The Dutch company aQysta has created an economical and efficient solution capable of powering a pump that can give a big hand to small farmers. The Barsha Pump, this is its name, is a water wheel positioned on a floating platform in a river that uses kinetic energy to pump water without the need for fuel.
The design is "differently futuristic": think that it is based on technologies developed in ancient Egypt!
How the Barsha Pump works
As you can imagine, this pump is a device that uses the kinetic energy of flowing water. It does not require any fuel or electricity to operate: when the wheel turns, it collects some water and air, and the same pressure produced by that air then allows this water to be released into the fields through the pipes.
It is a device designed for i small farmers with little land available, and limited access to electricity or gasoline.
Some of its main features:
- It is capable of pumping water up to 25 meters high.
- It can irrigate between 0,5 and 3 hectares.
- It is capable of pumping up to 45.000 liters / day.
- It does not use any type of fuel or electricity for its operation.
- Save up to 70% of the total cost of irrigation (pump plus fuel), with an investment that can be paid for in just 2 years.
- It can work 24 hours a day.
- Quick and easy installation.
Currently models of this type of pump are already in operation in Nepal, Indonesia, Turkey, Zambia and Spain.
I don't know about you, but I find it an absolutely fantastic invention in its own way. It's a perfect example of how ingenuity and creativity can find ways to tackle and solve big problems, and it could be the thing that helps smallholder farmers keep their crops irrigated during these drought times.
