rope pump in
SNNPR, and its wider implications
Sally Sutton and Tsegaw Hailu

May 2011
Working
Paper 22
Introduction of the rope pump in
SNNPR, and its wider implications
Sally Sutton and Tsegaw Hailu
April 2011
Research-inspired Policy and Practice Learning in Ethiopia and the Nile region (RiPPLE)
is a 5-year Research Programme Consortium funded by UKaid from the Department for
International Development aiming to advance evidence-based learning on water supply and sanitation
(WSS). The RiPPLE Consortium is led by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), working with
the College of Development Studies at Addis Ababa University; the Ethiopian Catholic Church Social
and Development Coordination Office of Harar (ECC-SDCOH), International Water & Sanitation
Centre (IRC) and WaterAid-Ethiopia.
RiPPLE Working Papers contain research questions, methods, analysis and discussion of research
results (from case studies or desk research). They are intended to stimulate debate on policy
implications of research findings as well as feed into Long-term Action Research.
RiPPLE Office, c/o WaterAid Ethiopia, Kirkos Sub-city, Kebele 04, House no 620, Debre Zeit Road,
PO Box 4812, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Acknowledgements
This working paper was prepared as part of a series of studies focusing on self supply (family wells) in
Ethiopia. The authors would like to thank the authors and participants in the other studies especially
Eyasu Mamo (BoWR Hawassa) who was responsible for water quality analyses and supervision of the
main field survey. The support of John Butterworth at the IRC International Water and Sanitation
Centre, and RiPPLE project colleagues in Hawassa and Addis Ababa and London is also
acknowledged. Specifically we would like to thank the following key informants who shared their
views on rope pump production and introduction: Bob Yoder (previous Country Director) and
Kebede Ayele (Country Director) at IDE Addis Ababa, Naoki Yasuda (Water Sector Capacity
Development Project SNNPR) and Masahiko Ikemoto (EWTEC) at JICA, Atkelt Girmay (General
manager) at Selam Technical and Vocational College, Hawassa, Andualem Tefere (Electro-Mechanical
expert) and Kassu Eshete (Social Expert) at BoWR, and Lelisa Gurmu (Manager) and Teshome
Gelana (credit agent) at Busa Gonofa Micro finance (Ziway). We would also like to thank Henk
Holtslag of Connect International for his comments on the draft report and Anu Liisanantti (ODI) for
her wonderfully efficient support in production of the report.
Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 8
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 10

1.1 The rope pump study .......................................................................................................................... 10
1.2 The national context ........................................................................................................................... 10
1.3 The rope pump ..................................................................................................................................... 11
1.4 Background to rope pump introduction in SNNPR .................................................................... 12
1.5 Regional potential for rope pumps (see report ‘The Regional Potential for Self
Supply’ ..................................................................................................................................................... 13
1.6 Summary of main points ..................................................................................................................... 13
2 Rope pump production ................................................................................................... 14

2.1 Technology options ............................................................................................................................. 14
2.1.1 Basic models .......................................................................................................................................................... 14
2.1.2 Bottom guide boxes ............................................................................................................................................. 14
2.1.3 Handle bearings ................................................................................................................................................... 15
2.1.4 Plastic washers ...................................................................................................................................................... 16
2.1.5 Other design considerations .............................................................................................................................. 16
2.2 JICA training .......................................................................................................................................... 17
2.3 Practica training .................................................................................................................................... 17
2.4 Capacity and output ............................................................................................................................ 17
2.5 Costs ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
2.6 Constraints to production ................................................................................................................. 20
2.7 Constraints to uptake ......................................................................................................................... 21
3 Rope pump performance ................................................................................................ 23

3.1 Functioning rates .................................................................................................................................. 23
3.2 Condition of pumps ............................................................................................................................. 24
3.3 Breakdown and repair......................................................................................................................... 24
3.4 Maintenance costs ................................................................................................................................ 26
3.5 Water delivery ...................................................................................................................................... 26
3.6 Water quality ........................................................................................................................................ 27
4 Approaches to introduction and Development of Supply Chains .............................. 30

4.1 Necessary support services ............................................................................................................... 30
4.2 Roles and responsibilities – Model 1, Rope pump for drinking water (BoWR) ................... 30
4.2.1 Government responsibilities ............................................................................................................................... 30
4.2.2 NGO roles .............................................................................................................................................................. 32
4.2.3 Private sector ......................................................................................................................................................... 32
4.2.4 The user/ owner ................................................................................................................................................... 33
4.3 Roles and Responsibilities – Model 2, Rope pump for productive uses. ................................ 33
4.3.1 Training ................................................................................................................................................................... 34
4.3.2 Procurement .......................................................................................................................................................... 34
4.3.3 Marketing ............................................................................................................................................................... 34
4.3.4 Subsidy .................................................................................................................................................................... 34
4.3.3 Maintenance.......................................................................................................................................................... 34
4.3.4 Quality control ....................................................................................................................................................... 35
4.3.5 Monitoring .............................................................................................................................................................. 35
4.4 Additional pump production capacity and supply chain. ............................................................. 35
4.5 Summary of main points. .................................................................................................................... 36
5 Stakeholder Perspectives and Market Potential .......................................................... 37

5.1 Regional level......................................................................................................................................... 37
5.1.1 Views on low cost options .................................................................................................................................. 37
5.1.2 Collaboration on rope pump introduction ..................................................................................................... 37
5.1.3 Constraints to rope pump introduction viewed from the regional level. ............................................... 38
5.2 Woreda level .......................................................................................................................................... 38
5.2.1 Constraints to rope pump adoption. ............................................................................................................... 38
5.2.2 Coordination of efforts. ....................................................................................................................................... 39
5.3 Pump producers. .................................................................................................................................. 39
5.3.1 Main concerns....................................................................................................................................................... 39
5.3.2 Coordination of efforts. ....................................................................................................................................... 39
5.4 Communities and households ........................................................................................................... 40
5.4.1 Communities .......................................................................................................................................................... 40
5.4.2 Households/users ................................................................................................................................................. 40
6 Financing options ............................................................................................................. 42

6.1 Options ................................................................................................................................................... 42
6.2 Subsidy .................................................................................................................................................... 42
6.3 Micro-finance ......................................................................................................................................... 43
6.3.1 Micro-credit (in SNNPR). ................................................................................................................................... 43
6.3.2 Micro-credit in Ziway (Oromia) ........................................................................................................................ 43
6.4 Revolving fund ....................................................................................................................................... 43
6.4.1 The main problems and challenges to collect repayment of loans ........................................................ 44
6.4.2 Encouraging/enabling environments ............................................................................................................... 44
6.5 Traditional savings schemes ............................................................................................................... 44
6.6 Releasing assets..................................................................................................................................... 44
7 Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................... 46

7.1 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 46
7.1.1 Rates of progress.................................................................................................................................................. 46
7.1.2 The product ........................................................................................................................................................... 46
7.1.3 The market ............................................................................................................................................................ 46
7.1.4 Support service development ............................................................................................................................ 47
7.1.5 Pump procurement .............................................................................................................................................. 47
7.1.6 Government roles ................................................................................................................................................. 47
7.1.7 Training ................................................................................................................................................................... 47
7.2 Recommended actions ........................................................................................................................ 48
7.2.1 Regional Workshop on rope pump introduction ......................................................................................... 48
7.2.2 Roles of government - Key questions which need to be addressed........................................................ 48
7.2.3 Regional implementation manual on low cost technologies to be developed .................................... 48
7.2.4 Plans for piloting coordinated promotion and support service development in two
woredas................................................................................................................................................................... 49
7.2.5 Establishment of strong micro-finance support for water supply investment...................................... 49
8 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 43
List of Tables
Table 2-1Pump production - Arba Minch and Sodo ......................................................................................... 18
Table 2-2 Production by Selam TVC .................................................................................................................... 19
Table 2-3 Production costs for rope pumps in ETB ......................................................................................... 19
Table 2-4 Variation in costs with depth. IDE .................................................................................................... 20
Table 3-1 Functionality rates for conventional piston pumps and rope pumps ......................................... 23
Table 3-2 Functioning status for surveyed rope pumps .................................................................................. 24
Table 3-3 Time taken to repair pump .................................................................................................................. 25
Table 3-4 Adequacy of supply ................................................................................................................................ 26
Table 3-5 Vulnerability to drought........................................................................................................................ 27
Table 3-6 Good rope pump, but installed below ground level, with no drainage or spout ................... 28
List of Figures
Figure 1-1 Rope pump anatomy and principle ................................................................................................... 11
Figure 2-1 Old bottom Guide box Aleta Wendo, fixed bearing ................................................................... 14
Figure 2-2 New bottom guide box, Abebe Garage Ziway .............................................................................. 14
Figure 2-3 Concrete guide box (Ghana).............................................................................................................. 15
Figure 2-4 Large diameter glass bottle bearing (Ghana) .................................................................................. 15
Figure 2-5 Ball bearing.............................................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 2-6 Simple metal bearing............................................................................................................................. 15
Figure 2-7 Wooden bearings Mozambique ......................................................................................................... 16
Figure 2-8 Hand extruder for washers (Senegal) .............................................................................................. 16
Figure 2-9 Washers produced from granules or waste plastic (Ghana) ...................................................... 16
Figure 3-1Water quality comparison rope pump and other sources ........................................................... 28
Figure 4-1 Model 1: Rope pump introduction for drinking water supply - roles ...................................... 31
Figure 4-2 Model 2: Rope pumps for productive use – roles*....................................................................... 33
List of acronyms and abbreviations

BoA Bureau of Agriculture
BoH Bureau of Health
BOWR Bureau (regional) of Water Resources
CDF Community Development Funds
CMF Community marketing facilitator
CMP Community Managed Projects (also CDF)
ETB Ethiopian Birr
EWTEC Ethiopia Water Technology Centre
FC/TTC Faecal coliform/ thermo-tolerant coliform
GTP Growth and Transformation Plan
HP Handpump
IDE International Development Enterprises
JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency
MOA Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
MOH Ministry of Health
MOWE Ministry of Water and Energy
NGO Non-government Organisation
PIM Project Implementation Manual
RADWQ Rapid Assessment of Drinking Water Quality (WHO, MOH UNICEF)
RP Rope Pump
SG2000/SAA Sasakawa 2000, Sasakawa Africa Association
SNNPR Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region

TVC Training and Vocational College
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training (college)
UAP Universal Access Plan
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
WASCAP Water and Sanitation Capacity Building
WHO World Health Organisation
Source definitions
Traditional Hand-dug well (TW or TRHDW)
A well dug without lining, usually without de-watering pump and often used by the families or local
artisans.
Hand-dug well (HDW)

A well dug with funded externally, (NGO or government) large diameter with concrete ring lining,
large (1m wide) apron and drainage. Usually mounted with a hand pump but more rarely a rope
pump.
Machine-dug shallow well (MSW)

PVC or steel- lined borehole to less than 35 m
Hand pump (HP)

Conventional piston handpump, usually an Afridev or India Mk 2.
Rope pump (RP)

