This is an exciting time for AIDFI and Green Empowerment in the Philippines. We don’t use ‘game changing technology’ unless we really mean it-- but that’s exactly what the ram pump is! And now, AIDFI’s hard work over 15 years and 180+ installations serving 50,000+ in 10 countries is finally receiving the attention it deserves. Your donations are simultaneously improving the health of some of the most remote communities in the world, while increasing awareness of the ram pump. If you have already donated to this project, please tell your friends. If you haven’t yet donated to this project, look no further.

Recent developments include:

• 8 feasibility studies for new ram pump installations on the island of Leyte have been completed (opportunity to provide improved access to potable water to an additional 3,000 people).
• AIDFI wins the Ramon Magsaysay Award, considered the Nobel Prize of Asia. Watch AIDFI Director Auke Idzenga’s acceptance speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMktFbesJnc
• AIDFI completes a ram pump technology transfer to Aprotec Colombia, including a 3 week training of two Aprotec engineers at AIDFI Technopark in the Philippines, and a ram pump installation in Colombia.
• AIDFI has established 3 regional installation teams within the Philippines
• Green Empowerment and AIDFI have forged a new partnership with Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation to identify ways to integrate access to potable water via ram pumps, forest conservation, and biodiversity protection in 3 highly threatened forest regions of Negros Island, Philippines. Negros Island only has 4% of forest cover remaining. It is also home to one of the highest concentrations of endemic species, many of which are critically endangered including the Visayan Warthog, Visayan Hornbill, and Visayan Spotted Dear.
• If you’re a donor or prospective donor that lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, join us at Luminalt on October 14, 2011 for a Green Empowerment presentation on the ram pump and activities in the Philippines: http://www.greenempowerment.org/blog/?p=1809.

Individual donations of any amount play a critical role since ram pumps are one of the lowest-cost renewable energy technologies for improving access to potable water. Your donation goes a VERY LONG way. literally. In Sitio Anangue (a village near Northern Negros National Park), ram pumps deliver water to a village of 400 people, with some villagers located more than 3km away, at an elevation 60+ meters higher than the source. With no fuel input and only 2 moving parts, the AIDFI ram pump is a game-changer-for-good. 

Links:

• AIDFI Acceptance Speech
• Luminalt-Green Empowerment Event in San Francisco

Dear friends, colleagues and supporters,

Dexter Gauntlett

An indirect result of winning the BBC Challenge is that new prospects for community ram pumps have emerged.  In the next 90 days, one such community which has been identified by AIDFI, will undergo greater assistance and preparations for planning, siting, community development and ownership, and “sweat equity” needs will be set into motion.

A preliminary estimate of $2,500 has been given for this emerging community, with greater details to follow in the next two weeks.  While not as urgent, the Japanese situation has caused some disruptions in communication and some anxiety in certain communities.

The great work and technology of our Filipino partner AIDFI, using improved ram pump technology for destitute communities, is receiving well deserved international visibility.  If they win the BBC World challenge, they will get even more visibility, and a nice amount of cash to boost the number of projects and villagers they can reach.  The winner is determined by votes from internet users like you, so you can help them this time with no donation required, by contributing your vote BY NOVEMBER 11th.

You can watch the latest TV documentary at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkhpeFHApQY
The BBC voting page, along with a shorter presentation, are at:
http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2010-finalists-project08.php

Thanks for all you do.

The team comprised of 4 students from the Norhtwestern University chapter of Engineering for a Sustainable World (ESW) and Michel Maupoux from Green Empowerment, was on site for 4 weeks ending July 20, 2010, to participate in the construction of a dual ram pump system in Tres Hermanos. The project was successfully completed in that time.

As I was out of commission for two weeks due to dengue fever, the students did a great job of participating and documenting the whole installation, showing that installing the pumps themselves is only a part of the work. This particular system was comprised of a network of pipes for lifting water and for its distribution, made of 6km (~4 miles) of pipes.

Attached is the system construction report filed by the students, with photos showing the hard work and its results.

Enjoy, and thanks for your support.

• Tres Hermanos ram pump system construction report (PDF)
  

A group of four students from Northwestern University (Illinois), members of Engineers for a Sustainable World, have raised enough funds to pay for most of the cost of a new two-pump system for the village of Tres Hermanos, and to cover their travel costs to go participate in the installation. We will be there for 4 weeks until July 20. Stay tuned for a report and photos!

