A University of Bath engineering graduate has launched a Christmas fundraising campaign to provide poor farmers in Africa with an innovative, low-cost irrigation pump designed to help them take their first steps out of poverty.
The Flexipump can collect water from a source six metres below ground to spray on crops up to 100 metres away. 
Weighing only 2.5kg and costing just £95, in an hour it can pump up to 1,600 litres of water – enough to irrigate a quarter of an acre – so allowing farmers to increase their crop yields, feed their family and ultimately earn a greater income.
Described by inventor Sir James Dyson as ‘ingeniously simple’, the Flexipump is the brainchild of David Hutton, 27, pictured below, who graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
He designed his first pump while at the university and after living and volunteering in Zambia, where he witnessed the struggles facing farmers trying to earn a living. On graduating in 2010, David returned to Zambia to field test the pump with local farmers.
Water sources such as wells or streams are often considerable distances away from crops, meaning many farmers have to use buckets to collect water.
The Flexipump puts an end to this strenuous and time-consuming process by allowing farmers to collect water from underground sources which could previously only be tapped by boreholes and mechanical pumps.
In the run-up to Christmas, David has launched a Post a Pump crowdfunding campaign with the aim of getting as many Flexipumps as possible into the hands of farmers who couldn’t otherwise afford them.
The campaign will run on a micro-loan scheme in which the public are invited to sponsor the first round of pumps which will be delivered to in-need farmers.
These farmers will be provided with the kits on an interest-free loan basis and once they have generated enough income, will pay back the initial cost of the pump. 
Once the loan repayments have been collected, David and his team will use this this to repeat the process to fund a second round of pumps. The process can be repeated many times over, reaching as many farmers as possible.
David said: “I am really excited about the potential for Post a Pump. This campaign could give 50,000 in need people the opportunity to step out of poverty over the next 10 years.
“We aim to initially distribute 1,000 Flexipump irrigation kits to small-scale farmers in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.”
A Flexipump and hose kit costs just £95 and, by sharing, a single pump can easily benefit 10 people.
“The first round of pumps will potentially give 10,000 people the opportunity to help themselves,” said David.
“We are hopeful that this micro loan structure will enable us to distribute 5,000 Flexipump kits over the next 10 years, helping 50,000 people out of poverty. That works out as only £1.90 per person.”
The Post a Pump campaign, which ends on Christmas Day, gives the public the opportunity to buy an alternative present – a contribution which will make a significant difference to a poor farmer thousands of miles away.
More information about the Flexipump and Post a Pump campaign can be found at www.flexipump.com and www.postapump.com respectively.
