Ever seen water flow uphill? Without help of petrol or electricity? Meet the hydraulic ram, a robust and simple water-powered water pump. The ram pumps uses the power of water with a height difference flowing in the spring, stream or river to lift a fraction of the water up to 200 metres vertically, and sometimes pump it over a kilometre or two to where it is needed. No fuel or electricity required. The ram pump holds great potential for rural drinking water and irrigation water supply in hilly and mountainous areas, such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, and the Philippines.
[[Image:children.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Children surrounding a hydraulic ram produced by [http://www.aidfi.org/default.aspx AIDFI] on the island Negros, the Philippines.]]
The local NGO [http://www.aidfi.org/default.aspx Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. (AIDFI)], led by Dutch-born engineer Auke Idzenga, has developed an innovative hydraulic ram pump which can be made locally. It has just two sets of spare parts, both of which are simple and available locally - door hinges and check valves made from used car tires. After some training, the pump can be maintained at community level. In the last ten years, AIDFI has installed 195 of these ram pumps in 128 communities, providing over 38,400 people with access to clean water as well as irrigating large areas of land. The success didn't go unnoticed. In 2007, the AIDFI hydraulic ram pump won the prestigious [http://www.ashdenawards.org/winners/aidfoundation Ashden Award] (presented by Al Gore and Prince Charles), and in 2008 the pump was chosen as one of three nominees out of 800 projects for the European Energy Globe Award.
[[Image:wassen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Having ample water in the village means that washing can be done close to the home, saving a lot of time.]]
====Akvo projects with Ram Pumps====
Akvo has a number of projects with ram pumps in its system. You can support [http://www.akvo.org/rsr/project/95/ this project on bringing hydraulic ram pumps to upland communities in the Philippines], or [http://wwwrsr.akvo.org/rsr/project/75/ this project on transferring hydraulic ram technology to Colombia].
==== Spreading the word ====
=== Links ===
* [http://www.ashdenawards.org/winners/aidfoundation Website of the Ashden Award, with information on the AIDFI Hydraulic Ram. (Source of the quotes above)]
* [http://www.aidfi.org/default.aspx Website of AIDFI]
* [[Hydraulic_Ram_pump|Akvopedia article on the Ram pump]]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_ram Wikipedia article on the Ram pump]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ovPSSOs76U Movie Video on AIDFI Hydraulic Ram, produced by Ashden Award]* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIJoowE2tz0 Movie Video on installation of Hydraulic Ram pumps in Afghanistan by AIDFI]* [http://practicalactionconsulting.org/docs/technical_information_service/hydraulic_ram_pumps.pdf Information on hydraulic Hydraulic ram pumps by Practical Action]* [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/eng/research/dtu/pubs/tr/lift/ Information on ram Ram pumps by the Development Technology Unit, University of Warwick]