National Geographic Feature on PlayPump Water Systems

[KWCSeamus]

hello

[FairWaterFoundation]

FairWater appreciates this work and invites you to team up with us to introduce the Durable BluePump in your water projects!

1 out of 3 handpumps is disfunctional after a few years due to maintenance problems and people are again without water!

To avoid this drama and wasted funds, FairWater Foundation promotes the Dutch BluePump, reliable, easy and cheap to maintain.

Paul van Beers

FairWater-org

[rogerthatrocks]

there was another special on this "great idea" of play pumps, where they came back a year later to find the women lugging water back from their dirty creek again because the children lost interest in the play pump and the men said it was too much work for them to push it. thats why they had no well in the first place...zero initiative. you can lead a monkey to water, but it doesn't mean he'll pump it.

[cupcakecnc]

That teacher was a african queen. Shit!!!!

[austrorus]

aznlilboiz,

it is not always windy in africa, also you need a big 'windmill' and the blades have to be rotated so they can utilize the lightest breeze. and that can not be managed by a single woman or a bunch of kids.

who on top of it get some fun out of it to get clean water...

now if 'we' just could convince NESTLE, the biggest seller/gouger on price, of fresh water, to put up their ads on the metal sides of the play pump and sponsor a few 1000 of these really cheap and effective things.

[dzgfdg]

DO NOT DONATE TO THIS COMPANY, THIS SYSTEM IS RETARDED

[skyewalker]

@dzgfdg Making a statement without any explanation is pretty retarded as well. What are your reasons for posting this comment?

[dzgfdg]

@skyewalker this system fails after a few months

[FourYearsGo]

Great idea! Way to go!

[naturalmotionraptor]

This is so cool

[fmkenshin]

o.0 why don't they just drive to costco or samsclub and buy water in bulk... friggin lazy people

[jdawgsworld]

beginning early...diguising work as play...we adults forget to do this way too often...

[Joaaquinz]

Heh very smart idea!

[witchcerridwen]

this is really wonderfull.

[jobedied]

By 2050 there will be 12 billion of us almost double the people, poor folks will be able to drink all this clean water. Don't know where the extra clean water will come from even if we clean up and get new resources now. But I realize Im raining on the dreams of corporate growth and

the world economy and third world economic development .

We need to continue the exponential growth of human population keeping economies going. Sustainability sad to say is environmental pipe dream.

[NSResponder]

You're right, it's hopeless. Why don't you off yourself and make room for someone with a better outlook?

-jcr

[junwing32]

Mechanical tools makes the job more efficient that manual labour. Besides, spending the same amount of time carrying buckets are not as fun. Why are you so negative about people's efforts to improve lives. If you really care so much, why don't you come up with a better solution? Take a trip and find out what people are doing, volunteer your time and ideas, make a contribution with your actions instead of spilling negativity on actual efforts.

[junwing32]

Jamie, I think you're the one who is missing the point. It is an improvement from whatever they were doing before. Fine tuning the process is great, but getting the process started is urgently needed, while people like you come up with ideas to perfect it.

[cphoover11]

this is ground water its not contaminated.

pure water cant get go bad unless it is contaminated

[LegendSaber]

Your point here is pretty moot. For one, see 2:45 of the video: "The towers double as billboards to help pay for upkeep."

And you DO know the company that builds these things is headquartered in South Africa, right? And even if they weren't it's entirely reasonable to assume that they'd have at least a few volunteers in Africa at any given moment to solve problems.

Seriously, you act as if these companies are headed by autistic children. I'm pretty sure they understand basic problem solving.

[cslyp]

Nice response. BTW, how do you link to a specific time in the video like that?

[LegendSaber]

Just type in whatever time you want to link to. It automatically changes it to a link.

[dalesalsa]

Wow. This is great. Just think of the billions we spend on military and fake useless wars and we just spent one measly billion a year installing these pumps accross the world and doing other Peace Proyects we would put such a HUGE DENT on the number of needless human suffering.

[myvirusbroke]

i agree. wow this is great. we should have thought about this years ago lol. and yes fuck the war. the stupid pointless war. the "god" inspiring oil war.

[lordnick1575]

kl kl gd idea.

[McConsumer]

What about other things:

see-saw(teeter-totter

Those animals conntected to a spring that you ride and it movfes back and forth

Swings

All of those could be hooked up to pump of some sort. I think it's a good idea. I first saw it on one of those shows where people compete for a job like the apprentice. I think it was the one with Richard Branson where he was looking for someone to take over virgin records. The idea got shot down on the show.

