Rory’s Well and Arcadia Reach launch an exciting new project at Glastonbury
The Story so far.....
We met Pip from Arcadia Spectacular during a party in the of summer 2017. Arcadia Spectacular are a performing arts company who’ve grown up along side Glastonbury Festival. They are not anything to do with high street shops!! They can only really be understood by checking out they're amazing videos.
Pip explained how Arcadia wanted to “reach beyond its commercial boundaries and share its skills, networks and resources”
This resonated well with RW and we discussed our backgrounds, me as a retired engineer and Karen as a project/systems manger and how we are using our time to develop an integrated / holistic approach to helping really disadvantaged communities in Sierra Leone to transition from “less than subsistence” to “viable self sustaining communities”.
We explained that our experience had shown that RW resolving single issues in the villages was very helpful but didn’t provide sustainable change and that we had been working toward connected key projects (clean water, Farming, education, livelihood, cultural) into a program that offers the chance for change into viable, long lasting and self sustaining communities.
Pip was very interested to understand how Arcadia’s new community interest company could use its expertise, resorces and enthusiasm to support RW ambitious and under resourced program.
It became very clear that Arcadia’s extensive expertise in repurposing redundant equipment and their cultural and artistic approach could really benefit the communities in Sierra Leone.
We all agreed that Arcadia Reach and Rory’s Well should look closely into how a collaboration between us would offer the chance for major change.
This resonated well with RW and we discussed our backgrounds, me as a retired engineer and Karen as a project/systems manger and how we are using our time to develop an integrated / holistic approach to helping really disadvantaged communities in Sierra Leone to transition from “less than subsistence” to “viable self sustaining communities”.
We explained that our experience had shown that RW resolving single issues in the villages was very helpful but didn’t provide sustainable change and that we had been working toward connected key projects (clean water, Farming, education, livelihood, cultural) into a program that offers the chance for change into viable, long lasting and self sustaining communities.
Pip was very interested to understand how Arcadia’s new community interest company could use its expertise, resorces and enthusiasm to support RW ambitious and under resourced program.
It became very clear that Arcadia’s extensive expertise in repurposing redundant equipment and their cultural and artistic approach could really benefit the communities in Sierra Leone.
We all agreed that Arcadia Reach and Rory’s Well should look closely into how a collaboration between us would offer the chance for major change.
As the conversation developed and we got to know each others ways of working, values, strengths and challenges a plan emerged to focus on providing clean water. Safe, sustainable and accessible clean water is at the heart of the Rory’s Well Program and the first step on the road for communities to transition to a healthy viable community with scope to move into sustainable agriculture to boost their prospects.
Arcadia Reach’s skills and resources matched perfectly to Rory’s Well ambition to upgrade the ways of providing clean water in rural villages. Current are often not deep enough so can dry up or are slow to replenish meaning they service less people. These problems are exacerbated by climate change and population growth.
The current mechanisms available for drilling wells are also slow and the standard pumps expensive to maintain, so a real step change in approach and equipment was called for. After some intensive research the front runner solution looked a rotary hammer drilling rig and a solar pump would solve the current challenges.
Arcadia Reach’s skills and resources matched perfectly to Rory’s Well ambition to upgrade the ways of providing clean water in rural villages. Current are often not deep enough so can dry up or are slow to replenish meaning they service less people. These problems are exacerbated by climate change and population growth.
The current mechanisms available for drilling wells are also slow and the standard pumps expensive to maintain, so a real step change in approach and equipment was called for. After some intensive research the front runner solution looked a rotary hammer drilling rig and a solar pump would solve the current challenges.
Focus on Water
Over the next weeks we explained our way of working and that Rory's Well faced a MAJOR challenge and needed help.
- RW measures all its activities against its values. One of the strongest values we follow is sustainability.
- Communities cannot be sustainable if they are continuously sick and dying from drinking contaminated water.Children die, Farmers can’t work, poor communities waste resorces tending to sick people.
- Villages cannot transition into sustainable viable communities without reliable access to safe clean water.
- RW starts it program with safe clean water, available to all, 365 days of the year.
What is the impact on a community forced to drink contaminated water
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Aminata has lost 5 children to sickness, her family live in fear from drinking the same water.
