Almost every year Shangri-La Development Association comes up with One Time Projects (OTP) to enhance regular projects. These OTPs strengthen the existing Shangri-La Local Sustainable Initiatives (SSLI) activities in respective projects. For instance, the Ambulance/Equipment Support Handover OTP correlates with the Health Project of SDA.
In the same way, the Hydraulic Ram Pump project was designed as an OTP in 2019 but only completed the installation in 2022 because of the Covid-19-induced halt, which is to improve the SDA agriculture project and farming in the community.
The farmers in Kailash Rural Municipality lack knowledge on adapting to new technology, and it is no news that traditional farming yields lower crops. Although there is river water 24/7 the whole year, farmers cultivate few crops because they are unknown about the effective use of available water sources.
What Is A Hydraulic Ramp Pump?
A Hydraulic Ramp Pump is a self-powered renewable water pumping system and costs tremendously low to run. In simpler terms, it is a machine where water pumps water.
Everything that moves has energy. The hydraulic Ramp Pump uses the force of water going down the hill to pump water up, higher than the water source.
The machine does not require you to burn anything or too many materials to run. It does not need external materials such as oil or electricity to operate, but a water source is a must.
The land needs to be somewhat steep for the machine to exert the right amount of force. The other good thing about the ramp pump is that there is no need for constant monitoring.
The ramp pump, a better, cost-effective and durable option to irrigate, fulfil the necessity of a water source for SDA agricultural land. It has been running in SDA agriculture land for over a month now, capable of pumping 31000 litres of water in 24 hours. The abundance of water is accessible now with the installation of the ramp pump and has met the requirements of the SDA agricultural land.
The easy pumping of water no matter how high the water needs to go, its cost-effectiveness and the absence of a limit on how much water you can store are some of the impressive and unavoidable benefits of investing in a hydraulic ramp pump.
Project Objectives
The objectives of this project are strengthening and building a network among the farmers and local government bodies, promoting farmers’ interest in hydraulic ram pumps, and encouraging farmers in vegetable farming rather than the age-old farming limited to corn and millet.
The goal is also to demonstrate to the farmers’ community how the ramp pump technology works and where and how they can multiply the technology in the community. It also shows how the community can benefit from this cost-effective and sustainable irrigation system which will enhance their agricultural productivity.
Likewise, educating farmers about the long-term benefits of the ramp pump without using electricity and fuels and improving the organic farming system in the locality are also the objectives of this One Time Project.
With this project, SDA aims to support farmers with a business point of view to improve household income and provide training to farmers about the installation, repairment and follow-up.
Collaboration with the Community
In theory, the works sound simple, but installing the ramp pump is tricky. It requires a lot of labour and precise techniques. The pipes need to be levelled and laid the right way and can be arduous in a hilly setting.
Everyone involved worked for twelve long days, morning to evening. It could have taken longer had they slowed down the pace of the work. The phase of joining pipes was challenging and required a lot of strength. But, the benefits outweigh the challenges with such ease. The challenges lasted twelve days, but the benefits will exist for more than twelve years. It will be no surprise even if the machine outlives most of us because of its durability.
The pipes at the site would lay on lands besides SDA as well. So, the organization discussed and coordinated with respective land owners. One of the owners was abroad, and the SDA team planned and talked with them.
The organization also informed the local government representatives regarding the implementation of this particular project. All parties involved agreed in no time. The common ground for everyone involved was the community, farming and the environment. The collaboration went smooth since everyone understood the importance of having a ramp pump. All in all, it was teamwork. The involvement of the communal effort came along naturally.
Involvement of Farmers in Knowledge Multiplication
Puran Bahadur Khadka, the agriculture staff of SDA, had discussed the plan of SDA with the ramp pump in the farmer groups meeting.
“At first, the farmers had concerns regarding the effectiveness of the ramp pump, which is understandable given their lack of awareness,” Puran says, for whom the ramp pump was also a brand new concept.
But, human beings are naturally curious. The locals from around were eager to know about the hydraulic ramp pump and how it works. The sounds that the pump made at night heightened their inquisitiveness.
Farmers from the area visited the ramp pump site and observed it for themselves. There was the active involvement of farmer groups in preparing the site for the installation, and now they are informed about it.
Community people/farmers, as anticipated, learnt to embrace the hydraulic ramp pump as new technology. They have received both theoretical and practical understanding of the ramp pump. Many farmers also attended the demonstration shown in the SDA Agricultural land.
Once the farmer groups are well informed and confident about the ramp pump, SDA can help the communities purchase and install the ramp pump in different localities. It will directly increase the production of crops and vegetables of the locals.
SDA plans on installing a ramp pump in places with a good water source if everything follows through. The SDA agriculture team will plan accordingly by coordinating with the farmer groups and local government bodies.
The benefits of the ramp pump are limitless since its installation means an abundance in the water supply. Farmers will have plenty of water for irrigating crops and vegetables. In addition, they can increase production in organic farming and start fish farming as well.
Organizational Commitment Toward Sustainability
The ramp pump is a fine example of SDA’s commitment to sustainability. The hydraulic ramp pump machine can run beyond 24 hours without risks or harm to the environment.
“SDA had to separate money for purchasing oil before, but we no longer have to do that since the installation of the ramp pump,” Puran Khadka adds.
Pumping water with a generator did not seem viable to meet the need for water in the SDA agricultural land because it runs on renewable energy and would not align with the sustainable commitments of the organization.
Also, looking at the current inflation, it would not be cost-effective at all to get a generator. Instead, getting a hydraulic ramp pump would be wiser for the long term.
The best thing about modern farming is it makes farmers’ jobs convenient and yields more crops. On top of that, if sustainable farming methods are adopted, the environment around us will benefit too.
People might hesitate to be onboard with purchasing a ramp pump because it seems like a lot of money, but it is an excellent financial decision if one can look past the initial investment and think about the long run. Thus, apart from obvious sustainable reasons, investing in a hydraulic ramp pump is advantageous for production and finance.
Anticipated Outcomes
There will be a continuous water supply in SDA land without using fuels and electricity, which means it requires zero external energy supply to operate.
SDA hopes to motivate farmers to improve farming at the local level. In the same way, SDA’s promoted organic production will increase with hydraulic ram pump installation as there will be sufficient water for higher organic farming production.
Farmer groups in Kailash Rural Municipality will learn different systems for irrigation. Furthermore, they will be involved in knowledge/skills multiplying activities and creating awareness regarding hydraulic ram pump technology.
Farmer groups who visit the SDA agricultural land receive knowledge from the SDA agriculture team. They will be engaged in multiplying the knowledge/skills at the community level, eventually informing the entire community.
One of the top anticipations is the ensured spread of awareness about the hydraulic ramp pump to reach the right crowd, such as hardworking farmers who desperately need it. It is because, for many of them, the hydraulic Ramp Pump is new, even though it has been in practice for years.
“Ramp pumps are not seen in use as commonly as they should be, probably because of the lack of knowledge and advertisements.” Fabian Gottle, Infrastructure Maintenance and Sustainability Consultant and a member of Govinda Association, Germany, further adds, “Only limited people know about the ramp pump, but that would change for the better if they knew how well it works.”