Authors:Phoebe (Yat) Wu and Sheila Doshi
email: ymwu@ucsd.edu, svdoshi@ucsd.edu
msn: phoebe_bps@hotmail.com



The MoneyMaker Hip Pump is a micro irrigation technology introduced my the non-profit organization, KickStart. Since 1996, KickStart has been the leader in developing and marketing irrigation technologies for Africa.

As the title suggests, this is a pump made to make money! $$
And who doesn't want that? In the 21st century, we cannot just give money to underdeveloped countries in hopes that they will get out of poverty. They need to make their own, and all they need is a little help.

And it's so simple....Instead of manually pumping with your arms, which is very tiring, a stepping motion is used.

With the hip swinging of the stepping motion comes the name 'hip pump'. :)

It costs about $34, and pays for itself in only 3-4 months of use!


TechnologySummary:
The MoneyMaker Hip Pump is a light and easy-to-use pressure pump that can irrigate water from a depth of six meters and lifting it to a height of thirteen meters above the water source. On average, users of the Hip Pump have increased their net farm income and tripled their initial investment after three or four months, and is amongst the quickest and most cost-effective ways to help people out of poverty.



Dilemmas concerning the rich and the poor:

Funny? Sad? Ironic?
Ever since industrialization, there has been an ongoing growth in the gap between the rich and the poor throughout the world. The idea of capitalism, where investors desire to have the maximum output (profit) with the minimum input (cheap labor), ultimately benefits the rich and further devalues the poor. In the modern world, the West, which is no longer defined geographically, becomes a concept or ideology applying to anyone that lives the 'Western way of life'. The West represents the rich and the powerful. To define their sense of authority over the rest of the world, names such as 'third world' or 'under developing' countries, 'primitive' or 'indigenous' people, are formed. The poor learn to accept and compare themselves to the rich and dream of having the same excess and prestige, which helps construct their inferior identity.
Ironically, elites decide to create high-paying job positions to study exactly that, the relationship between the rich and the poor. With collections of researched data and statistics, is the UN actually forming plans and helping the underdeveloped?

Are the UN, NGOs, non-profit organizations actually helping?
Very questionable. The problem is that people with wonderful intentions sometimes seem to overlook cultural diversities. They have the tendency to impose Western standards or ideologies onto an undeveloped place or community, without considering their existing, and probably contradicting traditions.
Also, the idea of a donation is nice, but is it really helping them to develop?
Donation might cause the poor to be dependent on constant aid from the government or other organizations, instead of being motivated to work for their own money and food.
That is exactly why Kickstart has decided to sell their MoneyMaker Hip Pumps instead of providing them without a cost.


The Introduction:
The Moneymaker Hip Pump is introduced to different regions in Africa, mainly in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mali. It was invented by Martin Fisher and Nick Moon from the San Francisco based non-profit company called KickStart. The company has already sold 63,000 pumps and generated an estimated number of $45 million in profits and wages. According to statistics, there are about 1.1 billion people in the world that live on less than $1 a day, about 70% of them are subsistence rural farmers working with unproductive land. By irrigation from the water tables, this technology comes to the rescue by providing consistent water source for the farmers. Its capacity to generate profit would also create an incentive for those who are unemployed or impoverished to take on farming.

:
The aim behind this product is “to create dignity rather than dependency and to leave in a place a sustainable and dynamic private sector.” (Fisher) In an interview, the creators were asked why, with the low cost of $34 for a pump, does the company not supply them to the poor for free. Their reasoning is that a poor person's basic need is to make money. They have to earn enough to purchase this pump, which motivates them to kick start a new life with their own effort, not relying on free things from the NGOs. This way they are working and putting themselves in the market to improve life status and gradually work their way up the hierarchy to provide more for their families. Starting from barely meeting basic needs, to having extra income, is a huge step of development.

SocialAspect:
Many farmers had problems with the inconsistent weather, they were often battling with lack of rainfall and droughts in unproductive lands. The irrigation pump allows them to have consistent water throughout the year, helping the crops and providing more consistent income for the families.