[kenttruog]

what an incredible idea!

[futureforscenerios]

yeah, i'm sure there are more ways to help a country then one... but this water pump doesn't hurt at all. i think jamiehyneman just got an epiphany to sell his/her life savings, quit his/her job and move to a developing nation to change the economy/ way of life of the people. man, give this person a nobel prize already!

[JamieHynemanRAWKS]

If I've said it once, I'll say it again for those of you who don't UNDERSTAND MY POINT OF VIEW. The problem isn't resource, they have all of that they need. The problem is EDUCATION, these people aren't being educated to FEND FOR THEMSELVES, only to rely on FOREIGN AIDE. What you people fail to understand is that it's cheaper just to build some kind of fancy "play-pump" rather than spend the man-hours and money it costs to bring these people to a level of education suitable to the rest of us.

[kreatuv]

saw this years ago.. still think it's very cool that they can provide themselves with clean water.. thats awesome

[formariiwarlord]

masuyowolf. look outside the box dude, i aint in that country, We do have traffic, yes useless to them, however if the world is going to hell in a handbasket because of traffic, then why not utilize it to benifit everyone, upto and including the impoverished worldwide.

[mariesophie85]

It's a very very good idea !!!

[ablondermoment]

you bloody copy cats, i had designs on something similar years ago but gathering power also. also slight modiforcations, both applications were able to utilize street traffic.

[congcong61]

awesome

[avisitorintheusa]

great idea....

[TheShinyDemon]

A pretty good idea... I was thinking "Wouldnt the children get bored of spinning that wheel..?"

but what else are they going to do, really? Absolutely no means for offense or racism or anything there, just a sad observation, really. No electricity... I cant even imagine such a world.

[eating2heaven]

This is awesome! Keep up the great work.

Changing the food supply will really make a difference. Please join the discussion about the White House Dome/Garden project at channel eating2heaven. Be green!

[iwantram3n]

nah, if i were these guys id make a freaking rollar coaster man, im talking gallons of water but hey this is a start

[claycloud]

What a wonderful opportunity for social network users to spread the word about worthy philanthropic community projects like this one. I plan to bring this up with non-profit organizations at my university. Let's help any way we can!

[Kane040]

A good thought, although the wells won't last forever.

[davidatwork]

There may be a child labor violation of some sort here. LOL! Great Idea!

[mcfrenchy]

Great...cheered up my day :D

[MikeyR87]

clever :)

[XdarkwomanX]

that's an amazing invention

[mowerofdoom]

Well done for posting this. Lets hope it encourages more simple ideas that can help our less fortunate friends.

[CarlGauss]

Wells aren't that sustainable... See the american west.

[aznlilboiz]

why not windmill?

[Achack]

As you can see these are very cheap and easy to build. Windmills are HUGE, making them much harder to build, these can be assembled by people, I think windmills require machinery which would cost ass loads of money to haul to all the places that they are building these.

[claycloud]

maybe more/too expensive?

[8ToMo8]

Thats why people donate to organisations like world vision

[skyewalker]

@aznlilboiz Because when there is no wind there is no water.

[zafrenchtoast]

@aznlilboiz

. .." and I observed some ladies standing next to a windmill waiting for the wind to blow, because the concrete reservoir at the bottom of the windmill was cracked and broken. And it wouldn’t hold water. And we were there for a couple days. And when we came back and these ladies were still there waiting for the wind to blow. And I thought, “that’s quite pathetic.”

google Trevor Field black & white for the article

[scrimon]

Excellent

[playsmartplay]

you think that a windmill would help to you know ma7ybe at night when people arent using it

[Javamann1]

When will the children stop playing, When will the clouds stop raining?

[elia1018]

lol good job guys its a real good idea nice!!!

[eagle1101]

Thats really cool!

[Fearless65]

the planet is soon to run out of water, and I ve been around the and found only stupid people are breeding... The human race gets exactly what it deserves, but all suffer at the hand of the stupid... May humankind wake up and evolve from its ignorance till then we are at the mercy of the foolish. Being smarter sure has its disadvantages. Save the herd or benefit when they kill themselves off? That is the question. Fucking idiots are everywhere. Trick is to avoid them like land mines.....

[BeatBordom]

The plannet will never run out of water it has millions of cubic miles of water in the sea.

[moijk]

The ironic thing is people calling this child labour in this comment section. Someone fail to see the part in the video where this merry go round-play (which was popular in the states a couple of generations ago) replaced their hours of carrying heavy buckets on their head.

