Pump it!

I found it! I have been looking for solar powered water pumps for a while, ever since a friend mentioned that they are used all over Germany. The problem with using solar panels in development countries, like Tanzania, is that they often got stolen and sold or they are too expensive to fix if something happens to them. Solar panels seem like such a brilliant thing to have in countries with hardly any rain during the year, energy often being a big problem to run any kind of basic equipment, like pumps for wells. 

But with the tiny ones I've found some of the major problems are solved. The solar panels themselves are so small that selling them is not worth the effort, and with them being so cheap with a little starting capitol most communities can afford one. They can pump a lot of water up from a well they work in cloudy weather when there is any, and the parts are easily fixed. The skills and knowledge to make sure it can run for decades are next to nothing, basic mechanics are know to a lot of the population due to basic technology introduced some years ago

Might seem strange that I get so excited about these, after all I'm not bringing any down with me in September and I'm not really planning on spending time distributing them either. But when I do consultancies with companies and schools I can use these solar pumps as an example of how simple things can make a huge difference, just as I did with the insecticide bed nets last year. Having these sources around I can also try to get big donations from the companies and then distribute them far more efficiently than I can do on my own or with a small team. Every little helps, I do believe that, but when you're just one person then you got to think big and find creative ways to do more.

Here's the link to the pumps,I know there's different ones out there, and I'll be looking so:

http://www.solarkey.com/product_details.asp?classtype=0301&mid=281

wish me luck :)