Watch this video by Maasai rap artist Mr. Ebbo to learn more about this life-changing technology. It's called "Don't Wait For the Rain":




As you can see, this irrigation technology has already been widely accepted and promoted in Africa. People are catching on to the ways that this technology not only helps them with the problem of a lack of water, but also helps them earn a living and improve their happiness in all aspects of their life.

EconomicAspect:
Since the farmers can repay the cost of the pump within three to four months, it can only mean profit with the increase of production. The increase of revenues will increase the farmer's income, then he or she can either consume more seeds and land, or save the money for investment or other purposes. Gradually with the growth from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, more workers or labor force maybe needed. Farmers become employers and create job opportunities. With their extra income, they can also provide education for their children so they can join the skilled and elited, and have better job positions in the future. Moving up the social stratification system.


production=revenues(after debt/cost of pump)=income=consumption OR saving


=investment=labor force=job opportunities=education=


EnvironmentalAspect:
-noiseless and does not cost pollution
-does not harm environment
-made of steel
-exercise your body while breathing fresh air
-purifies your soul? Amazing!


CaseStudies:
1) In the case of Mr. Mururi of Kenya, he was landless and had a family with three children. At first he worked in the city and the money was barely enough to support his family. Then he was introduced to the MoneyMaker Hip Pump by a local store, feeling inspired, Mr Mururi and his wife rented a small plot of land and made enough money in two months to buy the pump. After regaining the $34, it was money making time! They bought more land and plan to invest in more in the future.

2) There was also another successful case in Tanzania where Mr. Sway, a coffee farmer, out of desperation with severe drought, purchased the MoneyMaker Pump and now he has an additional small vegetable garden for domestic use and enough water to water his cattle, and hire four other workers to help him with his farming. He also mentioned that his extra income will allow him to put his children in universities where they can be educated. Another success!



theevolution ofDesign:

The Design:

The design of the KickStart's Super MoneyMaker hip irrigation pump has evolved a little over the years. It started out as a $110 model that was a bit larger and bulkier to use. It used a similar mechanism as the one currently in use with a piston and a handle to pump the water. There were two pedals for the operator to push up and down with their feet, similar to a stair climber that we see in gyms, while they held onto a handle. The user stands on top of the pedals and holds onto the upright handlebars, and power the pump with a stepping motion. The water is then pushed through a hose. A second person is needed to splash water onto crops. There is no electricity or fuel required and although it required physical effort, it is much better than the old way of getting water to crops. This usually included getting buckets from the closest body of water or well and manually carrying the water to the crops. It was also approximately 3 feet high and about a foot wide. The maximum pumping rate was 1.5 liters per second and could irrigate up to 2 acres in 8 hours. The pump could be operated by either one adult or two children at a time. It could pump water up to 14 meters underground and up to 150 meters on flat ground.

An Improvement:

KickStart then designed another pump that was even cheaper at $55. The design was less bulky, at about only 3 feet tall and very narrow and had see-saw type pedals and a handle and piston to pump the water. The operator would stand on the pedal and go back and forth from side to side to pump the water. The maximum pumping rate was one liter per second and could irrigate up to 1.5 acres. It is designed to be used by one adult. The maximum height that the water could be reached and pumped was also about 13 meters or 43 feet. This pump is $40 less but has only a few setbacks from the first irrigation pump.
KickStart's newest irrigation pump, the one analyzed, is the MoneyMaker Hip Pump which is approximately 32 inches high, 14 inches wide, and 27 inches deep. It is made of mild steel, PVC piping, and high density polyethylene. The upside to the pump is that the pump's mechanisms can be replaced by hand with no tools required. The parts of the pump are easily found as local stores where the pump was initially purchased.



Research Links:
Embassy Magazine Article
an NPR Broadcast
http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/Design/moneymaker-hip-pump
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1196420,00.html
http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2481&Itemid=5811
http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/pr_03022006.html
http://www.kickstart.org/tech/technologies/micro-irrigation.html
www.humanitarianinfo.org/sumatra/reliefrecovery/livelihood/docs/doc/KickstartIrrigationPumpsPresentation.pdf
http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/ThorntonPVCSummary.html