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Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Have fun and save the world at the same time!
This is a fantastic idea. A South African company, Roundabout Outdoor, has invented a water pump that is operated by a children's roundabout. As the children play on a roundabout, it drives a pump which extracts the water which is then pumped into massive storage tanks. So, kids have somewhere to play, and their energy provides water for community, some of whom used to have to walk up to 5 hours a day to get water. Genius!
There are about 600 installed across South Africa, and even Nelson Mandela has had a ride. At the Clinton Global Initiative, $16.4 billion of funding was announced to help install 4000 playpumps to bring water to 10 million people across Africa.
In the UK, if you buy One Water from Total garages, all the profits are donated to help provide more playpumps. They've made a great video following the installation of a Playpump, with some of the Total staff finding out what it's like to carry water long distance.
that's brilliant!