Irrigation systems are costly ventures for many in Africa. But in Malawi, one young man is using electronic waste to create cost-effective water pumps for farmers. Zack Caleb Mwale shows how he builds these water pumps in our DIY series.
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00:00When I look at the market here in Malawi, to buy a water pump is not easy, it's very,
00:06very expensive.
00:08You can't operate the water pump without the power source.
00:12So you can see if you need a lot of water, you need a lot of energy.
00:17So I've come up with an idea where we get this little amount of energy and convert it
00:23to high energies by using those scrap capacitors, transistors, resistors, and even inductors.
00:32My name is Zach Kareb Mware.
00:34I build water pumps to help farmers and I build those water pumps using used materials.
00:43As you can see, I live in Keto.
00:46I move around a lot and I was seeing those scrap that I can use to build cheaper water
00:52pumps.
00:53Then I build one and I give it to the person to test it and the guy was satisfied with
00:59the pump as well.
01:00Now I start building more of them.
01:02Some I sell, some I just don't use.
01:07As for now, we have a lot of water.
01:10As you can see, there's these crops here.
01:13We're using that water from that pump to get these crops.
01:20Before the pump, it was very difficult, but maybe the water was not enough.
01:24But now the water is available 24-7, any time of the day, so it doesn't make a very big
01:30difference and the production is very satisfying.
01:36To build a water pump is not a difficult thing because what we need is electric magnetic.
01:44We need permanent magnets if we're using brush motors.
01:50But if we're using brushless motors, then we come up with controllers which convey DC
01:56into AC, which is free phase, so that the water pump can run.
02:02Then I go to Keningo where there is a scrap yard as well.
02:08They do sell scraps like saw panels which have been damaged.
02:12So I get those and fix them.
02:14I put them together with the water pump.
02:17Now we have a water pump which can operate.
02:22So now we've got a pump.
02:25What is remaining right now is the motor.
02:29We just have to connect this motor here.
02:32So we're going to cut here, then we're going to put this motor.
02:36This is talent.
02:37I can call it a good gift.
02:40Because I started this when I was five years old.
02:43That's when I started doing some wonders.
02:46People called those wonders because I was so young and I was doing great stuff.
02:51My first project was a television station.
02:56I came up with that when I was 18 years old.
03:00I built a transmitter plus a receiver as well.
03:04Then I realised that I can do whatever I believe in.
03:09So I started building up a lot of stuff like a semacooker.
03:13I came up with drones.
03:15I came up with disinfection machines.
03:17I came up with windmills.
03:19I started building water pumps as well.
03:21Also water-powered gensets.
03:23This is a profitable business.
03:27We are focusing on very important things that can change a lot of lives of people.
03:35The cost of a pump, to build one pump, approximately can cost me 400,000.
03:44To put together a solar pump, a control unit, plus the real pump.
03:49It costs me 400,000.
03:52Some people sell them at 600,000 and others at 700,000 according to their version.
04:00This is the receipt.
04:02250 watts.
04:06So I'm getting the solar panel.
04:09I'm going to the pump and see if the pump is going to give us some water.
04:22www.globalonenessproject.org