The Bamboo Treadle Pump allows poor farmers to access groundwater during the dry season. The treadles and support structure are made of bamboo or other inexpensive, locally available materials. The pump, which consists of two metal cylinders with pistons that are operated by a natural walking motion on two treadles, can be manufactured locally by metalworking shops. Over 1.7 million have been sold in Bangladesh and elsewhere, generating $1.4 billion in net farmer income in Bangladesh alone.

• DESIGNER: Gunnar Barnes of Rangpur/Dinajpur Rural Service and International Development Enterprises (IDE) Nepal
• MANUFACTURER: Numerous small and medium-sized local workshops
• Nepal and Bangladesh, 2006
• Metal, plastic, bamboo
• DIMENSIONS: 5’h x 2.5’w x 7’d
• IN USE IN: Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Zambia