Pedalling out of poverty: The treadle pump is a simple device which uses human power to lift water from shallow aquifers or surface water such as lakes or streams, up onto the fields

摘要

This boosts farmers' income by enabling them to grow crops through irrigation, rather than relying on rainfall. The International Development Enterprises (India), (IDEI), which won the Enterprise Award, has helped install over half a million treadle pumps across eastern India. In the plains of Uttar Pradesh - and in similar terrain across parts of eastern India - many farmers rely principally on a single monsoon crop, typically wheat or maize. This limits their income and forces many to work as urban labourers for part of the year, sometimes 'seasonally migrating' with their whole families for six months or more to cities such as Lucknow, so disrupting the children's education.