Locally manufactured, fairly standard design (see Section 1.3)
Semi-protected (SP)
A traditional well which has at a minimum an impermeable parapet and top lining sealed to a
concrete apron and a cover (conforms to JMP minimum standard).
Unprotected (UP)
A traditional well which does not have all the features of a semi-protected well.
Executive summary
The Bureau of Water Resources in Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) has
been at the forefront of the rope pump introduction for community and household water supply
since the beginning in 2005. Since then the technology has been developed further and four high
quality rope pump manufacturers have been trained by Practica and EWTEC, with support from
JICA.
Over half of the woredas (77) are considered as having accessible shallow groundwater suitable for
abstraction by rope pump.
Some 243 rope pumps have been installed during this period mainly for demonstration purposes. Of
the 78 in the three woredas, 60% are said to be working.
Whilst the technical problems have been well addressed, the lack of demand for pumps in most
areas, and the lack of capacity to respond to demand where it has developed are slowing down any
efforts to go to scale. If rope pumps are to play a significant part in Universal Access Plan (UAP)
coverage it will need a concerted effort by BoWR to have them recognised as a valuable technology
by both sector professionals and households, and consequently included in their budgets. Technical
guidelines are well-developed, but those for introducing and marketing rope pumps are not.
Water quality analysis suggest that traditional wells fitted with top slabs and rope pumps can
eliminate contamination, and on average offers water which is five times safer than from unprotected
sources, but half as good as from conventional handpumps. Low risk water quality (<10 FC/100ml) is
as likely to be found in rope pump wells as in protected springs. The samples taken reflect the worst
case scenario, collected in the rainy season from pumps often installed primarily for irrigation and
mostly not chlorinated or cleaned out since the pump was installed.
In terms of reliability and adequacy of supply there was little discernible difference found between
handpumps (Afridev and India Mk 2) on protected wells and wells with rope pumps.
Moves to demonstrate the pump’s benefits have not been sufficiently strongly linked to marketing
initiatives and the building up of effective support services. This has made it difficult to keep pumps
working and for those impressed by the demonstrations, to buy pumps for themselves.
The model which BoWR has taken for introducing the rope pump differs significantly from that
developed by BOA/IDE. The first depends highly on government in all aspects from procurement to
promotion, and concentrates mainly on technical issues. The latter puts more emphasis on the role
of NGOs and the private sector and focuses on demand creation and development of support
services.
BOA are increasing efforts to promote household level water supply for irrigation and sales of rope
pumps (target 400,000 new sources – ponds and rope pump wells). It would seem that BoWR
should liaise closely with BOA to see to what degree the two initiatives can converge with multiple
rather than single use systems being promoted.
Where market forces are introduced for rope pump uptake, the roles of government may need to
be different from those for conventional community water supplies. Movement away from planning
installations, procuring pumps, monitoring progress and regulating design towards provision of
technical advice, promotion and quality need to be discussed and defined.
Micro-credit institutions do not consider household or group water supply as a sound investment at
present and so suitable for loans. Few people will initially invest in water without either small
incentives or systems which allow them to spread their payments. BoWR will need to consider
whether revolving funds are sufficient and effective or what other forms financial support might take,
including links to the new financing window for community managed projects (CMP).
Introduction
1.1 The rope pump study
This report looks at the present production and performance of pumps, the factors affecting their
uptake and the elements of the supply chain which are needed to ensure their reliable performance
and increased popularity. It looks at the experiences in SNNPR but also at those for rope pumps in
the neighbouring Ziway area where pumps have been introduced in greater numbers and in a
different manner. It is complementary to the report undertaken for UNICEF in February 2010
(Mammo 2010)
The report is based mainly on interviews carried out by Tsegaw Hailu in December 2010 with
stakeholders at all levels, but also on the results of the field surveys carried out on 35 rope pumps in
SNNPR. Interviews were carried out using semi-structured discussion points. The number of rope
pumps surveyed was limited by:
a) the small number installed in the focal woredas
b) the number of those which were operating and
c) the number of operating pumps used for drinking water as opposed to only other bulk uses
(domestic, animal watering, irrigation)
1.2 The national context

The rope pump is based on an ancient Chinese technology, which was introduced in the 1990s to
Central America. It was further developed in Nicaragua and now contributes significantly to rural
water supply coverage (WSP 2008). Over the past decade efforts have been made to transfer the
technology to various parts of Africa, often drawing upon the Central American experience (Sutton
2009). In Ethiopia this process started in 2005. As a result it is now possible to learn from Ethiopian
experiences to date, and in the future Ethiopia could benefit from looking at the progress and
processes of other countries in the continent which have taken different routes. At present more
rope pumps have been produced in Ethiopia than in any other sub-Saharan country, but uptake and
sustainability remain key areas which need much more marketing and development.
Adoption of the rope pump (RP) as an effective technology is being promoted not just by the water
sector but also by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), with a focus on the expansion of small-scale
irrigation. This is in line with the Growth and Transformation Plan (MoFED 2010) aims of developing
community participation and labour intensive, low cost technologies. Within the agricultural sector
the approach to introduction of the rope pump has been different from Ministry of Water Resources
(MOWE) and valuable lessons are to be learnt from both approaches in order to scale up
successfully.
The revised UAP (MOWE 2009) puts considerable emphasis on the potential of the rope pump to
provide safe and sustainable water supply for households. It highlights the role of low cost
technologies, both within community and household contexts. Whilst community low cost supplies
(spring protection, handpumps on hand-dug wells and shallow boreholes) will receive government
subsidies, household level low cost systems will be paid for in full by the householder and so
compete with other items on the household budget. Marketing the benefits is therefore a key aspect
if uptake is to make a significant difference to rural water supply coverage. Various aspects of
training, promotion and monitoring do need investment by government. Promoting self-supply may
be relatively low cost, but is not a cost-free option.
1.3 The rope pump

The rope pump is being promoted for its low cost, ease of maintenance, availability of spare parts,
good yield, and suitability for families/small groups. It does not have expensive pump rods, piston
seals which need frequent replacement, or heavy and costly pump head works. The principles of its
operation are described in Figure 1-1. With no foot valve the riser pipe must always be filled by
water lifted from well storage before discharge starts. This is not a problem for shallow water tables
but can be an effort at depths over 20m, where the weight of water can make the handle difficult to
turn. To counteract this, the riser pipe on deeper wells is of smaller diameter as are the washers,
and a second handle may be added.
Three basic rope pump models exist: one for families/irrigation, a more robust version for
communities and a third deep well version. In addition wind-, bicycle-, solar-, animal and mechanically
driven versions have been developed. Pumps may also be linked to elevated storage tanks.
Figure 1-1 Rope pump anatomy and principle
The principle elements of the

rope pump are a pulley wheel, a
rope with washers (pistons)
attached at regular intervals, a
pipe (of slightly larger diameter
than the washers) that enters the
well and at the base of the pipe a
guide box round which the rope
runs and returns to the surface.
As the wheel turns and lifts the
rope and washers, the washers
trap water and bring it to the
surface. The pump will lift water
from up to 60 metres.
Maintenance needs are simple and
can generally be carried out by
users or local artisans using locally
available materials
Bombas de Mecate 2008
The basic design (see Figure 1-1) has been provided with varying degrees of protection some of
which have added significantly to the cost. Accompanying data on water quality changes are lacking,
however, and encasing the top works (one option) hides the state of the rope and may encourage
greater corrosion. The basic rope pump is usually installed to conform to JMP definitions of
‘protected well’ (WHO & UNICEF, 2006), even when principally in use for irrigation. However for
community supplies, higher levels of protection are being added to assuage government and donor
fears, generally without any evidence of effectiveness, or consequent favourable shift in professional
attitudes to the technology. Low cost options still need much promotion to professionals if they are
to catch their interest and be truly valued. Modifications to basic designs may be worthwhile, but if
the cost benefit is to be determined, performance data are needed and are mostly lacking. The
evolution to present designs should be systematically documented to avoid repetition of fruitless
modifications.
1.4 Background to rope pump introduction in SNNPR

SNNPR has been the demonstration region for rope pump introduction since 2005 (JICA 2008). At
that time the Ethiopian Water Technology Centre (EWTEC), with assistance from Practica and
support from JICA, installed the first rope pumps in Yerga Cheffe and also undertook training in
Butajira on motorised rope pumps. Since 2006, JICA have been working with BoWR on introducing
the pump, initially through the training of four local producers and woreda level water staff. Most
emphasis is on the technical aspects, and the dissemination plan concentrates on these in relation to
pump manufacture and installation rather than water quality issues.
JICA itself has its WAS-CAP/ project in the region, building capacity in the water supply sector.
Under this project, 50 rope pumps were distributed to woredas from 2007 onwards, and a further 60
were to be installed in 2010-11. These are located in Silti, Angacha, Boloso Sore, Hula, and Chencha,
and use a revolving fund approach (see Section 6.4). Some rope pumps are partly for irrigation, but
overall JICA’s market potential study (Naoki Y 2010) showed little existing interest in families buying
pumps, and only slightly more interest in free pumps. A clear marketing strategy does not seem to
have been developed. There is, therefore, no pressure on producers and no incentive for
development of low cost /low quality pirate production of the pump which is a problem found in
Amhara (Mammo 2011). A lot of work needs to be done for creating demand in SNNPR.
Alongside the development of production capacity by JICA, EWTEC and Practica is the work of
several NGOs installing rope pumps mostly on a demonstration or gift basis. These include World
Vision, International Rescue Committee, CCF, Productive Safety Net program, Norwegian Church
Aid, and an Islamic Foundation. These initiatives are generally small scale and linked to other
interventions for improving quality of life and livelihoods. None are specifically targeting household
level adoption of the pump, but more communities or small groups.
At the same time, Selam TVC is producing pumps, linked to their hand drilling capacity, and
distributed via NGOs. So far numbers are small and limited to three areas, Langano (Ziway/Oromia),
Yerga Cheffe and Wendo Genet (Sidama). Selam TVC in Hawassa is an off-shoot of the workshops
and training college in Addis Ababa, which started making rope pumps in 2005, and more recently
started to train producers in the regions.
In neighbouring Ziway one producer is working with IDE and MOA to provide a robust rope pump
for irrigation, which is also often used for domestic water supply. The market is just beginning to
take off, particularly in Adam Tulu Jidu Kombolcha woreda. The method of introduction is different
from that of JICA and so each may have something to learn from the other and both provide
pointers on the best ways to scale up.
These initiatives indicate several different and largely unrelated efforts going into rope pump
introduction. This can be both a blessing and a curse. It widens the numbers of people familiar with
the pump, but provides no guarantee of support services and means some people living in
neighbouring areas may be expected to pay full cost while others are being given a pump for free.
Such factors have major implications for scaling up and are further explored in this report.
1.5 Regional potential for rope pumps (see report ‘The Regional Potential
for Self Supply’
Not all woredas offer the same potential for use of the rope pump or for hand-drilling. Groundwater
usually needs to be within about 25 metres (preferably with a dynamic water level within 15m,
although with smaller riser pipes it can abstract from up to 35m with one handle, and as deep as 60m
with two handles). Shallow geology needs to offer strata that are sufficiently consolidated to stand
unsupported but not so hard that hand-digging is slow or impossible. Alternatively, hand-drilling
ground needs to be sufficiently un-consolidated for easy penetration of the bit, helped by temporary
or permanent casing (shallow boreholes). Such areas are limited and require an absence of
pebbles/small boulders and highly cemented rock. Aquifer yields need to be high enough in shallow
boreholes for an inflow of around 1 litre per second, whilst in large diameter wells the need is for
adequate storage and inflow can be slower. Overall JICA and BoWR have assessed about half of all
woredas in SNNPR as having the potential for shallow groundwater abstraction and development of
household level groundwater supplies, although some of these may not yet make much use of this
resource.
1.6 Summary of main points

 The rope pump is regarded as a technology which has significant potential both for domestic
and small scale irrigation water supplies to contribute to GTP objectives. It is therefore being
promoted both by the water supply and agricultural sectors.
 More information is needed on its performance
 SNNPR has been in the forefront of the national development and demonstration of the
rope pump since 2005. There are now four producers in the region and one nearby (Ziway),
most of whom have been trained by EWTEC and/or Practica through the JICA capacity
building programme.
 Over half the woredas in the region have suitable groundwater conditions for rope pump
development.
 Rope pumps have been being introduced in the region over a seven-year period, but
progress remains slow.
 There have been several rope pump initiatives but they are mostly not connected in terms of
promotion, strategy or support service development
 Whilst in other regions the problem may be of pirating and undercutting the prices of well-
trained producers using good quality materials, the problem in SNNPR is more one of lack of
demand.
2 Rope pump production
2.1 Technology options
2.1.1 Basic models
EWTEC with JICA have developed several models for household, community and irrigation water
supplies allowing for elevated storage, and engine or animal power. However the basic models which
can be produced by the workshops used by BoWR are three relatively costly alternatives, with no
specifically low cost options to promote at household level. This gives potential buyers no choice,
and also leaves only higher cost / higher specification options which fewer can afford. IDE produce a
lower cost version for this segment of the market, with a slightly different design. Selam say they
could also produce a model for around 1500 ETB. Other producers have not yet been encouraged
or trained to offer different specifications. Other design variations include different types of handle
bearing and types of bottom guide box.
2.1.2 Bottom guide boxes