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These boys know that the water is dirty, contaminated and often gives them Cholera, Parasites and diarrhoea
But they have to drink! |
A very simple solution is available
The Challenge
Most wells and boreholes in Sierra Leone are shallow and access surface water, generally they are clean and safe but present major problems:
1. They often go dry during the dry season :
Forces communities to drink from rivers/streams often contaminated with feaceas, bacteria etc. Cholera, Dysentry and death often occurs.
Well water is often rationed to 1 bucket of muddy water per day per family
2. Population Growth:
Poor communities rely on their children to provide family security. Generally the poorer the community the larger the family.
Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, it has one of the highest birth and infant mortality rates.
The population is rapidly growing and the water sources can’t keep up with the growth.
3. Maintenance:
The general standard of well pumps is very poor, our experience has shown that regular maintenance is essential (often 2 or 3 times each year) and costs an average of £100 per year per pump.
Maintenance is often left to the villages but the cost is generally beyond their ability to pay.
4. Climate Change.
There is no shortage of water in Sierra Leone as is in the tropics, there is a acute shortage of clean, safe drinking water, however the normal annual dry season are getting longer and hotter this is leading to more surface water wells drying up.
5. How long does it takes to make a new well:
The equipment we currently have access to is only capable of finishing 1 well each month. Due to other operational issues (broken equipment, weather conditions etc) we could only produce between 5 and 10 wells each year.
6. How productive are the current wells:
Surface water wells are often slow to regenerate and therefore can only reliably supply a maximum of 250 people per well, they are also at risk of contamination from surface water draining directly into the well/borehole.
1. They often go dry during the dry season :
Forces communities to drink from rivers/streams often contaminated with feaceas, bacteria etc. Cholera, Dysentry and death often occurs.
Well water is often rationed to 1 bucket of muddy water per day per family
2. Population Growth:
Poor communities rely on their children to provide family security. Generally the poorer the community the larger the family.
Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, it has one of the highest birth and infant mortality rates.
The population is rapidly growing and the water sources can’t keep up with the growth.
3. Maintenance:
The general standard of well pumps is very poor, our experience has shown that regular maintenance is essential (often 2 or 3 times each year) and costs an average of £100 per year per pump.
Maintenance is often left to the villages but the cost is generally beyond their ability to pay.
4. Climate Change.
There is no shortage of water in Sierra Leone as is in the tropics, there is a acute shortage of clean, safe drinking water, however the normal annual dry season are getting longer and hotter this is leading to more surface water wells drying up.
5. How long does it takes to make a new well:
The equipment we currently have access to is only capable of finishing 1 well each month. Due to other operational issues (broken equipment, weather conditions etc) we could only produce between 5 and 10 wells each year.
6. How productive are the current wells:
Surface water wells are often slow to regenerate and therefore can only reliably supply a maximum of 250 people per well, they are also at risk of contamination from surface water draining directly into the well/borehole.
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What can be done
1. Dry Wells
Sierra Leone has a plentiful supply of clean water available from deep aquifers.
Our experience has shown that deep drilled boreholes that access these aquifers provide a clean, reliable and plentiful supply of clean safe water.
2. Population Growth: site under development, headings to be explained
More prosperous
Better educated
Education Women
Empowering Women’s groups / control their own money
3. Maintenance
Better, more reliable pumps and equipment are available but require us to purchase a large quantity and ship into Sierra Leone.
Highly reliable / low maintenance solar pumps are available. We have visited villages where solar pumps have been used for more than 5 years without costly maintenance or repairs.
RW community farming program generates income and encourages villages to use the income to pay for water well maintenance.
4. Climate Change:
RW farming program is very strongly focused on reducing the dependancy on climate damaging techniques. we are trying to eliminate Slash and burn and deforestation by using sustainable agroforestry techniques. Our new farming system has allowed us to become a significant contributor to carbon absorption. We plant 2000 trees for each acre of upland farmland we develop and we support farmers to move Rice production from the burning down the forest into very productive self sustaining swamps.
5. How many Wells are needed
Approximately 3,000,000 people in Sierra Leone drink from contaminated water sources.
(figures from Millennium Goals report) That would be 12,000 new wells based on supplying 250 people per well.
At the current rate of clean water progress Sierra Leone will not reach the Sustainable development goals of “safe and affordable Drinking water for all” by 2030
6. How many wells can we produce:
A modern, correctly specified drilling rig could drill 1 new 50m to 100m deep borehole per day and potentially provide water for up to 100,000 people per year.