[Agarta]

yeah lol, it seems like the children have to play with it, or else they wont get any water lol

[ZO6]

because they dont have electricity or fuel to run the pump.

this manual pump seems faster than other manual pump.

and the kids are not slaving, they are playing but working at the same time.

[tainted111]

smart

[STEVENWALLACE18]

running water creates electricity, duh

[JamieHynemanRAWKS]

not this running water, you'd need like 500 pumps going at the same time, perpetually in order to provide the electricity out there to do the jobs electricity does here every day.

[cartread]

You're probably thinking of hand pumps, which are for more shallow water sources and break pretty easily.

[ledons94]

I have to say that is a brilliant idea.

[scotpens]

But the kids enjoy playing on the wheel. It's the old Tom Sawyer thing.

[sniper152]

didn't you retain what was said in the video?

They said they can not afford the fuel to run electric pumps.

Maybe you need to go back to school.

[Dave9309]

ACTUALLY! The video said, "they don't have electricity [OR] fuel to run the pumps." not, "fuel to run electric pumps".

[ZombiePirateEddie]

I wonder if it produces enough water to satiate the childrens' thirst after playing so hard on the merry-go-round pump.

[jw1220]

ITS STILL EVOLUTION PEOPLE ....

[BeechSundowner]

Very kewl!

[Minimat5567]

BRILLIANT! we need to make more great ideas, maybe even to stop pollution. I got it, how about the play-pollution-proventer... I like

[shadymike0101]

very nice idea.. very nice.

[Cleanertheprofession]

Now all they need is a magnetic motorized stored energy source attached to the merry go round while each complete revolution produces energy for all day and then at night time, the wheel still be spinning while the village sleeps. Not bad idea :)

[scotpens]

Or a lot more children working in shifts!

[JamieHynemanRAWKS]

the problem [at least displayed here] is that this program has just "given a man a fish" with no idea of "how to catch one", although this is a good idea, are there no measures taken to ensure that if this breaks down that the people[living near the pump] will be willing to fix it themselves, without any education? there really needs to be more education brought to these areas involving the growth and change of lifestyle paralell with changes and advancements in technology. teach a man to fish!

[Minimat5567]

chances are that they learnes and helped to assemble the pump.

[JamieHynemanRAWKS]

thats fine and all minimat, but one more thing you must understand, whether they know how to build the pump or not, they still haven't the economy to purchase materials and manpower to build the damn thing...so you're still stuck with "giving a man a fish" what needs to happen is they need to be taught how to use free enterprise, and establish a broad base government, not be given water, they already have water, clean or not, with economy, they can clean their own frickin h2o.thats not progress

[Nowmann11]

okay... please research before you make a statement. tons of people in america are raising the 140000 dollars to make this the simplistic and awesome idea that it is!!!

[JamieHynemanRAWKS]

Ok, since you STILL fail to see my point, I'll break it down Barney style for you. WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE PAYING FOR ANYTHING DOESN'T MATTER. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT THEY ARE NOT EDUCATED ENOUGH TO ENJOY THE FULL POTENTIAL OF LIFE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO THEM. THE PROBLEM ISN'T MONEY, NOT YET. THE PROBLEM IS THESE PEOPLE, APART FROM HUNTING, SCOOPING WATER IN BARRELS, FORAGING, AND RECEIVING FOREIGN AIDE, DO NOT HAVE THE TOOLS TO BECOME A WORLD-RECOGNIZED ECONOMY. EDUCATE THEM EDUCATE THEM EDUCATE!!

[KristenC511]

Jamie, what I think maybe you don't realize is that something as basic as water can be a stepping stone to education, esp. for girls. If ppl are drinking from contaminated sources, how are they to fight illness to go to school? And, how are girls being given the chance to go to school and get education if they must spend their days collecting water for their families? If basic survival needs are not being met, education cannot be cultivated.

[KristenC511]

Jamie, what I think maybe you don't realize is that something as basic as water can be a stepping stone to education, esp. for girls. If ppl are drinking from contaminated sources, how are they to fight illness to go to school? And, how are girls being given the chance to go to school and get education if they must spend their days collecting water for their families? If basic survival needs are not being met, education and real empowerment cannot be cultivated.

[Caroleeena]

Jaime, what I don't think you realize is that if girls are having to carry water, they can't get an education. If they are sick from dirty water, they can't get an education. Clean water is a means to a good education. This is brilliant. It costs no money, uses no electricity and frees people to pursue education. Brilliant!

[jmpmo03]

SCIENCE!!