The tension of the rope and the radius of the turning point in the guide box affects the friction and
wear on the rope and pistons, with some users also complaining that washers get stuck (to avoid
wear of the rope, it should not have tension but the rope should be just loose). In Ethiopia the usual
design is with a piece of GI pipe turning point in the guidebox (Figures 2-1 and 2-2). This version is
suitable for borehole diameters. The version in Figure 2-1 can create friction and wear to rope and
washer, but the Figure 2-2 version reduces these problems significantly and since many rope pumps
are for hand-dug wells, other designs (see those in Ghana) could be offered as well if they reduce
capital and/or running costs.
Figure 2-1 Old bottom Guide box Aleta Wendo, fixed bearing
Figure 2-2 New bottom guide box,

Abebe Garage Ziway
Figure 2-3 Concrete guide box (Ghana)
Figure 2-4 Large diameter glass bottle in the guidebox (Ghana)
2.1.3 Handle bushing

So far Ethiopia has limited options for the basic direct metal bushings and, more rarely, ball bearings.
The latter add about $10 to the cost of the pump so they are an affordable option. In other
countries wooden bushings are also offered as an option which can be easily replaced locally, and like
the others, last well if greased.
Figure 2-5 Ball bearing
Figure 2-6 Simple metal bushings

Figure 2-7 Wooden bushings, Mozambique
2.1.4 Plastic washers

In Ethiopia the production of plastic washers is also centralised in one or two companies in Addis
(e.g. MONACO) using imported or local PVC, (HDPE) whereas in other countries it tends to have
been de-centralised by the use of hand-powered extruders which can provide cheap washers using
waste plastic (figures 2-8 and 2-9). Once again, the lack of performance information for most
alternatives means that most advice is based on personal preferences rather than concrete evidence.
Figure 2-8 Hand extruder for washers (Senegal) Produced by Ludo Engineering ,
The Netherlands
Figure 2-9 Washers produced with a small hand-operated

extruder from granules or waste plastic (Ghana)
2.1.5 Other design considerations

A major difficulty faced by rope pump owners with traditional wells is that reliability of supply often
depends on being able to deepen/clean out the well, as they will have done on a regular basis before
the pump was installed. Access is also sometimes necessary for rope replacement/ fishing and for
chlorination. However, the pump slabs that are widely used in the region tend not to have lifting
hooks, and the riser pipe is not easily disconnected so the slab can be removed. A small access can
be made with a cover between the legs of the pump stand, but this is not big enough for entry to the
well. In Aleta Wendo, rope pump owners only gained access to their wells if woreda staff came and
helped remove the top slab. This is not a sustainable solution.
2.2 JICA training
All the present rope pump producers have become established through support from NGOs in
terms of training and initial marketing. JICA first initiated the training of professional producers in the
SNNPR in 2005/6. The main objective was to establish qualified producers of quality products that
would be disseminated to the community. Establishing a quality product involves three aspects in
particular: good base materials, good technical skills and good design. Quality control is then
necessary to ensure these aspects are maintained at a high level. The materials are specified but
manufacturers do not always have access to the right materials. The design was fixed initially but
JICA is now trying to develop a rope pump that is as reliable as an Afridev (used at community level).
In some ways this defeats the main advantages of the rope pump as an affordable option for
household level use, as community level models are more expensive and difficult to maintain, but it
offers choice.
JICA has been providing some quality control but that is no longer its clear responsibility nor is it
taken over by BoWR so currently there may be something of a vacuum, over an aspect which needs
special attention. This has partly happened because the WASCAP project has taken over from the
Addis based JICA project, with different consultants and different Terms of Reference.
JICA originally selected ten artisan mechanics who expressed interest in being trained and had an
adequate expertise for the work. They participated in a one-month training course and several
follow-ups, carried out with assistance from Practica and EWTEC. Of the ten, only three remain
active and only two are really productive. These are Ato Timotiyos in Sodo and Ato Mekonen in
Arba Minch. A third mechanic, Ato Menberu in TVET Hawassa, is less active as he has teaching
responsibilities and other income. Each producer was to make 15 pumps to be assessed before being
certified as competent, but not everyone achieved this. The three manufacturers mentioned above
produced good quality pumps and were accepted as bona fide producers. They were also issued with
a checkpoint list (JICA 2010) to encourage consistent standards of production.
In addition JICA has been training woreda and NGO staff in pump installation, but this has not been
linked to maintenance, at least in the case of Chencha, since Chnecha was not originally one of the
focal woredas.
2.3 Practica training

Practica has been involved in building production capacity in the region and to Selam TVC Addis
from the start, and transferring training capacity to EWTEC through the JICA programme. In
addition it has more recently been providing training to those producers linked to IDE and BOA.
Practica offer a wider range of pump types (elevated storage, lower cost, linked to trickle irrigation
etc), and with IDE have improved the design developed by JICA. This appears to be more robust but
at lower cost. Production is at present limited to three areas of which the nearest to Hawassa is
Ziway (Abebe Garage). Ten producers were trained but only one remains, as the others mostly
found it difficult to maintain the stringent standards required by IDE.
2.4 Capacity and output

In SNNPR the constraining factor is not the capacity to produce pumps but the lack of market. Thus
the JICA trained producers say that they can each produce around 20 pumps a day on a production
line method, but at present they have not even managed to sell the pumps that they made a year or
more ago. The four producers in the region have made some 548 pumps since their training almost
four years ago, but production has now practically ceased.
Production within the region to date can be summarised as follows (see tables for more details):
 Merebe workshop (Arba Minch) have produced 231 pumps of which 77% are in storage
 Welayta Sodo have produced 243 pumps of which 53% are in storage
 Selam Hawassa have produced 59 pumps, all of which have been installed.
 The producer at TVET Hawassa made 15 rope pumps as part of his training/ accreditation
and these were bought by the BoWR.
In total, out of all the pumps produced, more than half remain to be installed, and have in some cases
been in storage for almost two years. The totals are given in tables 2-1 and 2-2
Table 2-1 Pump production - Arba Minch and Sodo

Merebe workshop, Arba Minch Purchased by Distributed to
Not yet installed, stored at Zonal and Regional

127 RPs BOWR
water offices
6 RPs installed in Arbamich Zurial woreda (3 are

FN)
20 RPs JICA
6 RPs in Detta woreda (Gamo-Gofa)
18 RPs in Chencha woreda
30 RPs World Vision All installed in Chencha
Ethiopian 1 Installed & 1 going to be installed in Hammer

2 RPs
Catholic(A.Minch) woreda
Arba Minch
1 –RPs In the Zoo
Crocodile zoo
To individual at
1-RPs Installed at Chencha ,CHRPHDW-15
Chencha
Stored in the
30 RPs Produced on demand
workshop
20 RPs Being made
Total to date 231 77% of production in storage
Welayta Sodo Purchased by Distributed to
128 RPs BOWR Not yet installed, stored at Zones and Region water offices
65 RPs Individual HHs In Sodo and nearby woredas
20 RPs IRC Installed in Boloso Sore and Shanto woredas of Welayata Zone
30 RPs JICA Installed in Siltti and Betajera
Total to date 243 53% of production in storage

Table 2-2 Production by Selam TVC
Year of
Selam Hawassa Number No of people served
construction
Wendo 15 2009 3110
Injibara 1 2009 500
Langano 10 2008 736
Hawassa 3 2008 240
Yerga Cheffe 7 2008 4500
Cheko 1 2008 180
Langano 21 2007 1470
Tufa 1 2007 200
Total to date 59 All installed 10936
Abebe Garage, the producer in Ziway was trained in 2007 by IDE/ Practica. In that year the
necessary associated infrastructure of micro-finance and maintenance were not set up and people
were not familiar with the pump. From mid-2008 onwards these elements were in place, and the
market grew until in the last year alone around 600 pumps were produced. These have all been sold
at cost price to individual households and have been installed by the producer. They are mostly used
for Multiple Purposes (domestic and productive use).
2.5 Costs
Unsurprisingly the cost of pumps has been rising, as the value of the ETB has fallen, causing imported
materials to cost more. When RPs were first introduced in about 2006 in Oromia, they were priced
at some 1500 ETB, but the cost has now almost doubled. However, the RPs sold to BoWR (SNNPR)
in 2007 were sold for 1800 ETB and producers found then that this hardly covered their costs. Now
the same pumps cost between 2,500 and 3,000 ETB for a shallow lift pump which in US dollar terms
remains almost the same as in 2006 at approximately $150-160. However these costs are high
compared with other countries and with the Ziway producer all of which strive to keep unit prices
to less than $100 to allow private household purchase.
Table 2-3 Production costs for rope pumps in ETB

Cost including slab +
Producer Initial cost (2007) Present cost (2011)
installation
Arba Minch 1800 3400 4000
Sodo 1850 2500 3000
JICA 1700 2000 5000 (3000 subsidy)
IDE 14-1800 13-1800 inc slab 13-1800
Selam 1700 3000 3200

Obviously to some extent cost depends on the design, the materials used and the depth of
installation and consequent length and diameter of PVC pipe. These rope pump costs are provided
by IDE.
Table 2-4 Variation in costs with depth (IDE)

Depth Variation Cost Date Remark
6-22 meter depth 1400- 1800 ETB 2008 From Addis Ababa
6-8 meter depth 1338 ETB 2010 Zeway
10 -18 meter depth 1498 ETB 2010 Zeway
18-22 meter depth 1680 ETB 2010 Zeway
IDE does not recommend depths over 22 m because the RP cannot then be effective
22-30 meter depth lifting water for productive purpose, which is their main objective. However yields are
still adequate for domestic purposes.
In the case of Selam, costs include imported Swiss rope for high quality and durability. IDE use high
quality Chinese rope. In both cases pump owners would need to come to the producer to buy
similar replacement rope. The Sodo and Arba Minch producers do not have access to these supplies
and use rope purchased from the local market.
Most producers charge 50– 200 ETB (Selam) for installation, varying with distance. Installation usually
also includes some training of the pump owner in simple maintenance (rope splicing and replacement,
greasing bearings, tightening nuts).
IDE aim to keep the combined cost of a hand-drilled borehole and pump to below 3,500 ETB,
including installation. The cost of the pump itself is kept below $100. They are able to do this
because they source and negotiate for materials in bulk and the producer buys them from the
centralised IDE store. IDE hope to turn this procurement system into a private enterprise as part of
the national scaling up of their rope pump development which could then be available to all. IDE also
use their development officers to promote the pump and this is therefore also a cost that the
producer does not have to bear. In scaling up the promoters would get commission for the pumps
sold, from the producer.
For others, a traditional hand-dug well with limited surface stabilisation costs an average of 500 ETB
on top of the cost of the pump and top slab. A single concrete ring to reduce seepage into the well
costs some 700 ETB.
2.6 Constraints to production

 The lack of a market
 Difficulty for the producer to market his wares in rural areas where people are spread out
and transport costs are high
 Promotion not carried out by government bodies which still regard low cost options (and
rope pump in particular) as having no place beside conventional alternatives.
 The technology may be easy but production actually requires extreme care for good quality
 Woreda and zonal offices are storing the pumps because they do not know what else to do
 NGOs provide a small and spasmodic market, which gives no continuity of income
 Although BoWR staff have been trained by JICA in quality control it is not being carried out
(partly because pumps are not being produced, but also because the 2010 check lists are not
being implemented)
 Raw material costs are increasing and pump manufacturers are worried that they may not be
able to re-coup the cost in reasonable time, if at all.
2.7 Constraints to uptake

 Lack of proper site selection for demonstration pumps means that several have been put on
wells which collapse or go dry. This unjustifiably gives the pump a bad reputation.
 Poor production quality and particularly poor installation practices may add to poor
performance and further give the technology a bad reputation.
 Communities tend to prefer Afridev or India Mk2 handpumps for which maintenance
services are well established
 Donors view rope pumps as a ‘low cost= second best’ solution and do not like to see it in
their funded projects.
 Sector professionals often perceive that because the pump is “open” it can easily
contaminate the well
 Lack of good examples of pumps that are perfectly installed on adequately sealed wells and of
plentiful, reliable data on water quality.
 Depth limitations hinder rope pump adoption in areas with water at >25 m (alt
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/03/figures-show-increase-london-underground-
delayshough with small riser pipes it can go deeper, but with more effort in pumping).

