Climate Care is funding the work of International Development Enterprises India(IDEI) in promoting foot-powered 'treadle' water pumps in Northern India. 

Some recent coverage of this work has hugely misunderstood the benefits of this sustainable technology.

It is worth laying out the facts about the treadle pump project.

The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy gave a first-prize award to IDEI in 2006 for their work in promoting the treadle pumps.  Their benefits were quite clear to the Ashden judges:

• The pump allows small farmers to increase substantially the amount and variety of their crop production. The majority of farmers previously could not afford any form of irrigation and therefore grew only one crop per year.
• This increased crop production improves nutrition and increases household income: a research study found an average increase of Rs 11,000 (£130) per year from a pump costing about £15. This is highly significant in a region where farm incomes are typically about Rs 7,000 per year.
• Increased farm income throughout the year reduces the need for families to migrate to the town slums for casual work in the dry season.
• With over 510,000 pumps sold, a significant number of jobs have been created in the supply chain.
• A recent independent report assessing the impacts of the treadle pump on children concluded that "the welfare benefits of the pump extend in large part to the children".

It is very important to understand that no-one is forced to have an IDEI treadle pump. The pumps are sold and installed on a commercial basis through the network of dealers. It is up to an individual farming family to decide whether to buy and use a treadle pump, buy or hire a diesel pump, or just grow a single crop during the rainy season. The fact that over 510,000 pumps have been sold is evidence that a large number of farmers think they are worth having.

Many farmers have testified as to the value of the pumps. Here are what some of them have said:

Ajay Pratap Singh:
”I used to have to pay around R3,000 every year to hire the diesel pump  and buy in water, too. I paid R1,200 for the treadle pump and the tubewell, and all I have to do is buy new washers and valve each year,  and they cost nothing, really. So I save so much money!”

Bhikram Singh:
“In the old days [before the treadle pump], I was making around R300-400 profit per crop  and I just had one crop, the wheat. I used to use the diesel pump, but it was expensive, and I couldn’t always hire one when I needed it, and it washed all the topsoil over to one side of the field. I really wanted to get out of that mess!... Now I’m making around R2,500 per crop, and I get three or four crops a year. My family eats better now, and I can sell the surplus at the market, and buy new clothes for all the family. Next year I’m renting more land. Thanks to the treadle pump, I’m planning to expand. I like working the pump. See this knee? It used to be swollen and painful. Now after treadling, the pain’s eased and the swelling’s gone down. How old am I? I’ll be 79 next birthday.”

The farmers purchase the pumps, but the costs of 'market creation' - education, marketing and creating the supply chain - is born by IDEI.  If the costs of their work were included in the price of the pump it would be over twice as expensive.  Climate Care's funding, provided by our customers purchasing offsets, is going to be instrumental in expanding the work of IDEI on a wide scale. 

Suresh Subramanian of IDEI:
“Climate Care’s funding is allowing IDEI to expand this programme into new areas in seven states in Eastern India, allowing many thousands more farmers to hear about the benefits of the pump and have the opportunity to purchase one at an affordable price.  It may be difficult for someone sat at their computer in the West to understand what a huge step forward getting a treadle pump is, but it should not be assumed that ‘diesel-powered’ equals ‘better’.  What makes sense for a marginal Indian farmer may seem very unusual to those in a wealthy western country.”

The project is being submitted for accreditation under the Gold Standard, to verify the carbon savings made and the benefits to the farmers.

For case studies on the benefits of the Treadle Pump see IDEI’s website.