[WilliamsOreilly]

This is ridiculusly racist and disgusting video I've ever seen in my life. The statistics are extremely exagerated, and the life in africa is not as bad as it is depicted by this video. This is Child Labor here people, Child Labor!!!!!! National Geographic is promoting Child Labor.

[andy7up]

. If you refer to children playing with pumps during their breaks as child labour makes it seem like you prefer them to be walking up and down all day fetching water and not be in school.

[obatzter]

reminds me of that "wheel" in "conan" ;)

[Thinkfest]

Flyinggeng wrote, "...here is creative destruction. People who like carrying water...will...be hurt..." Yes, but mothers shall have to be firm: "Now I know carrying thirty pounds on your head is fun, Motholeli, but there is a merry-go-round needing pushing!" The change will be tough on older ladies too: "I'm so sorry, Grandma Ifeoma, we should not go to the river. Please, let us water fields here instead?"

[Mrhankey1982]

good on em. they deserve to get laid for that idea. that lady with the bucket on her head wasn't even using her hands it just balanced on her head.

[Donny1429Creative]

What a great idea! My twin brother and I have a Marketing firm that focuses on helping small business owners move beyond just Profits but into doing Greater Things. This idea falls right in line with our focus on making this world a better place! Great video!

[allaboutdetail]

Many here are unwilling to adopt a change. They want to do the same as they are used to. If the change is for the better, adopt it. The nostalgic feeling is not a credible reason to be not proactive. What they are doing is great. making their society more adapt... the simplest darwin's theory in action! the survival of the fittest! Clean water society Vs unclean water society! who do u think will live an extended healthy life?!

[flyinggeng]

this is entirely beneficial even if the people who did the job of carrying water now have to do other more arduous tasks. More schooling opportunity, less diseases, more productivity on the farms, etc. All because some people are willing to donate the materials needed for this project and the communities willing to adopt them.

But there is creative destruction. People who like carrying water for long distances will invariably be hurt by its lack of necessity now.

[cruscher521]

Bravo !

[helgastexodus]

6000 people a day isn't much. for the whole world. in a day for the whole world about millions are born. it's natures way of telling us, that the herd needs to be thinned in some ways. plus with these people coming in and disturbing the culture the traditions will be gone in a hundred years. if i was an elder and someone came to my village and said "Hey i have a good way to get more food but you have to entirely change." i would say f***you. people really need to think before they act.

[tylerarp]

You misheard. 6000 pumps, not people. If each pump provides enough water for a village of 100 people (this is a conservative estimate surely) that would mean 600 000 people would have a better chance at maintaining good health.

And you're comment about "trimming the herd" is sociopathic. I recommend, if you truly feel this way, that you do us all a favor and lead by example.

People really need to think before they open their mouths, figuratively speaking.

[LivestockBlues]

No he's talking about the 6000 water esque deaths

[msnast1]

I find it interesting you would say something like that, seeing as you are using the internet, and youtube to express yourself. Cultures change, some for the better, some for the worse. Its a fact of life. If the change preserves a PEOPLE, isnt it worth the loss of a few tradtitions.

[Jiglet]

What a great idea.

[harmwon]

Simplicity at its best, great idea indeed.

[nerdycub]

Ok this whole serisous video was destroyed at 1:02 Look at the woman in the pink to the left. talk about mind blowing. HOW THE HELL DOES SHE BALENCE A 5 GALLON JUG ON HER HEAD! Serisouly interview her!

[harmwon]

Your a dumass nerdcub.

[alpercelk]

this is a great entrepreneurship :)

[emelieroma]

i read it a while ago, but remember in some cases it benefited the people, but there were times where women had previously spent all day collecting water - it was their livelihood, marketgoing, etc - now with free time they were made to do more arduous tasks in the fields men were not willing to let them rest. other concerns: upkeep and water quailty. i'll look tonight and see what else i can find. neat idea with great potential, but needs to be carefully planned for where it will be used!

[bengzou]

What happens when the children stop playing?

[xajinsu]

The water pumps into a reservoir and is stored in it for later use. More than likely it's designed so that if they play for a certain amount of time per day the reservoir stays full, or at least there's enough for the next 24 hours.

[emelieroma]

wow! this technology has been around since the 1970s when Paolo Lugari used it in Gaviotas... they fail to mention some of the problems that resulted from using it in this advert... things are obviously never this easy to solve...............

[keulenae]

I was wondering - what were those problems. It's obviously a good story, possibly too good. And problems can be overcome ...

[xajinsu]

Yeah, what problems were those exactly? I would like to know as well.

[m703324]

different types of water pumping technologies have been around and well described for centuries (some since BC)

[Szymek25]

Great idea!!!