Core77

One of the most encouraging trends in African development work over the past few years has been an increased focus locally maintainable technologies. In contrast to some of the debacles of the 70s and 80s, in which NGOs and foreign aid groups would swoop in, build a road, hospital or dam, then swoop back out again, dooming the project to disrepair within a few years, projects that are constructed and maintained by local craftsmen are gaining a lot of attention.

A recent example, via the always amazing Afrigadget blog, is the Elephant Pump, a fantastically effective, fantastically low-tech method of getting water out of the ground, and alleviating the significant burden of long-distance water fetching that inhibits development in much of the world. The pump, based on a long-established Chinese design, is constructed from locally fabricated parts, then built on site in less than a day. The video here shows one example, in Malawi, that costs less than US$500 to build, and goes together in four hours.

It's not the only locally appropriate pump system out there either. In the past decade or so, several such designs have started making their way across the continent, including the Afripump and the partially IDEO-designed MoneyMaker. Proof that good design can be more than just pretty. It can be beautiful.