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Sierra Leone Water Aid and Engineering Development

Poor sanitation due to inadequate water supply is one of the major causes of illness and restricted development in rural West Africa.
Women and children spend many hours per day collecting water and caring for those suffering from disease. This time could be better spent in education or earning a living.

The hydraulic ram pump is a tried and tested device that can provide improved access to water as well as growth potential for local infrastructure.

Using valves, an air chamber and the flowing water of a river, the hydraulic ram pump generates a cyclic shock wave that pumps water autonomously from a river source to a reservoir over a long distance.

Projects objectives To manufacture and install a water distribution system in the rural village of Bunumbu, Sierra Leone To ensure sustainability of the system through community participation, commercial incentives and locally acquired resources To establish potential for continued production of ram pump systems To offer teaching assistance at the EPU It is proposed to complete a 3-month development project in collaboration with the Eastern Polytechnic University (EPU) of Kenema, Sierra Leone

Background While completing a year at ICAM in Toulouse under the Erasmus program, project leader Dale Barnes worked on the hydraulic ram pump with 3 other ICAM students. Working prototypes of the pump were built and tested to assess the design’s business potential as a European farm irrigation product. In the following summer Dale completed a technical placement at Sierra Rutile Ltd, a rutile mining company in Sierral Leone, for which he received 2nd prize for the IAESTE Trainee of the Year Award. While in Sierra Leone Dale saw the potential that the Belier Ram Pump has to offer rural communities in developing countries and so initiated this project. A strong network is now well established between the Eastern Polytechnic University, IAESTE and Sierra Rutile Ltd.