How to Make and Use the Treadle Irrigation Pump

How to Make and Use the Treadle Irrigation Pump

Author: Carl Bielenberg

Publisher: Intermediate Technology Publications

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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The pump design offered in this manual has evolved from the Bangladesh original into a fully portable pump with both lift and pressure capacity; and is especially appropriate to situations where soils are permeable, and water cannot easily be distributed through channels.


The Human-Powered Home

The Human-Powered Home

Author: Tamara Dean

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2008-11-01

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0865716013

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What if I could harness this energy? An unusual question for anyone putting in a long stint on a treadmill perhaps, and yet human power is a very old, practical and empowering alternative to fossil fuels. Replacing motors with muscles can be considered a political act -- an act of self-sufficiency that gains you independence. The Human-Powered Home is a one-of-a-kind compendium of human-powered devices gathered from a unique collection of experts. Enthusiasts point to the advantages of human power: Portable and available on-demand Close connection to the process or product offers more control Improved health and fitness The satisfaction of being able to make do with what is available This book discusses the science and history of human power and examines the common elements of human-powered devices. It offers plans for making specific devices, grouped by area of use, and features dozens of individuals who share technical details and photos of their inventions. For those who want to apply their own ingenuity, or for those who have never heard of human-powered machines, this book is a fine reference. For those who are beginning to understand the importance of a life of reduced dependency on fossil fuels, this book could be a catalyst for change.


Unlocking the Water Potential of Agriculture

Unlocking the Water Potential of Agriculture

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9789251049112

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All statistical evidence confirms that agriculture is the key sector for water management, now and in the next decades. Nevertheless, the rural water development sector fails at present to get priority, compared to other competing sectors, in international fora. Strong and new arguments are needed to bring rural water back "on line." Agriculture policies and investments will need to become more strategic. They will have to unlock the potential of agricultural water management practices to raise productivity, spread equitable access to water, and conserve the natural productivity of water resources base.


Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture

Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture

Author:

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780821361610

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Agricultural water management is a vital practice in ensuring reduction, and environmental protection. After decades of successfully expanding irrigation and improving productivity, farmers and managers face an emerging crisis in the form of poorly performing irrigation schemes, slow modernization, declining investment, constrained water availability, and environmental degradation. More and better investments in agricultural water are needed. In response, the World Bank, in conjunction with many partner agencies, has compiled a selection of good experiences that can guide practitioners in the design of quality investments in agricultural water. The messages of 'Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture: A Sourcebook for Investment in Agricultural Water Management' center around the key challenges to agricultural water management, specifically: - Building policies and incentives - Designing institutional reforms - Investing in irrigation systems improvement and modernization - Investing in groundwater irrigation - Investing in drainage and water quality management - Investing in water management in rainfed agriculture - Investing in agricultural water management in multipurpose operations - Coping with extreme climatic conditions - Assessing the social, economic, and environmental impacts of agricultural water investments 'Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture' is an important resource for those interested and engaged in development with a focus on agricultural water.


Water Lifting Devices

Water Lifting Devices

Author: Peter L. Fraenkel

Publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13:

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Efficient and effective irrigation of the land can have a dramatic effect on the agricultural output and the economic well-being of a community. At the heart of effective irrigation lies the problem of lifting or pumping water, and this handbook surveys the water-lifting technologies that are available and appropriate for smallholdings. It is a detailed and practical review of the options, especially for irrigation but also for other purposes, and the costs and general suitability of the different technologies are examined with the aim of enabling farmers and policymakers to make informed choices. This is an updated and expanded new edition of a book formerly called 'Water Pumping Devices'.


Running Water

Running Water

Author: Rod Shaw

Publisher: Intermediate Technology Publications

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13:

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This second collection of 32 short, highly-illustrated introductions to appropriate water and sanitation technologies and processes complements The Worth of Water. It covers a further range of subjects from water source selection and handpump maintenance to sanitary surveying, hygiene understanding and community management.


Taming the Anarchy

Taming the Anarchy

Author: Tushaar Shah

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 1136524029

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In 1947, British India-the part of South Asia that is today's India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh-emerged from the colonial era with the world's largest centrally managed canal irrigation infrastructure. However, as vividly illustrated by Tushaar Shah, the orderly irrigation economy that saved millions of rural poor from droughts and famines is now a vast atomistic system of widely dispersed tube-wells that are drawing groundwater without permits or hindrances. Taming the Anarchy is about the development of this chaos and the prospects to bring it under control. It is about both the massive benefit that the irrigation economy has created and the ill-fare it threatens through depleted aquifers and pollution. Tushaar Shah brings exceptional insight into a socio-ecological phenomenon that has befuddled scientists and policymakers alike. In systematic fashion, he investigates the forces behind the transformation of South Asian irrigation and considers its social, economic, and ecological impacts. He considers what is unique to South Asia and what is in common with other developing regions. He argues that, without effective governance, the resulting groundwater stress threatens the sustenance of the agrarian system and therefore the well being of the nearly one and a half billion people who live in South Asia. Yet, finding solutions is a formidable challenge. The way forward in the short run, Shah suggests, lies in indirect, adaptive strategies that change the conduct of water users. From antiquity until the 1960‘s, agricultural water management in South Asia was predominantly the affair of village communities and/or the state. Today, the region depends on irrigation from some 25 million individually owned groundwater wells. Tushaar Shah provides a fascinating economic, political, and cultural history of the development and use of technology that is also a history of a society in transition. His book provides powerful ideas and lessons for researchers, historians, and policy