Friday, January 4, 2013

Garden Water Access Project

The Garden Water Access Project, or GWAP for short, has the goal of providing cheap water access to families for year round irrigation.The project's client is Serving In Missions (SIM), which is stationed in Burkina Faso. During this trip, Lindsey and I will be working with Matt Walsh, the local long-term missionary to ensure that our work is providing them with a pump and well drilling rig that suits their needs.

One goal of the trip is to observe the pumps currently in use in Mahadagha. These pumps were designed by another long term local missionary and Messiah alum Brendon Earl, and utilize India Mk II pump parts. This pump has advantages in that the pump parts are pre-manufactured and readily available, but has some other downsides that we will be investigating.

Additionally, we will be observing well drilling crews and their equipment to get a better understanding of the tools and process of drilling a well. This information will then be used to supplement our well drilling rig designs.

The main goal of this trip is simply to experience the culture of pump-based water access to better understand its unique needs and conditions. So much of our work is based on accounts and conjecture, so the firsthand experience and the ability to ask relevant questions is extremely valuable.

Stay posted for updates and pictures of this project's progress!

-Zach

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