 A long history of training in rope pump manufacture in the region has resulted in high quality
products.
 For domestic water supply, basic models for different physical conditions are available in the
region, but no specific reduced cost model has been produced for household use.
 Good performance data on how various design modifications are performing in the longer
term would help in identifying the best variations in design.
 At present there no longer seems to be an active process for quality control of pump
production
 Training is concentrated on producers and government officers but more local private sector
mechanics could also benefit from this and provide cheaper maintenance.
 There has been a significant fall off of producers from those trained because of high initial
production quality requirements and subsequent production capacity far exceeding the
present market for rope pumps. The remaining producers are the best and most committed.
 JICA are still modifying rope pump designs in a quest for greater reliability, and Selam and
IDE are providing high quality rope to reduce the need to replace it. Other producers are
receiving some informal feedback from users.
 Over half of the pumps made by the first three regional producers remain in stores, de-
motivating them from carrying on production.
 The market for rope pumps has been very slow to develop and is hindered by weak supply
chain coordination.
 Each producer could probably produce over 4-5000 pumps a year were there to be a market
for them. At present no producer is able to make a living from rope pumps alone.
 Costs vary widely and the Abebe Garage produces pumps at significantly lower costs than
the others, without sacrificing quality. This is chiefly through cost effective specification,
consolidated production, and centralised purchasing of materials at minimum prices. Forward
buying in bulk also avoids problems of temporary fluctuations in material costs.
 In FOREX terms pump costs have not risen significantly in the last five years, but they are
high compared with those of other countries and the Ziway producer. This may limit up-take
at household level.
 Lack of active donor, government and NGO support for its marketing severely hampers
rope pump adoption by households or communities.
 The reputation of the rope pump is being damaged by some poor pump production quality,
but mainly from poor site selection and pump installation in demonstration sites.
3 Rope pump performance
3.1 Functioning rates
Functionality rates for installed (mainly family) rope pumps were found to be better in one woreda
than for conventional (community level) hand pumps, and worse in the other two. Part of the
problem may be that woreda staff are much more used to dealing with conventional pumps and their
installation, and so there is some variability in quality of installation of rope pumps. Additionally,
woreda capacity to respond to well owner requests is limited and there is a lack of spare parts.
Woreda staff have limited resources in terms of fuel and time and so may usually give higher priority
to repairs for systems which serve larger numbers of people (as well as sometimes having a lower
regard for low cost technologies).
Table 3-1 Functionality rates for conventional piston pumps and rope pumps
Woreda RP total RP functioning HP total 1 HP functioning 1
Aleta Wendy 10 50% 101 55%
Boloso Sore 23 52% 89 79%
Chencha 45 67% 41 61%

1
Data from BoWR coverage estimates for 2008/9. Rope pump data from BoWR 2010
In general the JICA/woreda installed pumps were found by the field survey to be more likely to be
operating (68%) than those installed by World Vision and IRC (56% and 40% respectively).
However, both woreda and JICA staff felt that IRC pumps were more likely to be functional (contrary
to what the figures show) because well owners were more trained in repairs, rather than depending
on woreda BoWR staff. The high level of functioning of JICA pumps may also be due in part to their
regular monitoring which helps to sort out problems and make necessary contacts with woreda
offices.
This level of functioning is low for pumps only installed for a maximum of 3-4 years (and most for
only two). It is often said that rope pumps are easy to maintain, but each breakdown strains the
management capacity of users, especially where systems are community managed. The high rate of
breakdown can also be linked to:
 Selection of wells including some whose history indicated unreliability or being prone to
collapse and lack of top lining
 Sealing of wells, so that they could not be cleaned out or deepened
 Poor installation practices leading to the wheel and rope not being centralised relative to the
pipes
 Poor maintenance. If rope is too tight and if bushings are not oiled, these parts wear out very
fast
3.2 Condition of pumps
Pumps which were visited for the main survey (35) were all ones which were in operation and so do
not give much of a picture of the wider functionality situation (as in Table 3-1 or for the region as a
whole). Of those surveyed, it would appear most are kept in good working order, although (60%) are
three or more years old, so have had time to go wrong.
Table 3-2 Functioning status for surveyed rope pumps

Functioning Leakage onto Bearings worn Easy lifting
well top slab
Yes 94% 71% 12% 94%
Functioning poorly 6% 29% 88% 6%
3.3 Breakdown and repair

No correlation was found between the age of the pump and the number of times it has broken
down, nor one with the organisations by whom they were funded or installed. 46% of pumps have
never broken down, and only 9% have broken down more than three times.
Almost all rope pumps which have had a problem
have suffered from a broken rope. Yet half of all Community rope pump management:
wells have not experienced this problem, Chamba Ebecho Kebel, Bolos Sore.
suggesting that quality of installation may play a A rope pump was installed in 2007 by IRC on an
part. Certainly it has been observed that the existing well. 25 HHs use it but only 13 pay.
wheel is often not centrally placed over the exit Initially users paid twice for re-welding of the
and entry pipes so that the rope and washers rub handle when it broke due to too many users.
against them. Also the rope needs to be However the weld broke again and the
adequately tensioned. It should be just loose so it committee feared poor welding by the local
passes smoothly into pipes and round the mechanic. They reported the breakdown to the
guidebox turning point at the base. This turning woreda to try and get a better repair, but have
had no response, since there is no budget for
point was found to be of a smaller diameter than
this.
on many models which may also increase friction
and jamming. Selam and IDE feel that the rope quality is a problem and are now both importing
higher grade rope (from Switzerland and China, respectively). 25% of pumps which needed repairs
had had a problem with bushings. These require regular oiling which is seldom carried out.
Washers/pistons also seem to be wearing out.
Table 3-3 Time taken to repair pump
Repairs to rope pumps
No delay 12 43%
Less than a week 11 39%
A week-a-month 3 11%
1-3 months 1 4%
>3months 1 4%
Rope pump in Chama Hembecho, Two-thirds of all repairs were carried out by the
Boloso Sore woreda (BSRPHDW94) pump owner or the family, or a local mechanic
organised by the owner. An institutional rope pump
The pump is functioning but the well owner
was repaired by the school director and the guard.
denied access to it because of a dispute two
years ago between the management Less than a quarter of repairs were carried out by
committee and the users. There is no support the woreda water office, but where they did the
system to help committees resolve such work, delay was said to be less than a week in
problems or form a new committee. Chencha and a week to a month in Aleta Wendo
and Boloso Sore. Overall 82% of repairs were said
to be carried out within a week of breakdown, mainly using people who are untrained or with
limited training in repairs. Thus where the system is established, whether based on local or
government expertise, it can work well, but these statistics do not include pumps where
maintenance problems have not been solved (50% of pumps in AW, 33% in Chencha). In these some
have waited several months without being visited by a woreda team or the problem being solved.
Referring specifically to last year, 16% of the pumps had broken down for significant periods, and
taken an average of over two months to be repaired.
The pumps that were visited to explore breakdowns which had not been solved were mainly
communal supplies. It is apparent that weaknesses in both community management and in woreda
support play a part. Much of the problem arises from the lack of a culture of paying for water and the
non-payment by some users. There is also a problem where a pump meant for communal use is
actually installed on a private well. This reduces the powers of the well owner but still allows him to
withdraw access if he is unhappy with the users. This situation is likely arise when NGOs want
instant results but do not want to bear the cost of digging a new, unproved well, preferring a
communal pump to a private supply.
Rope pumps are perceived as giving water which is safer than rope and bucket, but probably not as
safe as a conventional pump. In areas with low coverage there is automatically a big increase in
people wanting to use a well and the pump. The recommended number of people for one rope pump
is 50 to 100. If a rope pump is used by more people there will be extra strain on the pump which
may lead to more frequent breakdowns. One IRC pump suffered serial breaking of the handle from
the weight of users, and the owner finally gave up repairing it. Average increases in user numbers in
surveyed wells were about 50 new users per pump.
3.4 Maintenance costs
Typical maintenance costs appear to be around 70 ETB a year, but depend on the type of problem
and the local ability to solve it. Welding costs 50 ETB a time. The cost of replacement rope depends
on the type of rope purchased. Imported rope costs 200-300 ETB for a 30m well, whilst local rope
costs around 50 ETB but does not last as long. The latter might seem like a cost-effective solution
but owners/ users soon tire of organising for new collection and repair and it is a reason for pumps
falling out of use. IDE and Selam therefore have both decided to source and supply higher grade,
more expensive rope to allow management to gain strength and users to become used to having a
good convenient water supply, before rope needs replacement.
It is a common belief that the beauty of the rope pump is that ‘if it breaks, anyone can fix it’.
Unfortunately this is not always the case and is especially questionable when training has been
insufficient, or lacking completely. A good mechanic can figure out the principles, and given the
responsibility may be able to make the repairs without too much trouble, but will often have little
confidence in his ability without some introduction to basic design concept. Maintenance costs are
kept high by limiting training to woreda level bureau and NGO staff. These are often very mobile,
being transferred frequently between woredas and so taking their expertise with them. It is also
unclear whether the woreda office charges for maintenance visits but most pump owners must at
least cover the per diem and fuel costs of the woreda BoWR staff. The stated limitations in availability
of repair team because of lack of funds suggest that work is undertaken within the bureau budget
rather than being at the cost of the users.
3.5 Water delivery

Well owners were asked about the adequacy of supply for the uses to which they wanted to put the
supply, and whether this varied seasonally. Rope pump owners’ responses were not significantly
different from those of other water supply users.
Table 3-4 Adequacy of supply

Traditional Rope pump Conventional HP
source
Adequate always 75% 74% 70%
Part of the year enough 24% 23% 30%
Never enough 2% 3% 0%
However there are several tales of rope pumps on hand dug wells going dry (especially in Aleta
Wendo) and the fear of officials and owners is that a) water levels are falling and b) larger discharges
from rope pumps will accelerate that fall. Data from the Self-Supply survey (see below) show that
Aleta Wendo does have the greatest variation in water levels of the chosen woredas, a third going
dry for some time over a five-year period.
Aleta Wendo also has the highest number of wells being deepened in response to wells going dry.
Almost half of all AW wells have been deepened since construction, compared with 20% or less in
the other woredas. Well owners in Aleta Wendo are also used to cleaning out their wells on a
regular basis since shaft walls are prone to slough off where water levels rise and fall. This combined
deepening and cleaning is usually done on an annual basis. When rope pumps have been installed with
slabs that are hard to remove, access to the bottom of the well is no longer possible and the
accumulated debris may build up around the pump intake. This is one possible explanation of the
observed drying out. Another frequent factor is the completion of well excavation at times of raised
water levels. Low cost lining would eliminate both these problems.
Table 3-5 Vulnerability to drought

Aleta Wendo Bolos Sore Meskan
Dried in past 5 years 33% 25% 8%
Never dried 67% 75% 92%
Another possible explanation is that it was found that pumps had been installed in the rainy season
and riser pipes were too short to reach dry season water levels. It was still possible to draw water
from the same wells with a rope and bucket, using a rope longer than the length of riser pipe, but
neither woreda office nor well owner had the means or access to pump producers to obtain more
lengths of pipe and deepen the intake.
Some water levels may be falling and some rope pumps may take too much water from perched
aquifers leading to drying up, but the evidence in Aleta Wendo is that many of the cases for which
these reasons have been given for non-functioning can be explained very simply and differently.
Certainly there was only a 5% difference in rates of drying out between wells with rope pumps and
those with ordinary buckets and rope. Making the removal of pump and of the top slab easier would
in many cases lead to more reliable supplies. Pump densities remain far too low to cause widespread
draw-down of water levels. This might be a concern when mechanical pumping is linked to high well
densities: a potential future problem but one that remains decades away.
3.6 Water quality

