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Outstanding Achievement Award for carbon-financed treadle pump programme
International Development Enterprises – India (IDE-I) have received well-earned praise for their continued innovation and sustainable enterprise through the Ashden Outstanding Achievement Award 2009. They received the award at the Ashden ceremony, held June 11th at the Royal Geographical Society, from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, amid a host of extremely strong sustainable enterprise project winners.
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Since their first Ashden Award win back in 2006, for the simple irrigation technology known locally as the “farmer’s friend”, the team at IDE-I have gone from strength to strength developing further models and systems for efficient irrigation. ClimateCare have supported IDE-I’s treadle pump project for many years through carbon offset finance, and are delighted to see this level of recognition for work that is achieving emission reductions at considerable scale with benefits reaching millions of people. |
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The Treadle Pump
Originally introduced to replace carbon emitting diesel pumps used across Eastern India for crop irrigation, the treadle pump is a simple technology harnessing human power to irrigate throughout the year, lifting water from a shallow aquifer or surface pond. The programme allows farmers of all income ranges to increase their crop production and therefore their incomes, reducing the need for them to migrate to cities for work during dry seasons.
Over the past years IDE-I have expanded their product range to include a variety of models to suit different water conditions and different incomes, including one pump with anti-corrosive materials for use near coastal waters. Most recently the organisation has developed low-cost drip irrigation systems for even further improvements in efficiency and reduced water consumption. The system works using a perforated tubing so that the water can be distributed evenly to the crops, and can be used alongside the treadle pump or other traditional pumps.
A Real and Measurable Achievement
The benefits of IDE-I’s treadle pump programme have now reached an estimated 3.9 million people (based on a researched figure of 5.2 people per family), across 15 Indian states. Since the 2006 Ashden Award 125,000 pumps have been sold, bringing the overall sales figure to 750,000 to date, with around 50,000 now being sold every year. The recent introduction of drip irrigation systems has seen similar success, with 295,000 units being sold to date.
Environmental
Emission reductions from treadle pumps, verified by independent organisation TUV Nord, amount to 177,000 tonnes CO2 reduced over the last four years. Further estimates by IDE-I suggest the total greenhouse gas savings to be in the region of 1.45m tonnes CO2. But there are other valuable benefits brought by the treadle pump, including the reduced requirement for fertiliser and pesticides use owing to the better protected soil structure now that land is irrigated slowly and efficiently.
Social
Allowing farmers to irrigate their crops whenever necessary has brought a new lease of life to Indian farming communities. Treadle pump use means that, for the first time, these farmers can produce a second, sometimes a third, crop each year as well as new varieties of produce. This in turn improves the quality of the family’s diet as well as significantly increasing the farmer’s income such that they no longer need to migrate to cities every year to find work. A survey on the impact of treadle pumps to household income highlighted an increase from Rs 9,500/year to Rs 25,500/year, in the region researched, Balangir, Orissa. And there is also a direct social impact now that IDE-I pumps have scaled up across Eastern India. Communities where more than one farmer owns a treadle pump now see social groups forming in the evenings (the coolest part of the day) who socialise with each other while working their treadles.
Ashden Winners 2009
International Ashden Awards were presented to seven enterprising organisations for their work in sustainable energy programmes;
- Aprovecho Research Center and Shengzhou Stove Manufacturer, USA/China
“Making affordable, efficient stoves for the masses”
- ECAMI, Nicaragua
“New energy leapfrogs the old”
- GERES, India
“Greenhouses bring better nutrition to the Himalayas”
- IDE-I, treadle pumps
“Pedalling farmers out of poverty”
- Kampala Jellitone Suppliers, Uganda
“Fuel from waste fires up Uganda”
- Saran Renewable Energy, India
“Business finds green solution to blackout”
- Solar Energy Foundation, Ethiopia
“Solar scheme sets communities alight”
The winners and their case studies are presented in more detail in a special edition of ClimateCare’s newsletter this month. You can sign up to this on our homepage, or email a subscription request to
jpmcc.mail@jpmorganclimatecare.com
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