The Canzee Hand pump is an inexpensive yet reliable and easy to maintain pump, ideal for small communities. After two years of trials, Winrock International asked its developer to suggest an even simpler design which could be made from locally sourced materials and offered for sale to private households. A prototype pump was made in September 2009, and over the following months a further fifty units will constructed and marketed.

The Canzee pump has been developed with easy maintenance in mind so with an understanding of how the pump works and how plastic pipes can be glued together, it should be possible for it to be maintained and repaired by the villagers themselves. Some jobs, for example the repair or replacement of the steel pump rod, may need the broken part to be sent away for welding, but apart from that, the pump caretaker should be able to keep the pump functioning indefinitely.

An essential role of the project’s technical staff and maintenance teams when visiting the pumps is to ensure that there is at least one caretaker who is totally familiar with the pump, who has a supply of spare pipe, valve seals, a saw blade and some pvc glue to repair the pump when necessary.