Facts at a glance:
Project: Hydraulic Ram Pump for Palmera Xolhuitz
Community: Palmera Xolhuitz, Guatemala
Number of Beneficiaries: 50 families (approx. 300)
Start Date: January 2008

In winter 2008, AIDG will begin work on a hydraulic ram pump project to deliver water to the Palmera Xolhuitz community in Guatemala. The community currently has access to water, but the available supply is not sufficient to meet their needs, particularly in the dry season. The members of Palmera Xolhuitz are heavily involved in the project and will be contributing much of the labor as well as some materials that they have available on site, such as sand, pumice, and rocks.

The secondary objective of the installation is to determine whether the design is suitable for our next incubated business in Guatemala.

Timeline

The installation will begin in late January 2008. The following are the main components of the project:

• The final site assessment to finalize pipe layout and community involvements
• Weir construction
• Drive pipe installation
• Pump installation and troubleshooting

Hydraulic Ram Pump 

A ram pump is a simple water pump that requires no electricity and little to no maintenance. Hydraulic ram pump, simple water pump that requires no electricity and little to no maintenance. The pump uses the momentum of a large amount of water to move a small amount of water uphill at a constant rate. With few moving parts, it has very high reliability and a long operation life. This technology would be of great benefit to isolated and poor communities in the hilly terrain of the Western Highlands.

Ariel view of watershed in relation to community