Entusi Model Farm Team 2

Acknowledgements

Project Advisors: Elizabeth Reddy and Alina Handorean

Technical Advisor: Dr. Kristoph Kinzli

Video

Elevator Pitch

Our team was tasked with providing a replicable irrigation system for farms surrounding Lake Bunyonyi in Southern Uganda. Due to the intense dry seasons in this area, farmers are currently forced to hike down to the lake and carry buckets of water back to their farms in order to water their crops. We composed a design concept that uses a manual hand pump to extract water from Lake Bunyonyi and transport it to the level of the farms. Once the concept is implemented by the farmers it will save them time and energy while also improving production of their crops. 

Design Approach

Looking at the design matrix above, a rating scale of 1-5 was used (1 being bad and 5 great), and the hand pump concept outscored the other designs. The hand pump meets all aspects of the design criteria fulfilling the request of the client. 

While working with Global Livingston Institute it was understood from the beginning that there would be expectations that the final product would have to encompass. One of the starting design specifications was a tight budget that the final product would have to stay within because eventually the design will be intended for individual farmers to purchase. The budget was set between 60 and 80 US dollars per irrigation system. This budget was set in place by our contacts at Global Livingston Institute and the people of the Entusi community. The idea of this project is to make sure the new irrigation system is accessible to all the farmers. A small budget ensures that every farm would be able to recreate the chosen system. In addition to the cost requirements, each irrigation unit needs to maintain a sufficient water supply to each farm along Lake Bunyonyi so the farmers will not need to rely on rain collection. 

While maintaining this budget the client specified that the irrigation system would be used to minimize the number of trips the farmers were taking down to Lake Bunyonyi. It is highly encouraged by the client to ensure that the irrigation system is built using resources that are commonly found in the area. With materials that are locally found in the Uganda area maintenance becomes easier for the farmers. Since electricity is privately owned it was also suggested that the best way to implement a pump into the design would be to make it solar powered or manually powered. It is important that the pump is designed in such a way that costs stay low and the pump can be made from locally sourced resources.

A concise list of the preliminary design constraints and criteria can be found below:

Design Criteria:

• Easily replicable for individual farm use
• Easily maintained
• Does not rely on rainwater collection for steady water supply
• Provides enough water for the crops

Design Constraints:

• Price for implementation of individual units is $60 – $80
• Plot sizes of farms are 30 x 20 meters
• Steep gradient
• Incline of 10 meters from base of Lake Bunyonyi up to the farms

Design Solution

Next Steps

To move forward with this project, we recommend sending a team to Uganda so a true land survey can be done of the Lake Bunyonyi region alongside engaging with the community there to gain feedback. After viewing and evaluating some proposed job sites and communicating with the direct stakeholders of this project, prototyping can be conducted. It is essential to gather information from the community to ensure that the prototyping for this project can suit the needs of its users effectively. With testing, our proposed solution can then be fine-tuned and even expanded upon once a comprehensive view of the finished product can be evaluated in comparison to our theoretical calculated values and adjusted accordingly.

Meet the Team