Water sampling was carried out from all surveyed rope pumps. No other data on rope pump water
quality have been found and this is a major gap. More water quality data are still required if this level
of technology is to be objectively assessed for its contribution to coverage and therefore additional
sampling is ongoing. The results presented here may not fully reflect the quality which rope pumps
have the potential to deliver. This is because:
 Most sampled rope pumps are installed at or below ground level, not on a raised parapet and
top slab, only two had adequate top lining of the well shaft.
 No rope pumps were installed with proper drainage channels and waste water diversion
from the top slab
 wells have mostly never been chlorinated, certainly not after maintenance
 wells were not cleaned out prior to installation or since,

 in over 50% of cases the pumps are regarded primarily as a source of irrigation water. Site
hygiene is therefore unlikely to be ideal, and measures that could be taken to ensure safe as
well as plentiful water have not generally been thought through or promoted.
Figure 3-1 Good rope pump, but wrongly installed, with the top slab below ground level and no
spout, apron, or drainage.
Despite the above points, sampled wells in Aleta Wendo all had less than 3 TTC/100ml, with three
out of five having none both in the wet and dry seasons. This shows that with good installation and
site hygiene contamination risks can be minimised.
Overall, the results show that water quality distribution is better than with a rope and bucket but
not as good as with conventional handpumps. Figure 3-2 shows that some 20% of wells with rope
pumps have zero TTC/100ml, and 52% have less than 10, which is counted as a low level of risk by
Figure 3-2 Water quality comparison rope pump and other sources
50%
TTC/100ml
45%
40% 0
35% 1-10
30% 11-50
25%
>50
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
SNNPR SNNPR Rope Mozambique Rope SNNPR
conventional Pump (35) Pump (109) traditional wells
handpumps on (338)
MSW and HDW
(55)
WHO. The latter figure is almost the same as that for protected springs (53%). A survey of wells
with rope pumps in Mozambique (WaterAid 2008) showed a higher figure with zero TTC (30.5%)
but almost the same proportion with less than 10TTC/100ml (56%) (see Figure 3-2). Again there is a
suggestion that site hygiene is a key factor both for rope pumps in other countries and also for other
technologies within Ethiopia. Even sealed handpumps on Ethiopian protected hand-dug wells were
only 55% contamination free, and only 66% with less than 10TTC/100ml (RADWQ 2010) and those
in the surveyed woredas performed even less well. Of the 55 surveyed only 47% were TTC free and
15% were badly contaminated (>50 TTC/100ml).
Functionality rates for rope pumps are slightly below those for conventional handpumps, often
because of difficulties with installation or with well maintenance once the pump is installed, and
mobilisation of woreda staff for repairs.
75% of sources with rope pumps gave an adequate supply all year, the same proportion as for
conventional handpumps. Most working pumps were in good order.
There is a risk of management fatigue with repairs, because even if each incident is low cost, there is
not enough capacity to respond to the problems which arise. More training and more people trained
are both required.
Rope pumps in Aleta Wendo show that rope pumps can provide water with low or no risks. Users
generally tended to view rope pumps as providing safe water.
Overall use of a rope pump reduced contamination almost five-fold compared with using a rope and
bucket. Allowing for low risk at household level (<10 FC/100ml) the rope pump produced water
similar to in quality to protected springs but only half as good as a conventional handpump.
Poor site hygiene, wellhead protection, lack of well cleaning out and chlorination and lack of
education on protective measures all contribute to higher than necessary health risks. Certainly
there is scope for measures that could be taken to make the quality of water drawn with rope pumps
safer.
4 Approaches to introduction and Development of Supply
Chains
4.1 Necessary support services
It is apparent that there are different strategies for introducing the rope pump by different
stakeholders. Most of the initiatives are at present led by NGOs whose roles should largely be taken
over by government or the private sector if the adoption of rope pump technology is to be taken to
scale. Many of the key questions revolve around these responsibilities, the need for subsidies or
other methods of financial support, and what forms of support infrastructure need to be in place. To
introduce a new technology, specific support services are needed. These include:
 Supply/ Procurement of materials for pump manufacture and part replacement
 Training of pump producers, installers and maintainers
 Well-equipped and managed workshops providing necessary skills for pump production and
repair.
 Minimum quality specifications for production and installation
 Certification of producers and quality control of products and installation
 Repair and maintenance capacity at several levels (household, ketena/kebele, woreda)
 Effective marketing and promotion strategies for those with little or no familiarity with the
range of products
 Micro-finance for producers and for purchasers of pumps

All these need careful consideration, clear definition of who is responsible for what, and phasing of
the introductory process for greatest sustainability. The element of subsidised support is discussed in
Section 6.2. Once offered it is very difficult to maintain a market if subsidy is removed and so should
not be introduced unless there is no alternative.
4.2 Roles and responsibilities – Model 1, Rope Pump for drinking water
(BoWR)
Key players in the introduction of a new technology or approach are the government, NGOs, private
sector and users. The balance between them and the roles they play depend on the primary driving
force and also on the stage introduction has reached. In the case of the rope pump for drinking
water purposes (Model 1), the primary driver is the Ministry of Water Resources, assisted by JICA/
EWTEC/Practica. In this case many of the responsibilities are shouldered by government itself, with
JICA helping in the technology development and demonstration. So far the roles of the pump
producer and pump owner have been small. Roles can be summarised as in Figure 4-1.
4.2.1 Government responsibilities

BoWR undertake the planning, and have procured many of the pumps produced so far. As already
mentioned, many of those remain to be distributed and installed. The woreda is closely involved in
promotion and demonstration of the pumps and in their installation and maintenance. However this
depends much on the interest and resources of the woreda offices, most of whom have many supply
systems serving larger numbers of people and with higher technology, on which most of their
interest and resources are necessarily focussed. BoWR are also intending to certify pump producers
and plan to buy pumps for their contracts from certified producers only.
Figure 4-1 Model 1: Rope pump introduction for drinking water supply – roles
Government
JICA/NGO
 Pump procurement
 Pump Design  Producer Certification
 Training for –
 Marketing
- production
- promotion,  Installation
- installation  Maintenance
- maintenance  Micro-finance
 Marketing
User Private Sector

Possible repayment  Production
for pump
Note. The size of the spheres is relative to the degree of influence in introductory activities
The plan has been to move from demonstration to going to scale based on procurement of pumps
from woreda BWR offices by households through micro-finance systems. This was set out in 2008
(JICA 2008) but has been implemented in quite a variable fashion. Since no micro-finance institutions
were found to provide credit for domestic water supplies, woredas were to set up their own
revolving fund systems, if possible with microfinance institutions, but with no guidelines. In the early
stages many well owners were not told that they should pay back, and others were given two or
three years to pay back into the fund. Marketing the pump to others was not part of the buyers’
obligation. Some were prepared to pay up despite having originally received the pumps free, but
many were reluctant especially where pumps were not repaired for many months or wells went dry.
Woreda staff have generally not followed up the repayments, have no resources to chase up non-
payment and the system so far is in its infancy. Only six out of 35 pump owners were found to have
repaid the 2000 ETB required for full ownership (see also Section 6.4). For the coming year the plan
is to increase pump purchase by the bureau through the World Bank programme, which has
allocated funds (40,000 $US) for promotion and purchase of pumps and setting up support services.
So far the largest purchaser of pumps has been BoWR, but after two years over half the pumps
remain in store at zonal and woreda level (see section 2.4). Some woredas, such as Chencha, have put
in small numbers (5-10) of pumps in their budgets, but retaining the ‘project’ approach constrains the
market. A major question for the strategy development must be whether it should be the role of
the government to purchase the pumps and sell them on, or whether this creates both a disconnect
with the producer and in the normal market relationship between supply and demand. Such
disconnect may threaten the development of a market, while in many other ways government can
help strengthen and create a vibrant demand.
4.2.2 NGO roles

JICA has been the main NGO supporting the set-up of demonstration pumps in six woredas through
working with woredas on a selection of influential households. It also financed EWTEC and Practica
to train the larger workshops in pump manufacture and BoWR woreda staff in pump installation and
maintenance and follow-up on the training. JICA standardised pump designs but is now centrally
re-designing for greater long-term functioning on community wells. At present it seems unclear who
will provide quality control, but JICA is monitoring pump performance in the selected woredas.
Some pumps are being installed for household/ small group level and some for community supplies as
a low cost alternative to the Afridev of India Mk 2. Selected households tend to be those which are
rich and influential, the strategy being to try and get the pump accepted as a status symbol. However
this policy may have the opposite effect. These are the people most able to buy the pump
themselves, and giving it to them may make others feel that they should wait to receive the same,
and that if the rich had to be given one, it must be too expensive for the poor to buy.
Some other NGOs are also becoming more involved in introducing the rope pump, but each using
their own strategy. Most buy the pumps from the regional producers and provide the pump free to
well owners or communities. World Vision was requested by BoWR to support installation of 30
rope pumps, in Chencha woreda. Target households are selected with woreda and kebele officials, and
are often those regarded as influential but in need of support, and/or model houses, linking also to
the pump for productive use sharing with neighbouring households. Distance to an alternative source
is also a considered. They must all then depend on woreda BoWR capacity for pump repair and
maintenance as no training has yet been given.
The IRC (International Rescue Committee) also give out pumps, but to a group which is managed
by a committee, even though it is originally owned by an individual. The users/ committee and the
well owner make a signed agreement with IRC and are trained in the operation and maintenance of
the pump, rather than depending on woreda WRB staff, but still do not have close relationship with
the pump producers. IRC line the top metre of the well which reduces the chance of collapses which
are found more frequently on JICA wells, as top-lining is not standard on the latter.
4.2.3 Private sector

The private sector roles are limited to pump production. Producers do not have sufficient turnover
to be able to market the rope pump effectively in scattered rural populations, and woreda and kebele
levels of government do not yet seem to be doing this effectively either. Nor do pump producers
have a role in pump maintenance that would both allow them to see any quality failings in the
product, and perhaps to market the pump to others at the same time.
Generally pump producers feel frustrated that the market is not growing despite their production of
good quality pumps. They have no resources for marketing, and often have problems in sourcing
materials of the right specification. They need a more centralised organisation to help them with
these issues. To help in this the Arba Minch producer has made an agreement with Arba Minch
University ‘Community Development’ office, and will give the office 10% of the price of any pump
sold through their marketing in rural areas. This is leading to exposure of the technology in the
media, agricultural shows etc. There are also six shops with spare parts but these are only ropes
(unknown quality) and pistons/ washers. No-one (public or private sector) at present appears to hold
spare pipes for when pumps are set too high in the water column (as found in Aleta Wendo).
4.2.4 The user/ owner

