Swiss Partners
SoPAS Solar Pump Association, Bern
www.ennos.ch
Alois Müller & Urs Heierli
Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit
www.donbosco.ch
Markus Burri
Local Partner
Don Bosco Solar and Renewable Energy Center in Tema
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Swiss Contribution
The Solar Pump Association Switzerland (SoPAS) was founded in 2010 by a multidisciplinary team of engineers and marketing experts. Its aim is to disseminate innovative technologies for solar water pumps in developing countries, based on developments from the Bern University of Applied Sciences. SoPAS is well-networked with various organisations and active in several developing countries. SoPAS is working closely with Helvetas on this project.
Description
This project is the direct successor of the REPIC project “Retrofit for Converting Hand Pumps into Solar Pumping Systems with Tap Stations” in Benin.
It is now planned to couple the solar pump with a so-called impact pump (www.impactpumps.com) and thus be able to tap into deeper wells. A partnership with Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit is planned so that sufficient know-how can be built up locally to commission, and then to operate, the planned solar-powered water stations. Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit has a huge network of schools and/or training centers in developing countries worldwide and brings a great deal of experience for the implementation of such courses into the project.
Results
The first phase of the project is successfully completed. The installation at Don Bosco is running and
the infrastructure for teaching the students is in place. Due to some challenges during construction and the first test days the set up and the concept of testing the system was modified. This full-flegded master installation will now also be used for all training purposes.