7. How can the Wells become more productive:
A standard surface water well or borehole can provide water for up to 250 people.
A typical shallow borehole approximately 18m deep contains approximately 15 litres of water (1.5 standard buckets)
The surface area around the borehole for water replenishment is 12.6m2
Deep Boreholes that access a water aquifer can hold as much as 220 litres, 22 standard buckets
(based on recent measurement from a 45m deep borehole with 28m head of water)
The surface area around the borehole for water replenishment is 176m2
In this simplistic example nearly 14 times more water is available from the deep borehole.
We have experience of a deep borehole producing year around water for approximately 750 people.
Sierra Leone has a plentiful supply of clean water available from deep aquifers.
Our experience has shown that deep drilled boreholes that access these aquifers provide a clean, reliable and plentiful supply of clean safe water.
2. Population Growth: site under development, headings to be explained
More prosperous
Better educated
Education Women
Empowering Women’s groups / control their own money
3. Maintenance
Better, more reliable pumps and equipment are available but require us to purchase a large quantity and ship into Sierra Leone.
Highly reliable / low maintenance solar pumps are available. We have visited villages where solar pumps have been used for more than 5 years without costly maintenance or repairs.
RW community farming program generates income and encourages villages to use the income to pay for water well maintenance.
4. Climate Change:
RW farming program is very strongly focused on reducing the dependancy on climate damaging techniques. we are trying to eliminate Slash and burn and deforestation by using sustainable agroforestry techniques. Our new farming system has allowed us to become a significant contributor to carbon absorption. We plant 2000 trees for each acre of upland farmland we develop and we support farmers to move Rice production from the burning down the forest into very productive self sustaining swamps.
5. How many Wells are needed
Approximately 3,000,000 people in Sierra Leone drink from contaminated water sources.
(figures from Millennium Goals report) That would be 12,000 new wells based on supplying 250 people per well.
At the current rate of clean water progress Sierra Leone will not reach the Sustainable development goals of “safe and affordable Drinking water for all” by 2030
6. How many wells can we produce:
A modern, correctly specified drilling rig could drill 1 new 50m to 100m deep borehole per day and potentially provide water for up to 100,000 people per year.
7. How can the Wells become more productive:
A standard surface water well or borehole can provide water for up to 250 people.
A typical shallow borehole approximately 18m deep contains approximately 15 litres of water (1.5 standard buckets)
The surface area around the borehole for water replenishment is 12.6m2
Deep Boreholes that access a water aquifer can hold as much as 220 litres, 22 standard buckets
(based on recent measurement from a 45m deep borehole with 28m head of water)
The surface area around the borehole for water replenishment is 176m2
In this simplistic example nearly 14 times more water is available from the deep borehole.
We have experience of a deep borehole producing year around water for approximately 750 people.
Arcadia Reach / Rory’s Well Proof of Solar Well concept
Early in 2018 AR agreed to sponsor a proof of concept project to determine if it was viable to use Solar Power to run a deep well pump and supply water to a village. The concern was that there would be insufficient solar power during the very overcast rainy season (July to end of September)
Taninahun village community agreed to help the trial and swap an old hand pump for a Solar pump and 3000 litre tank. This was a low risk operation because the village had 3 other productive wells supplied by Rorys Well that could be used if the Solar pump failed to produce water. If the trial proved unsuccessful the original hand pump would have been refurbished and reinstalled.
In May 2018 Bertie and Jon from Arcadia Reach and Tony from Rory’s Well visited Taninahun village and installed 2 solar panels, a concrete tower, 3000 litre tank, Grundfoss Solar water pump and a single tap.
Taninahun village community agreed to help the trial and swap an old hand pump for a Solar pump and 3000 litre tank. This was a low risk operation because the village had 3 other productive wells supplied by Rorys Well that could be used if the Solar pump failed to produce water. If the trial proved unsuccessful the original hand pump would have been refurbished and reinstalled.
In May 2018 Bertie and Jon from Arcadia Reach and Tony from Rory’s Well visited Taninahun village and installed 2 solar panels, a concrete tower, 3000 litre tank, Grundfoss Solar water pump and a single tap.
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The installation has been a great success,
Clean water has been available for 14 months without issue.