Until now the owner’s role has been quite passive in this model of introduction. Most pumps have
been provided free of charge, and the owner just contacts the woreda WR office for help if he/she
cannot solve a problem. Some have spliced or replaced their own rope but many have had to call for
assistance. Some owners are marketing the pump themselves, telling people to go to the woreda
office to register a willingness to have a pump and even to pay for it. However in the case of Aleta
Wendo there has been no response from the zonal or regional stores to release pumps to the
woreda for these families in over a year although several pump owners have repaid in full to the
revolving fund and over 160 householders have registered an interest to purchase a rope pump.
Several of those expressing interest were prepared to pay the full cost immediately, but the delay has
been demotivating and diminishes the impact of demonstration.
4.3 Roles and responsibilities – Model 2, Rope pump for productive uses
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assisted by IDE is working in a rather different
way to introduce the rope pump (see Figure 4-2). The main differences are:
 The role of government is much smaller and that of the private sector is larger
 The user pays the full cost of the pump
 The private sector provides most of the support services to the user.
 The NGO provides the training as in Model 1, but also supports the marketing and quality
control.
*The supply is not designed as a drinking water source although it may be used as such
Figure 4-2 Model 2: Rope pumps for productive use – roles*
NGO
- Training Government
- Marketing Promotion
Private sector
- Material procurement Advice
- Pump production
- Certification/quality control
- Marketing
User
- Installation
Pump purchase,
- Maintenance services
maintenance
Over time, the remaining roles of the NGO may be shifted increasingly to government (certification/
quality control) and the private sector (training, marketing, material procurement). There is also the
possibility to regard the rope pump not as an end in itself but as a stepping stone to higher
technologies (diesel pumps especially) which can be saved for, after the rope pump loan has been
paid off, using income generated from productive activities. It is understood that there is now a
National Task Force set up by BOA to look at how to take this approach to scale, building on the
IDE model and looking at how to make the various roles undertaken at present by the NGO more
sustainable.
4.3.1 Training
Pump producers are given a three-week training course followed by certification if quality is good.
Additional training has been given in modifications to design linked to quality control. Training is also
given to community marketing facilitators and kebele level mechanics. There is also much awareness
raising among the farming community of the potential for increased productivity with pumps and
hand-drilled boreholes. At present there is no training or linking of irrigation-well development to
domestic uses, although it is known that many well owners are using their supply for multiple
purposes. Wells are clearly developed for productive use only, with domestic use being incidental
(although widespread). This means opportunities to reduce risks at minimal cost for domestic supply
water are often missed.
4.3.2 Procurement
IDE recognises the supply chain problems for materials in rope pump manufacture. They have
therefore established a central store for materials, which allows them to consolidate orders and
negotiate low prices with suppliers for bulk orders of pipes (manufactured in Addis Ababa), ropes
(China), and pistons (from Addis Ababa). They can then also ensure that the appropriate specified
pipes are kept in stock at their central store, when there is considerable variation in availability in
Addis. These are then bought by pump producers at a fixed price which allows the total pump cost
to be minimised. The plan is eventually to make this service into a private enterprise which can serve
large areas and many producers.
4.3.3 Marketing
At present community market facilitators (CMF) work in kebeles marketing the rope pump and
gaining commission from IDE for sales made. The plan here is to incorporate the cost of the
commission into the pump price as it becomes better established, and to have a sustainable incentive.
Hand-drilled boreholes are also promoted as a package with the rope pump. Promotion happens
increasingly from farmer to farmer as the number of owners grows. The CMF consolidate orders for
pumps so that the producer can make cost-effective production runs rather than making them one-
by-one.
4.3.4 Subsidy
There is no direct subsidy, except in terms of the services (procurement and marketing) that IDE
provides which keep the costs of pumps as low as possible. A link has been developed to Omo and
Busa Gonofa Microfinance (see Section 6) so that those wanting to buy a pump can take out a loan
for 8-12 months. An estimated 70% have done so and 80% pay back in less than six months,
according to IDE.
4.3.5 Maintenance
IDE train installers and so also build capacity at kebele level, using local mechanics. However these
mechanics are not able to weld pipes used in the pump body as this is made from galvanised iron.
Local mechanics are trained and issued with tools for maintenance and are responsible for an average
of six pumps. Labour charges are around 20-30 ETB repair. For problems insoluble at local level, the
pump owner can always contact the pump producer, whom he already knows through going to the
workshop in Ziway to buy the pump. In some cases it may even be possible to call him by cell phone
to ask for advice.
4.3.6 Quality control

This is mainly provided by IDE visiting and assessing production runs when large batches of pumps
are made. The pump is also provided with a six month guarantee and this also ensures a good quality
product. If it can withstand lifting water in sufficient quantities for crop and animal watering over this
period, it will usually ensure a reasonably long working life of the pump.
4.3.7 Monitoring
There is monitoring of pump performance and of repayments and IDE is still much involved in seeing
that supply chains develop effectively and bottle necks are avoided. For instance, initially IDE used
the same design as JICA but found it too unreliable. Small modifications have improved the reliability
and allowed the cost to be kept low both in terms of capital and recurrent expenditure. Monitoring
has made it possible to assess what changes are necessary both to design but also to marketing
approaches, and support to producers and micro-finance.
4.4 Additional pump production capacity and supply chain.

Selam TVC opened up a business in Hawassa in 2007/8, and has combined hand drilling and rope
pump manufacture using equipment made in their workshops. Overall the enterprise concentrates
mainly on technologies for crop processing and improved production, but historically the mother
organisation in Addis has also done much work in developing water lifting and small scale irrigation
technologies, on which the Hawassa branch is building. The original training in the Addis ‘mother’
organisation was done by JICA/ Practica. Support has mainly been from Water is Life International
and SIMA who have been buying the pumps for installation in Langano, Yerge Cheffe and Wendo
Genet ((Western Arsi, Gedeo and Sidama zones respectively)). However much of the cost of
developing the rope pump design and expanding the uses (e.g. elevated storage, enclosed wheel for
drinking water), is born by Selam itself, through its commitment to rural development. This has left
little resources for marketing the pump and so to date production has been small. They do provide a
six month guarantee for pumps sold and also monitor performance as far as possible.
Selam is keen to provide a quality recognising the need to get people relying on a good supply of
water before the pump needs maintenance. They can provide training to pump buyers at their
demonstration site, free of charge before the pump is delivered and installed, but they also train local
mechanics so that maintenance costs are kept low.
At present this method of rope pump introduction has a limited market partly because it has not
developed links either to government or larger NGO initiatives. This also affects the ability to
produce pumps at competitive prices, but the workshop manager does say that they would be
prepared to make a lower cost household level pump which would be cheaper than the workshops
in Model 1 (drinking water), and competitive with those in Model 2 (multiple uses).
In terms of training, guarantees, links to borehole drilling, and monitoring of performance, Selam has
much in common with the IDE approach. However the lack of a marketing strategy and relatively
expensive models offered at present do decrease the potential for Selam’s rope pump production
and sales.

 Two different models have been developed for the introduction of the rope pump, one
through the water supply sector and one through agriculture.
 The first (domestic water supply) model depends mainly on NGO and government inputs
and has concentrated particularly on technical issues
 The second (irrigation) model involves more NGO and private sector inputs and full cost
recovery from pump buyers. It has put much greater emphasis on demand creation and
development of support services.
Major questions that arise:
 Is there a need for consolidated procurement/ negotiation of materials for making pumps?
 Should government procure pumps or should the household procure directly from the
producer?
 How should the role of government differ in an approach which needs to be driven by
market forces?
5 Stakeholder perspectives and market potential
5.1 Regional level
5.1.1 Views on low cost options
Stakeholder perspectives explored mainly relate to Model 1, the rope pump introduction as a
drinking water source. The regional water resources bureau is committed to the development of low
cost solutions for rural water supply coverage. Its main concerns are that it needs data from RiPPLE
and others to decide on what levels of technology can be considered count towards coverage. Areas
with potential for low cost options are already largely identified, and 70% of future coverage is
intended to be through such options. These include handpumps, protected springs and rope pumps.
The rope pump is regarded as a technology which can sufficiently improve family well status so that it
may count towards coverage. Around 50% of woredas are estimated to have potential for
exploitation of shallow groundwater, and so are suitable for rope pumps.
There is a high awareness of the need for training especially of households and artisans, and some
training has been given to woredas to familiarise them with rope pumps. The need for changes in
attitude of people to low cost technologies is recognised, but still needs quite a lot of attention even
among some sector professionals. Some regard low cost options as very low priority compared to
higher cost solutions. Such changes need to feed down from regional to zonal and woreda levels and
also to be spread to NGOs and donors among whom such options are still not popular. Low cost
options are not regarded as challenging in engineering terms, and their social marketing is a field in
which most engineers have little experience. The regional Self Supply Task Force will need to plan a
strong communications strategy to address these problems at all levels.
5.1.2 Collaboration on rope pump introduction

The Bureau is keen to develop domestic supplies to include multiple uses as per the revised UAP,
but there appears to be little or no connection yet to the plans and promotions of BOA and others
more involved in productive water use. BOA and the Natural Resources Environmental Protection
Agency working of the Safety Net Program are planning major work on building up small scale
irrigation, including the construction of family wells (up to 400,000 in the region in five years) and
introduction of the rope pump, as well as diesel irrigation pumps. Such large-scale and well-funded
programs offer an opportunity also to ensure that attention is also given to improving water quality
for potable water. Few families will be able to afford to develop separate wells and separate lifting
devices for domestic and productive water use in the short or medium term. It is therefore
important to try and get small design improvements included in their plans to minimise risks of
contamination for drinking.
Similarly NGOs such as World Vision and IDE are primarily aiming for sources for productive use,
but in this case too, linkages over repair and maintenance capacity building could be developed to
strengthen support to all types of supply. Where the rope pump is being promoted for both
irrigation and drinking it may help its adoption if it is recognised as a stepping stone to higher level
technologies. A rope pump can generally pay for itself in 6-8 months and then any profit can be saved
for investment in a higher level pump at a later date when the rope pump can be sold on.
Additionally, at present there are a variety of systems set up at regional level (ADB, Safety Net,
WaSH, JICA etc) all with their own policies on subsidy and payment. Much confusion can be avoided
if they were to establish common methods for promotion and payment.
5.1.3 Constraints to rope pump introduction viewed from the regional level.
 The technology is not yet well promoted, and a communication strategy is needed
 Lack of budget even in BoWR to promote demonstrations and at least to distribute

the pumps already produced
 Decision makers’ understanding and awareness has not yet led to high commitment
to support for introduction
 Community preference tends to be towards motorised schemes especially in cash

crop producing areas
Lack of chlorination of rope pump source at installation and after, weaken confidence to use rope
pump water for drinking
Lack of focus on intermediate actors in the process of introduction who can support new pump
owners (e.g. trained mechanics, pump installers who can remove pumps for well cleaning, deepening
etc, promoters and marketers).
5.2 Woreda level

5.2.1 Constraints to rope pump adoption.
Some of the problems identified at regional level were also those identified at woreda level. In Aleta
Wendo, for instance, insufficient budget to cover maintenance of existing borehole and spring
supplies has been reported, so there is little or nothing spare for rope pump maintenance or
promotion. High demand is recognised in the woreda for rope pump purchase but so far procedural
difficulties and lack of spare parts have restricted expansion of such supplies or even repairs to those
already installed.
There appears to be a general reluctance in woredas to allocate time or budgets for such low-cost
options. This may partly be because of low exposure to them, but also because although there has
been training on the technical aspects, the socio-economic aspects may have been less fully explained.
There seems to be general confusion as to what the woreda should actually do, and a belief that rope
pump introduction can be planned in terms of numbers of pumps installed per year, from the start.
(People must decide themselves whether to buy one and so their response cannot be predicted
initially).
The role of the region and the woreda needs to be to provide the support necessary in terms of
technical advice, micro-finance, links to producers and spare parts stores, promotion of later steps
up the ladder and their costs etc, and these are the initial measurables until the idea takes hold. This
principle is not yet well understood and manuals and guidelines focus on the technical aspects but
not the process of introduction and promotion.
5.2.2 Coordination of efforts
There appears to have been no coordination between the training of those who already produce the
handpumps and building of woreda and local artisan capacity for rope pump maintenance. These
trainings could be combined or cascaded for woreda/kebele staff, but consideration could also be
given to providing much more accessible local capacity using kebele artisan mechanics, who, according
to the pump owners, are capable with little additional training.
Health extension workers interviewed in one woreda also say that there is no coordination between
their efforts and those of others wanting to reduce risks from water supplies. They are not made
aware of water supply activities in their areas with which they could assist in improving links to site
hygiene education and household water treatment. This could do much to improve water quality in
rope pump supplies, and help health extension workers respond to the resistance they see to
adoption of new practices and behaviour in relation to water collection and storage.
5.3 Pump producers

5.3.1 Main concerns
Most of the regional pump producers have similar concerns. These can be summarised as follows:
 The lack of an established system for quality control
 A feeling that donors do not appreciate the rope pump as a potential technology for
household supplies that can complement community level
RP Producers comments
supplies
“Donors and communities
 A lack of strong government marketing strategy following focus on appearance not
on from the training of producers in 2007 performance”
 Poor coordination of introduction by NGOs meant that “We do not have the
their efforts were not linked to building up maintenance resources to promote to rope
capacity or other support to encourage greater up-take. pumps in scattered rural areas.
Initiatives were one-off efforts with one-year plans. Government have to help in
this”
 No efforts to promote the advantages of the rope pump
which could put it on an equal level with handpumps. So communities generally do not want
rope pumps and regard them as second best and households are not aware of the
advantages.
 Prices of materials are rising fast and pushing up costs. There is concern that these costs
become too high for families to buy pumps
 If the technology is not widely installed soon ,it will be taken over by some other new
technology and the efforts so far made in training and promotion will be wasted
5.3.2 Coordination of efforts.

