This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteers Marcie Todd and Garrison Harward. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
Marcie reports:
The rope pump in the community garden at Saare Asset was the easiest installation team Kolda has seen yet. We got a free ride out to Asset from Caritas, a Catholic ONG that does work in many Koldan villages, and when we arrived there were already people in the garden ready to help with the install. We mounted the pump, glued the pipes together, threaded the rope through the PVC and had our first round of tea.
Ataya is a super sugary, super concentrated form of tea. Senegalese drink it like a coffee connoisseur would an espresso shot, only instead of one shot once a day, Ataya is 3 shots 3-5 times a day. Ataya is an amazing community bonding agent. There is usually a large group sitting under a tree talking and laughing in the interim between brewing and consumption.
After the first triplet of tea for the day we started lowering the pipe and rope into the well. My stomach was restless and I assumed the installation wouldn¹t work on the first go around. We often have to pull the system out of the well, tweak something small and then reinstall. This time, when we started to turn the crank, it turned smoothly. We saw water splash up and then out of the pipe head flowing strong. The women danced and one even got on top of the well cap! It was perfect timing for success.
Pump Output: 40 Liters/ Min
Total Number of People Benefiting: 68
Funder: Harrison Walls
