The Nicaraguan rope pump has stimulated widespread interest throughout Central America due to its low cost, efficiency, durability and low maintenance needs. The pump is based on a centuries-old design that was refined during the 1980s and 1990s. Suitable for use at either a community or family level, the pump operates as well as other, more expensive pumps such as the Afridev and India Mark II at groundwater depths of up to 50 meters. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), seeing the potential for ëSouth-Southí technology transfer of the pump, supported the principal Nicaraguan manufacturer, Bombas De Mecate S.A. (BOMESA), in setting up a Technology Transfer Center between 1996 and 1998. Working with counterparts in the West African country of Ghana, supported by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), BOMESA has successfully established the capacity to both produce and install the pump in that country. The experience has shown the great potential for such a transfer to bring a low-cost, reliable pump to countries where handpumps can help meet the challenge of delivering sustainable rural water supply.
CWSA (2001). The Rope Pump: Private Sector Technology Transfer From Nicaragua to Ghana CWSA
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