Selam is very involved in the development of post-harvest technologies and in this area there has
been much feedback from users through networks and workshops supported by NGOs (SG 2000
and SAA). Such feedback has been used to improve designs, and develop maintenance services. No
similar system has grown up for rope pumps, and producers are generally divorced from the public
they supply for. There is also no association of pump producers which could help them to
standardise, and to share problems and solutions. Selam is also not included in debates over design
standardisation in the region, despite their good research capacity and long experience in rope pump
development. Perhaps there is a need for them to make more links to government planning to
promote the rope pump and for the ministries to try and harness the efforts of all working to the
same ends. This could ensure that not only are technologies standardised to some degree, but also
training, promotion and support services. Selam is also developing HWTS technologies which could
be promoted alongside other improvements to water supply.
5.4 Communities and households

5.4.1 Communities
Of the few communities which were using rope pumps there seems to be a tendency for
management problems. Rope pumps tend to need more frequent attention than conventional
handpumps (India Mk 2 or Afridev), and so this puts more strain on management capacity. With all
handpumps it is more often the management (e.g. to organise and pay for repairs) than technology
itself which causes difficulties in the long term, and this is particularly so for rope pumps (see Section
3.3).
5.4.2 Households/ users

From the SNNPR Self Supply survey results, all rope pump owners felt that having the pump had
reduced the time to draw water, made more water available and provided cleaner water. All except
one person felt that the effort of drawing water was less. The exception was a for a family with the
deepest well in Chencha (30m) which is at the very limit for the standard rope pump to perform and
so required more effort.
Only 12% of rope pump owners found no change in what they could do with their well water after
getting the pump, but a third felt that there was more water available for domestic purposes and also
for watering vegetables, and a fifth used the water more for animal watering. Half of the owners said
that their productivity had improved with introduction of the pump.
Just under half of pump owners felt that having extra water easily available gave them enough
additional income to pay back for the pump. They generally had a good idea of the cost of the pump,
and those obtaining it through the woreda/JICA had mostly begun to pay something back towards the
cost, but not completed payment.
75% of rope pump owners have found that the number of users increased when they installed a
pump, as more neighbours elected to come to what they then perceive as a cleaner source. On
average, 50 more people took their drinking water from wells with rope pumps installed than from
those without. This causes concern to well owners who may fear the well going dry, but do not like
to deny access.
Women in particular like the rope pump as an energy saving way of lifting water and for its better
protection. For men it is the irrigation potential and easy availability for watering animals which gives
it extra appeal, and justifies (and repays) the investment.
So far the spread of rope pumps has been small in the region and the interest raised has not been
satisfied. Building up a market takes two or three years as IDE has found, but once established it
becomes almost self-sustaining. Once a critical mass is reached promotion happens largely from
neighbour to neighbour. Few people yet appear to be really aware of the changes they can make to
their own supply, or how they can achieve such changes, so a change in attitude to the ‘can-do’
mentality will not happen instantly. The potential is huge but the strategy to tap it needs careful and
coordinated effort.

 Attitudes at all levels suggest there is a need for a major effort in raising awareness and
understanding of the rope pump and its benefits to all stakeholders. Understanding on the
regional level is not generally feeding down to woreda level, although some zones such as
Gamu Gofa have received ‘ignition’ from the revised UAP and have become committed to
promote low cost options to satisfy household demand.
 Guidelines focus on hardware issues so the regional Self Supply Task Force needs to develop
the software side of the technology, including defining the process of introduction, and
designing a strong promotion campaign based on various messages for different audiences
and interests.
 Woreda budgets at present do not seem to include adequate inputs for rope pump
development
 There is a lack of coordination between the two bureaus (BoWR and BoA) leading separate
approaches for rope pump adoption
 Common methods of promotion, payment, procurement and source protection would

reduce confusion and variations in effectiveness
 Using lessons learned and updates on technology from other countries could further reduce
the cost and increase sustainability of the rope pumps
 A rope pump can be viewed as an effective stepping stone to higher level technologies
 Health extension workers could be more involved to reduce risks of contamination of water
at the source and in transit and storage.
6 Financing options
6.1 Options
There are four main aspects to the financing of rope pumps which can enable or constrain potential
pump owners. These are subsidy, access to micro-finance, traditional savings schemes, and raising
funds from within family assets.
Financing options can be summarised as follows:
Level Advantages Disadvantages
No subsidy  Is not donor dependent
 Limits those who are able to
 Encourages adoption of sustainable technology
make improvements,
levels
concentrating benefit on the
 Shows everyone that solutions are affordable and richer (except they usually share)
(Buy only what you can be copied
 Limits the level people can
can afford)  Does not de-motivate those who would be reach at one time
unsuccessful in applying for grants
Loans but no
grants  Increases range of those who can improve supply
 Allows households to reach higher levels of  Still limits those who can
service more quickly benefit
 Can also allow artisans etc to equip more fully  May be defaulters and more
(Buy now, pay  Allows two or more season’s investment at one opportunity for corruption
time
later) +deposit
Small incentives  May slow progress if people

 Low cost implication to government wait to be eligible for incentive or
 Helps publicity and focussing people’s minds on it is not always available.
(free concrete ring
the products
/ discount on rope  ‘Something for nothing’ is a good driver  May limit numbers benefitting if
even small subsidies cannot be
pump, or bags of  Depending on cost of incentive, it may help people
applied to all
reach a higher level (eg pulley or rope pump) and
cement) better well protection
Same per capita  Opens up supply improvement to the greatest The reasons for Accelerated Self
subsidy for all, number of people Supply relate largely to
 Allows choice by communities and individuals of inadequacy of funding. Giving
whether solutions they prefer same per/cap subsidy to all will
community or Self  Is equitable continue to limit significantly the
Supply  Helps coverage in remote areas/scattered
numbers who can benefit
households
6.2 Subsidy
The first stage of introducing a technology is often demonstration using units which are provided
free. This was the case initially with the rope pump within the BoWR/JICA initiative. In Oromia the
system then moved on to 50% subsidy and a loan for the rest of the cost, and in SNNPR the move
has been to get early owners to repay the cost into a revolving fund. However, in both cases,
changes in organisations have meant that the money owed has not been consistently pursued.
MOWE have talked in the past of subsidising the rope pump 100% if well owners fully protect the
well. At a present cost of an installed rope pump of some 2,500-3,000 ETB, it would need to serve
some 5 households to give a per capita cost of less than 100 ETB. However shared management
seems to cause some problems where it is presently practiced, and individual household ownership
gives a much clearer and more easily implemented management model. A full subsidy assumes that
funds are available to subsidise for all. If that is not so, then subsidy may slow progress, as people will
wait until they can access such assistance. Certainly IDE have found that subsidy (which they also
started with) did not speed things up, did not engender feelings of ownership and did not enable a
wider range of people to acquire a pump. Micro-finance, however, did.
6.3 Micro-finance
6.3.1 Micro-credit (in SNNPR)
There are several micro-finance organisations working in the SNNPR, but there is also a move to
provide revolving funds to woreda BoWR offices for the purchase of rope pumps. Micro-finance
institutions (e.g. Sidama and Omo M/F) have traditionally not been involved in providing credit for
rope pumps and normally only provide loans against specific collateral which is usually land. Loans are
specifically for investment that can be shown to lead to increased income and so a good probability
that the loan will be paid back. Pumps for domestic purposes are not regarded as offering sufficient
guarantee of increased income to be regarded as suitable investments for loans.
6.3.2 Micro-credit in Ziway (Oromia)

Busa Gonofa (BG) microfinance institution has been providing loans for rope pumps as a direct
response to IDE requesting a credit service to encourage purchase. They provide loans to individuals
whereas most micro-credit is to groups for investment in agriculture. Buda Gonofa say that demand
for loans for pumps is reducing, but that may also be because more farmers are using Omo Micro-
finance which also provides a similar service which is more widely accessible.
BG experience with micro-credit for rope pumps has not been entirely a happy one. Especially those
who first took loans have not been too reliable in paying back, but since then IDE have been more
careful in selecting which farmers they have encouraged to take out loans, and microfinance
institutions have geared payments and guarantees to fit borrowers’ circumstances better. Repayment
rates have improved. IDE say that 80% of farmers have paid back within six months. The system is
that if the loan is 2000 ETB, the repayment after a year is 2,500. The capital sum can be paid back at
any time, but the interest must be paid monthly. In 2010, 220 households took out a loan of 2000
ETB. The maximum which can be taken is 2,500 ETB.
6.4 Revolving fund

There have been plans to set up revolving funds at woreda level so that individuals can take out a loan
for two years to purchase a rope pump and pay back in instalments. Some say the revolving fund is
based in or monitored by the woreda BoWR office, others that it will be based in microfinance
institutions. The principle is that one person takes out a loan for a pump but within a group of five.
The other four act also as guarantors and will in turn have access to the fund once the initial loan
repayment has been made. Unlike the Model 2 loans it does not appear that an additional sum is
included in repayment to cover administration costs and inflation.
In the survey just over a third of rope pump owners had been asked to pay back for the pumps they
received, and of these, half had made full repayment (16%). The four in Aleta Wendo had repaid in
full but the woreda offices had no more pumps to allow others to benefit from the revolving fund. On
previous visits other Aleta Wendo owners met had paid a small amount but stopped paying because
the pump was broken down or the well gone dry or no-one had asked them for more.
6.4.1 The main problems and challenges to collect repayment of loans

 Individuals show little interest to repay the money in time unless carefully monitored (an
additional expense), but high interest in getting additional credit.
 Big variations in crop production that depend on rains and good soil condition, cause
unpredictable variations in farmers’ income which can affect commitment to paying back
over an extended period
 The number of clients who are receiving the loan from BG for the rope pump in Ziway is
decreasing, because they say that in the focal woredas for micro-finance promotion, there is
saturation of demand.
 Break down and problems to get repairs done quickly may bring the revolving fund to a halt.
6.4.2 Encouraging /enabling environments

 The rope pump has transformed many farmers’ lives. One who borrowed 3000 ETB for RP
has earned 23,000 ETB within four months.
 The technologies enable farmers to cultivate up to six times a year within small plots of land.
 Development of the Community Management Project may make it possible for rope pump
loans to be fitted into a well-developed system
6.5 Traditional savings schemes

There are two main ways in which money is traditionally saved and made available to members of the
savings scheme. One is edir which is principally a way in which families save money communally as
insurance for occasions when cash is needed urgently. This may be for funerals or illness or even
marriage. Small amounts of money are paid in on a regular basis and a fund managed communally.
Funds can grow to exceed many thousand ETB and so are sometimes also available for loans for
investments which benefit the development of the community if the fund management feels the
investment would be safe. Normally they are just for urgent loans to cover costs of unexpected
emergencies, a form of communal insurance.
The second is ekub which is a ‘tontine’ system common throughout Africa. In this a group of people
(often women) pay a weekly or monthly amount into the pool, and each week/month (or longer
period) one member of the savings circle takes the total amount to use on whatever is their priority
at the time. The amounts paid out are usually low, so buying a rope pump with this method would
take some time, except in areas of high value cash crops. Forming a circle for larger investments (i.e.
1500 ETB which would be sufficient for a pump) would be difficult with normal household budgets.
6.6 Releasing assets

Of those families in the Self Supply survey who financed their own well construction, half used
savings, with less than 10% taking a gift, grant or personal loan. 50% also sold assets to pay for the
work and materials. Most often this was a crop such as vegetables, grain or coffee, but in some cases
a sheep, goat or even a cow. 15% of well owners mentioned getting cash contributions from their
neighbours, who also helped to provide labour. No-one had obtained formal credit for well
construction. With an average cost of around 500 ETB for the well, it seems most people had access
to sufficient funds from their own resources. Certainly no micro-finance institution has been lending
money for this type of investment in the region so far. With rope pumps at some three times this
level of expenditure it would not be impossible for many farmers to find the necessary funds
especially if micro-credit made it possible to pay over an extended period.

