Technologies

SMARTechs

To work towards our mission of providing rural Malawi with access to safe water, we apply SMARTechs. These Simple, Market-based, Affordable, Repairable Technologies can be produced with local skills and materials and its application can both reduce the cost of communal water supply and scale up the options for self-supply.

SMARTech
Catalogue

SMARTech
Manuals

Pumps

Solar Pump

Hand Pumps

The SMART Centre offers training in the fabrication and maintenance of various hand pumps, mainly focusing on the Rope pump.

A Rope pump can be installed on any existing well, increasing the quality of the water. It is a flexible pump in the sense that it can be connected to various sources of power, such as solar or wind energy.

Besides the Rope pump, the SMART Centre works with other low-cost pumps such as the EMAS, the Mark V and the Canzee pump. Trainings in the maintenance of the conventional Afridev pumps are offered.

Solar Pump

Solar is a reliable source of energy, able to provide a generous supply of water in sunny Malawi. The SMART Centre trains entrepreneurs in the installation of electrical solar pumps.

At the SMART Centre we have a package available consisting of a submersible pump, a 37V solar panel and a control box, suitable to pump water for household use and small scale irrigation.

Wells and Drilling

SHIPO/Jetting/Mzuzu Drill

The SMART Centre provides training on various types of hand drilling methods. Depending on the soil, the budget and the depth a method is chosen. The SHIPO and Jetting method can be combined. The Mzuzu Drill method can be used in softer soils with water levels of 8 meters or less.

Deepening hand dug well

If an existing hand dug well dries up in dry season, there are various ways of deepening the well. The Technology the SMART Centre promotes is the so-called Well pipe.

A PVC pipe with a filter screen is put at the bottom of the well. With a bailer on a tube, sand is pumped out and the PVC pipe (screen) goes down. This way the well can be deepened by 1 to 3 meters without collapsing.

Sanitation

Corbelled Latrine

Latrine

At the SMART Centre we train our entrepreneurs in the construction of various types of latrines, depending on type of soil and the customers preferences. Examples are the Zero Cement Latrine, low-cost because of the use of bricks only, and the Fossa Alterna Latrine, an alternating double pit.

The latrine can be closed off in various ways, for instance with a cement slab and a flapper mounted into the cement. The flapper, also known as the SaTo-Pan, is a very simple and affordable way to close off any pit latrine. No insects or other vectors are able to enter, limiting the transmission of diseases.

Storage

Wire Cement Tanks

Rainwater tanks, or Wire Cement Tanks are a low-cost technology to store water using baked bricks, galvanized wire and cement. The tank can be constructed in any size from 500 litres to 200 m3.

The SMART Centre offers trainings to brick layers in the construction of wire cement tanks.

Groundwater Recharge

A Tube Recharge system collects run-off water and allows it to infiltrate into the aquifers using the aquifer as a storage. The water level in the aquifer increases preventing wells to dry up. This helps preparing the communities for the effects of climate change. More information can be found on Akvopedia.

The SMART Centre offers training to companies in the construction of this low-cost technology.

Household Water Treatment

Water Filter

Filters

Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS) allow for the treatment of water at home, right where it is being used. Treating the water at the point of use prevents effects of recontamination between the drawing and the use of the water.

The SMART Centre offers a range of filters, aiming to build-up the supply chain and market for these technologies in order to increase access to safe water.

Currently the SMART Centre stocks and promotes the following filters and HWTS products:

  • Tulip Siphon filter
  • Tulip Table Top filter
  • SAFI T9 filter
  • SAFI T20 filter
  • Sawyer Bucket filter
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