Project update!

Thanks to your support 15,000€ have already been gathered for the Turning Sun Into Water project! Let’s be ambitious and help us gather up to 17,000€

The additional 2,000€ will be used for financing the pump maintenance, therefore allowing the village council to invest in other development projects (1000€/year).

Project Summary

What is the common point between Gogma’s inhabitants, DargaTech (a Burkinabe start-up), a student in gap year and an international research team? They all take part to the “Turning Sun into Water” project!

We will build and install a cost effective solar water pump that will sustainably improve the lives of 700 inhabitants of the village of Gogma in Burkina Faso. The solar pump will provide safe drinking water, improve health, save women’s and children’s time and thus foster development of the community. The system will be installed by the start-up DargaTech and will be managed by the village council, guaranteeing the sustainability of the project and building local capacity. The successful implementation of the system will encourage the set up of other solar pumps in the same village and in the region ! It is with the aim of perpetuating our action in the region and of installing other solar pumps locally that we are also creating an association called "Eau Fil du Soleil".

This solar pumping system is also associated to an innovative interdisciplinary research project. This research project carried by University of Paris-Saclay (France) and Imperial College London (United Kingdom) aims at designing solar pumping systems which are more sustainable and better adapted to population needs.

Our team has the skills, the experience, the local contacts, and the motivation to complete this project successfully. Now we need your help to buy the system, collect data for research and improve living conditions in Gogma as well as in all rural areas around the world, thanks to the impact of the research project!

The Background

Did you know that there are 2,1 billion people in the world who do not have any basic installation for water access? Can you imagine what your life would be like if you were to spend hours collecting water every day? A large share of the families living in those conditions are located in rural Africa. Indeed, in those areas, water is mainly collected with hand pumps or buckets by women and children.

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Collecting water in this way is a tiresome, back-breaking and time-consuming activity: women and children lose a precious amount of time they could have spent on productive activities and education. Furthermore the amount of water that can be provided to the inhabitants is limited. This prevents inhabitants from having a sufficient quantity of water for consumption and for productive uses such as irrigation. In addition to that, pumping systems are often badly designed, break and are rarely repaired.

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To break out of that cycle, inhabitants need a reliable, sustainable, low-cost motorised water pumping system. This allows a harmless and healthy hydration, promote women emancipation and children education.

Diesel pumps are one option, but they use expensive diesel fuel and generate fumes which negatively impact the health of the inhabitants. As those rural villages are not connected to the electrical grid, solar energy is a great alternative to power pumps. Solar energy is renewable and is now economically competitive in rural areas thanks to ever decreasing solar panels cost. Water is pumped during the day, when the sun is shining, and stored in a tank to allow a continuous water access 24/7!

Our Plan

Our first goal is to install a complete solar pumping system that will provide clean water to 700 inhabitants of Gogma. The installation will be realised by the start-up DargaTech. It is a big installation that includes drilling a well, building a water storage tank, and installing the solar pump and the pipe network. Thanks to our knowledge of the local environment and of solar pumping systems, we can design a system which is at the same time relevant, reliable and affordable. The inhabitants of Gogma will participate to the installation of the pumping system. This will favour the integration of the system into the community. Moreover, the village council will manage the system and our association will be in regular contact with this council.

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We have thought our project in agreement with the three pillars of sustainable development (social, economic and environmental).

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Our project is:

- Viable as this project will provide safe water to a whole village using an affordable and renewable technology.

- Bearable, as this project is thought with and for the inhabitants and is respectful of the local environment.

- Equitable, as the local village council will own and manage the pump for the village profit.

This solar pumping system is also associated to an innovative interdisciplinary research project. This project carried by University of Paris-Saclay (France) and Imperial College London (United Kingdom) aims at designing solar pumping systems which are more efficient and adapted to people’s needs.

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As part of this research project, technical and socio-economic data on this installation will be collected. To this end, the research team designed an autonomous smart data logger for long term measurement in harsh environments. Furthermore, they developed a methodology, based on household surveys for socio-economic data collection. This methodology was tested and validated in rural communities of developing countries. Our new research tools are ready, help us get them out of the lab!

Our Team

It’s a big dream, so why do we think we can succeed? The answer is that we've assembled a winning team. In our team, DargaTech, a local business specialized in water pumping installations is working hand in hand with academic experts in solar water pumping, University of Paris-Saclay and Imperial College London.

Arouna Darga is co-director of the Burkinabe start-up DargaTech. He is also a researcher and lecturer on solar energy at University Pierre et Marie Curie (France), representative of the Africa Network for Solar Energy (ANSOLE) in France and will be the president of the association "Eau Fil du Soleil". Arouna is the perfect bridge between the local implementation of the solar pump and scientific aspects.

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Matthias Heinrich is a student in engineering sciences at École Normale Supérieure of Rennes (France). He decided to take a gap year to get fully involved in this project. He’s in charge of coordinating the installation of the pumping system in Burkina Faso and of collecting technical and socio-economic data. Furthermore, Matthias will be the treasurer of "Eau Fil du Soleil"

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Simon Meunier is doing his PhD on the interdisciplinary analysis of solar pumping systems in rural communities. He works with researchers at University of Paris-Saclay and Imperial College London. Simon along with his supervisors will process and use the collected data. Simon will also be the secretary of "Eau Fil du Soleil"

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Judith Cherni is a researcher and lecturer at Imperial College London. She focuses on international development and the introduction of energy systems in rural communities of developing countries. Judith is also supervising Simon’s PhD.

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Loïc Queval is researcher and lecturer at University of Paris-Saclay. Loic specializes in energy conversion and energy systems design and is also supervising Simon’s PhD.

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Turning sun into water