 Whilst microcredit systems are quite accessible in the region they do not lend for family
water supply investment at present.
 Some woredas have started revolving funds to take in payments for demonstration pumps
already installed, but repayment systems are not enforced consistently.
 In South Oromia, BOA/IDE loans are linked to micro-credit institutions because the pumps
are promoted for income generating activities. Even so the early history of repayments
shows variable success depending upon management. Repayment is now becoming better
established and more reliable.
 The rope pump can transform lives but there has to be a will to improve and strive for
greater productivity for the investment to bear fruit and for the owner to be able to repay.
 Many farmers could plan to release assets if they were convinced that the pump could
transform their lives and lead to further improvements.
 Traditional savings schemes (ekub) may also play a part if planning is at community level, but
most savings circles (edir) do not work with sufficiently large sums.
7 Conclusions and recommendations
7.1 Conclusions
7.1.1 Rates of progress
In five years, the uptake of rope pumps in the region has not yet become well-established. Although
progress has been made it is not sufficient to regard rope pumps as being able to contribute
significantly to coverage over the next four years (2015) unless there is a change of strategy and
approach. This compares with rapid growth in parts of Amhara through BoWR support and in
Oromia where rope pump introduction is more closely linked to agriculture. If the rope pump is to
play a part in reaching UAP targets there needs to be a major focus on increasing rates of progress
and a better strategy.
7.1.2 The product

Water quality analyses suggest that rope pumps offer water which is five times safer than
unprotected sources. Low risk water quality (<10 FC/100ml) is as likely to be found in rope pump
wells as in protected springs. The samples taken reflect the worst case scenario, collected in the
rainy season from wells which are mostly primarily for irrigation, and have not been chlorinated or
cleaned out since the pump was installed.
In terms of reliability and adequacy of supply there was no discernible difference between handpumps
(Afridev and India Mk 2) on protected wells and wells with rope pumps.
Rope pumps are at present installed on wellheads which mostly have inadequate protection for
drinking water supplies. No guidelines are given in the JICA manual for provision of an apron and
drainage to reduce seepage back into the well.
The experience within Ethiopia and from other countries which have now adopted rope pump
technology may also help in developing an improved strategy for going to scale, and for more cost-
effective pump production and promotion.
7.1.3 The market

The main concern for the introduction of the rope pump at present is not so much the technology
but the lack of demand. This lack of demand is due to several factors:
 Low priority from sector professionals (with notable exceptions), especially at woreda level
because of more pressing practical problems with higher technology supplies
 No marketing strategy building on the ‘demonstration models’ and other routes of

promotion
 Promotion on health grounds rather than on productive benefits found by users to be equally
or more important (increased income, quicker drawing times, safety for children - signs of a
caring family and status). Both should be highlighted
 Poor performance history of many of the pumps installed – seeing pumps taken out and
owners reverting to bucket and rope can kill any neighbour’s enthusiasm very quickly
 The IDE/Selam model of combining rope pumps with small diameter hand drilled boreholes
could significantly increase the market for the rope pump, especially in areas with
unconsolidated aquifers and shallow (<20m) groundwater.
7.1.4 Support service development

Where demand has been created so far it has not been well-coordinated with the development of
support services, so momentum has been lost. Necessary developments include:
 Well-stocked outlets for further pump purchases and spare parts,

 choice of models and costs, with accompanying advice on maintenance, water treatment and
productive uses (e.g. micro-irrigation),
 well established and responsive maintenance and repair services
 and micro-finance credit systems which vet applicants objectively and ensure repayment.
7.1.5 Pump procurement

At present all pump sales or gifts in the region are made through woreda offices or NGOs. This limits
the speed of uptake to woreda budgets for rope pump promotion and purchase, which are usually a
very low priority. Thus Chencha, where there are the greatest number of demonstration pumps
used both for domestic and irrigation purposes, has only a budget for five pumps in a year. It also has
no promotion system to encourage people to look anywhere else than the woreda or NGO offices,
despite there being a good producer in Arba Minch from which the woreda indirectly buys. The lack
of a link between producers and purchasers has several harmful effects:
 No feedback given to producers on performance
 No personal connection to get advice, training, put new clients in touch, (get commission?)
 Difficulty in access to some spare parts (e.g. pipes) and specialist welding
 No building of market dynamics which can operate without government budgets
 Disconnect in responsibility between the one making the pump and the one installing it,
which means each can blame the other if it performs badly
7.1.6 Government roles

So far there has been no clear definition of government roles and little discussion on how these
might vary from the roles taken in normal community managed systems. Rope pumps are generally
not suitable as substitutes for Afridev or India Mk 2 so the major market will be small groups and
individual households. If these are expected to buy the pumps for themselves then this will require
BoWR to work in a different way. To get rope pumps established as a largely self-financed service
level, it will be competing with all the other calls upon the household budget that a rural family faces.
Thus the strategy needs careful analysis and also coalition building so that others (NGOs especially)
follow the same line. It will also require easily accessed micro-finance for many.
7.1.7 Training
More information and training materials are needed at all levels, for pump owners, private sector
well diggers and mechanics to BoWR and other regional bureaux for whom safer and more
accessible water supplies are relevant. In particular there is an absence of any guidance on how to
introduce the pump and how to promote it.
7.2 Recommended actions

7.2.1 Regional workshop on rope pump introduction
This should be a first step in developing a clear plan for increasing up-take of rope pumps. It should
include the Regional Task Force on Self Supply, BoH, at least one member of BOA involved in small
scale irrigation promotion, BoFED and a few zonal and woreda staff from areas with high potential for
the pump. It should also include pump producers, interested NGOs and credit scheme institutions.
The aim of the workshop would be to:
 Define the roles of the BoWR in going to scale with the rope pump
 Plan a regional strategy for spread of the rope pump for household supply (multiple or
domestic use)
 Develop a plan for piloting in two woredas
 Identify training needs and communications strategy
7.2.2 Roles of government - Key questions which need to be addressed

 How to include rope pumps in planning when up-take depends on a household’s decision to
buy? This may require a switch to targets rather than planned installations, and set budgets
for support activities (promotion, training, monitoring) that will help realise targets but which
do not provide hardware.
 Should the region buy pumps (pros and cons)?
 How should materials for pump manufacture be procured? Centrally, by producers, by

region?
 How can the WASH MoU be best used to improve promotion of the rope pump and safe
water?
 What links can or should be made to MOA activities in promoting household level water
supplies for productive use?
 What should be advisory roles and what regulatory ones?
7.2.3 Regional implementation manual on low cost technologies to be developed

Development of this manual should include as many people as possible to highlight the potential and
need for better understanding of the rope pump and its benefits to all stakeholders. The
introductory workshop could be a first step but better information and more discussion is needed at
all levels if real commitment to promotion is to develop.
 Which areas to focus on for rope pump introduction

 Technical aspects of reduced cost options (well head protection, lining, drainage etc)
 Communications strategies for marketing and key messages
 Promotion materials, media etc.
 Phasing of introduction and necessary steps
 Roles and responsibilities
7.2.4 Plans for piloting coordinated promotion and support service development in two
woredas
In the past demonstrations have focused on individual families. We believe that there is now a
need to demonstrate not the technologies at family level, but rather to demonstrate the
promotion and support services at larger scale i.e. in woredas. Key issues would include:
 Selection of woredas
 Plans, budgets and proposals for funding.
7.2.5 Establishment of strong micro-finance support for water supply investment

Micro-credit institutions do not consider household or group water supply as a sound investment at
present and so will not lend for it. Advocacy is needed to:
 Change their minds or

 Create well run revolving funds at woreda or kebele level or
 Bring loans for water supply included into CDF funding mechanisms.
Few people will initially invest in water without either small incentives or systems which allow them
to spread their payments.
8 REFERENCES
MoFED 2010 Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) 2010/11-2014/15. Draft
JICA/ EWTEC 2008 The groundwater development and water supply training project, Phase 2.
Appropriate Technology Dissemination. Kokusai Kogyo Co Ltd and Japan Techno Ltd. March 2008
JICA 2010 Rope pump specification and check-point list. First edition 2010
Mammo A. 2010 Assessment of Local Manufacturing Capacity for Rope Pumps in Ethiopia. Draft
Final Report UNICEF
MOWR 2009 Review Of Rural Water Supply Universal Access Plan Implementation And Reform-
ulation Of Plans And Strategies For Accelerated Implementation.
Naoki Y 2010 pers comm.
RADWQ 2010 Rapid Drinking water Quality assessment in the Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia. Country report WHO/ UNICEF 2010.
Sutton S and J Gomme 2009. Transferring the rope pump to Africa: A long and winding road?
Waterlines vol 28 no.2 p 144-160
WaterAid 2008 Report on the comparative performance of Afridev and rope pumps in seven
districts of Niassa Province. Mozambique Feb 2009
WHO/UNICEF 2006 Core questions on Drinking water and Sanitation for household surveys.
WSP 2008 El mercado de bombas mecate en Nicaragua. WSP-LAC report, 2008,
http://www.wsp.org/UserFiles/file/Estudio_de_Bombas_Final.pdf),
Research-inspired Policy and Practice Learning
in Ethiopia and the Nile Region
Research-inspired
Policy and Practice
Learning in Ethiopia RiPPLE Working Papers contain research
and the Nile Region questions, methods, analysis and discussion
(RiPPLE) is a Research of research results (from case studies
Programme Consortium or desk research). They are intended to
funded by UKaid stimulate debate on policy implications of
from the Department research findings as well as feed into
for International
Long-term Action Research Studies.
Development and
led by the Overseas
Development Institute
(ODI) in partnership
with IRC, Addis Ababa
University, WaterAid
Ethiopia and Hararghe
Catholic Secretariat
Contact
RiPPLE Office
c/o WaterAid Ethiopia,
Kirkos Sub-city,
Kebele 04, House no 620,
Debrezeit Road,
PO Box 4812,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
t: +251 11 416 0075

f: +251 11 416 0081 Working
e: info@rippleethiopia.org
w: www.rippleethiopia.org
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Introduction of the rope pump in

SNNPR, and its wider implications

Sally Sutton and Tsegaw Hailu

Sally Sutton and Tsegaw Hailu

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 10

2 Rope pump production ................................................................................................... 14

3 Rope pump performance ................................................................................................ 23

4 Approaches to introduction and Development of Supply Chains .............................. 30

5 Stakeholder Perspectives and Market Potential .......................................................... 37

6 Financing options ............................................................................................................. 42

7 Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................... 46

8 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 43

List of acronyms and abbreviations

BoH Bureau of Health

BOWR Bureau (regional) of Water Resources

CDF Community Development Funds

CMF Community marketing facilitator

CMP Community Managed Projects (also CDF)

ETB Ethiopian Birr

EWTEC Ethiopia Water Technology Centre

FC/TTC Faecal coliform/ thermo-tolerant coliform

GTP Growth and Transformation Plan

IDE International Development Enterprises

JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency

MOA Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

MOH Ministry of Health

MOWE Ministry of Water and Energy

NGO Non-government Organisation

PIM Project Implementation Manual

RADWQ Rapid Assessment of Drinking Water Quality (WHO, MOH UNICEF)

SG2000/SAA Sasakawa 2000, Sasakawa Africa Association

SNNPR Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region

TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training (college)

UAP Universal Access Plan

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

WASCAP Water and Sanitation Capacity Building

WHO World Health Organisation

Hand-dug well (HDW)

Machine-dug shallow well (MSW)

Hand pump (HP)

Rope pump (RP)

1.2 The national context

1.3 The rope pump

Figure 1-1 Rope pump anatomy and principle

The principle elements of the

1.4 Background to rope pump introduction in SNNPR

1.6 Summary of main points

 More information is needed on its performance

2.1.2 Bottom guide boxes

Figure 2-2 New bottom guide box,

Figure 2-4 Large diameter glass bottle in the guidebox (Ghana)

2.1.3 Handle bushing

Figure 2-5 Ball bearing

Figure 2-6 Simple metal bushings

2.1.4 Plastic washers

Figure 2-9 Washers produced with a small hand-operated

2.1.5 Other design considerations

2.3 Practica training

2.4 Capacity and output