The pump continued to supply water throughout the rainy season.
The 3000 litre tank has never run dry, even during high evening and morning usage (the period without solar power)
Initially it was thought that approximately 200 people would access the well but due to the ease of use (turning on a tap rather than hand pumping) the use has increased to more than 700 people using the well each day.
Clean water has been available for 14 months without issue.
The pump continued to supply water throughout the rainy season.
The 3000 litre tank has never run dry, even during high evening and morning usage (the period without solar power)
Initially it was thought that approximately 200 people would access the well but due to the ease of use (turning on a tap rather than hand pumping) the use has increased to more than 700 people using the well each day.
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Learnings:
Solar powered pumps are a viable alternative to hand pumps Maintenance of the pump has so far been zero With a sufficiently productive borehole and tank, solar pumps could provide water for much larger numbers of people than hand crank pumps. Tanks need to be over 3m above the ground to supply sufficient water pressure. Tanks require shielding from the sun and regular cleaning. During the visit AR had the opportunity to understand the wider issues of providing water to the communities. Bertie inspected the current Dando percussion drilling rig and visited several villages that do not have access to clean water. The learning from this visit inspired Bertie to go back to the UK with a recommendation to the AR board to back a fundraising and building campaign to supply a highly productive drilling rig to Rory’s Well. |
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What has been decided
Together, Rory’s Well and Arcadia Reach will design, build and deliver the means to help villagers in rural Sierra Leone drill deep, sustainable wells that can be used throughout the year. This will be based on Arcadia’s original Mercedes truck, designed for the terrain and easily maintained in the field, carrying state of the art drilling equipment that surpasses the current equipment being used. To ensure the wells are used to its full potential and delivers clean, plentiful access to water. Wells will be
furnished with long lasting, easy to repair solar pumps and storage tanks.
furnished with long lasting, easy to repair solar pumps and storage tanks.
Glastonbury Festival 2019 - Project Launch
The brilliant thing about working with Arcadia is they really do have the reach to a huge vibrant audience and are “big” at Glastonbury so that seemed like the obvious place to launch the partnership with the emphasis being on Reaching to Sierra Leone. Check out the video and look out for the Truck embellished with the Sierra Leone Flag joining the Glastonbury festivities.
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What is needed
Arcadia Reach and Rory’s Well need to raise 150K to build the drilling rig and purchase the pumping equipment for this initial stage. We aim to secure the funds by 2020 and deliver the project by the end of that year or early 2021. This date will be brought forward should funds be achieved earlier.
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How will we achieve this
Crowdfunding:
Using the combined following of both organisations and on the back of Arcadia’s Glastonbury Show, We will reach out to our audience to seek funding for this project.
Corporate†funding:
We wish to talk with as many philanthropic and industry organisations as possible to discuss larger donations and sponsorship / equipment options, we are especially keen to discuss this with organisations that are aligned to our own shared values and hold the humanitarian interests of developing countries at heart.
Individual†giving:
Using our connections, we will meet with members of our communities who have an interest in this field and wish to support our fundraising personally.
Events†:
Arcadia have a global audience and have a long and rich history of large scale events. Using these skills we will hold a series of smaller scale events to raise awareness of this cause and raise funds.
Using the combined following of both organisations and on the back of Arcadia’s Glastonbury Show, We will reach out to our audience to seek funding for this project.
Corporate†funding:
We wish to talk with as many philanthropic and industry organisations as possible to discuss larger donations and sponsorship / equipment options, we are especially keen to discuss this with organisations that are aligned to our own shared values and hold the humanitarian interests of developing countries at heart.
Individual†giving:
Using our connections, we will meet with members of our communities who have an interest in this field and wish to support our fundraising personally.
Events†:
Arcadia have a global audience and have a long and rich history of large scale events. Using these skills we will hold a series of smaller scale events to raise awareness of this cause and raise funds.
What can you do to help
Donate to the crowd funder
Share the project through facebook or mail
Get involved somehow - find out more or get in touch if you think you can help
Share the project through facebook or mail
Get involved somehow - find out more or get in touch if you think you can help
We are really excited about working with Arcadia Reach in this venture and feel we can achieve so much together.
Thank you Arcadia for making all of this possible.
Tony, Karen and everyone at Rory's Well
Interesting borehole Drilling information
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