Acceptability of rope pump technology as a water supply option in rural and peri-urban areas of Malawi

Access to safe water in rural and peri-urban areas of Malawi remains a challenge despite government’s efforts to improve it. For many years the government of Malawi has emphasized the promotion of rural water supply using gravity-fed systems and hand pumps such as the Afridev, Malda and Climax pumps on tube wells. However, there are several other low-cost technologies such as Rope pumps which have the potential to be used on tube wells. An increase in the number of organizations promoting Rope pumps as an option for rural water supply, and whether or not all stakeholders have fully accepted this technology, are the main reasons why this survey was carried out. This paper also addresses claims which are often raised by the government concerning the adoption of Rope pumps and how the Rope pump is a good option for self-supply effective and for small communities where conventional pumps are too expensive.