A team of engineering students from Brigham Young University (BYU) has developed a human-powered drill that can reach a depth of up to 75 metres at 10% to 20% the cost of a traditional motorized well rig. A prototype of the “Village Drill” cost around US$ 4,000 (excluding labour) to make in the USA.
The BYU students created the drill for a project in Tanzania run by WHOLives.org, a nonprofit based in South Jordan, Utah. The project is also co-sponsored by the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.
The drill can be operated by four people. Three spin the wheel that turns the drill bit (cutting tool), and the fourth lifts the bit up and down when necessary to punch through tough spots. A water pump system removes the dirt from the 15 cm-wide hole.
In May 2011, a drilling team was able to construct a 45 m well with the patented “Village Drill” in 3 days in Magugu, Tanzania.
Related news: WASH technology information packages : for UNICEF WASH programme and supply personnel, E-Source, 24 Aug 2010
Related web sites:
- WHOLives.org
- Akvopedia – water portal
- RWSN – Hand or Manual Drilled Wells
- IRC WASH Library – manual drilling
Source: BYU, 14 Jul 2011
Manual drilling using technologies such as the baptist drill has already proven to be quite successful for drilling boreholes at greatly reduced cost. I work in Malawi, and we previously had experts in this travel down from Tanzania to train entrepreneurs in manual drilling.
The greater challenge is not the technology, but the professionalization of manual drilling so that projects contracting out well installations see low-cost drilling methods as a reliable option, and the development of entrepreneurs who can turn manual drilling into a viable business. Unicef published a guide on the professionalizing manual drilling in Africa earlier this year with the Practica foundation – very much worth checking out.
Solving the technical challenge is only a small component of an effective solution.
Totally agree with dmcnicholl’s comment above. RWSN has a theme on ‘Cost Effective Boreholes’, including a Code of Practice and guidance on costing and pricing, and site selection for drillers:
http://www.rwsn.ch/documentation/skatdocumentation.2010-08-23.4523209156/file
http://www.rwsn.ch/documentation/skatdocumentation.2010-07-08.6754105740/file
http://www.rwsn.ch/documentation/skatdocumentation.2010-12-03.0768183939/file