Bill Brower is a Field Program Officer with GlobalGiving who is visiting our partners’ projects throughout South and Southeast Asia. On March 11th he visited the site of a ram pump installation in Tinumpagan. His “Postcard” from the visit:

With a degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development and a particular interest in sustainable water systems, I was excited to visit this project of Green Empowerment’s implementing partner, AID Foundation. I had read about ram pumps, but had never seen one in operation. Frankly, they sound too good to be true—or at least too good to not be more widely spread. No electricity or fuel needed, and still able to pump water over great distances and to great heights. The AID Foundation design is better than others I’ve seen, featuring only two moving parts and made from simple, locally available materials. See Marvin of AID Foundation describe it in the video linked to below.

The pump we visited feeds four tap-stands 100 meters up the hill, serving 60 families. As the attached picture shows, the stands are being heavily used. While the pressure from the pump is insufficient to put a tap in each household, it was clear from the way the community jokingly reminisced about the 40-minute roundtrip walk to the river to fetch water that the AID system is greatly appreciated. Word has spread (what higher praise for an NGO’s work?) and AID Foundation has put in several other ram pumps in this area and is scheduled to put in more.

In fact, AID Foundation has no shortage of work. They are regularly approached with requests to put in ram pumps in a community. (They’ve had their share of people trying to copy their design as well—another obvious good sign.) Deals in the Philippines usually involve a bit of greasing the wheels, but since they are the only one offering a quality product, AID Foundation is able to refuse any project insisting on bribes, according to the founder, Auke. And rather than just throw up a system, AID aims to ensure long-term sustainability by establishing community water boards, which is in charge of collecting a nominal fee from each family to go toward maintenance. We met with the board in Tinumpagan and they expressed their appreciation for the installation and seemed genuinely engaged in the board.

All around this was a very strong project from an innovative organization. I’m proud to have it on GlobalGiving.

The face of a winner

Links:

• Video: Marvin of AID Fdn. describes ram pumps

With the help of our generous donors and of a group of students from NorthWestern University, we are now planning the next system for the community of Tres Hermanos, in Murcia municipality. Tres Hermanos is formed of 45 households, i.e. 215 people including 84 children. They currently spend 30 minutes one-way down and up steep terrain to fetch limited water. This is a relatively complex system, with more than 1 mile of piping and two pumps. We plan to install the system in July 2010.

Thanks to the generosity of our Global Giving donors, we were able to complete the Herminal project with the necessary distribution system to tap stands (neighborhood faucets) by Septmeber 2009, instead of waiting for any funding from the local government, which never materialized.

We will now plan for the next village in need.

As of July 20, the main part of the system is implemented, i.e. water is being pumped to the tank in Herminal, were people can fetch water much more easily than down the mountain where the pump is.

See the pictures and details in the report posted below.

Unfortunately, the regional government hasn't been able to deliver any funding for the distribution network to the 5 tap stands distributed through the community.

Thanks to our donors for your contribution.

If we receive a few more donations, we hope to be able to complete the distribution piping. Could you or your friends help us?

Thanks again

Digging the trench for pipes

• Full report with photos (PDF)
  

Good news: thanks to good resource management, there were some funds left over after implementation of several of the listed ram pump projects. They have now been all regrouped and allocated to another site which had been put on hold. A ram pump water distribution system will now be installed in the village of Herminal starting in June 2009.

Thanks to all our donors!

in November 2008, I had the opportunity to go and visit the clean water system installed in Amin as part of the 12-village project.

As progress continues on the overall list, it was heartworming to see how the villagers now have much easier access to water in or near their backyard, thank to the ram pump system.

Enjoy the included photo report of my visit and observations.

Thanks to our generous donors.

• A_visit_to_Amin.pdf (PDF)
  

• Updated project summary (PDF)
  

Thanks to our donors, Green Empowerment has been able to send partial funds for this group of projects. Amin/Isabela & Bayhao were completed February 2008, and documented in photos in the report below. in June 2008, we received photos of the now completed site of Minaluha and Nagka. They are posted in the photo gallery. Purok Lopues is 80% completed as of June 20, 2008. The funds we are able to provide result in great leverage. As a "Seed", they enable AIDFI to successfully challenge local organizations for matching or complementary funds. AIDFI was successful in securing local funding for several systems, with a combination of contributions from local municipalities (LGU) and a $20,000 grant from Seacology Philippines for this group of projects. Several sites are scheduled for implementation in June & July 2008. 3 sites had to be cancelled due to local political issues, but 3 substiture sites were identified. The spreadsheet below provides the latest status. Funding through Green Empowerment is now focused on Maghumay & Sikatuna.

• Installation photo report - Amin/Isabela (PDF)
  
• Site list, funding & implementation status (PDF)
  

This excel document lists each community, the stage of each project, the local government contribution, and the funds needed.

• RamPumpsFundingRequests-GG121907.xls (XLS)