By Andrew Liszewski
In a lot of developing countries the gasoline needed to power a water pump can be as hard to come by as the water itself. PlayPumps are a brilliantly simple solution to the problem since they harness the nearly endless supply of energy from children to power the pumps.
While the kids are having a great time getting dizzy on the PlayPump the spinning motion is actually pumping water from underground into a 2,500-liter tank at a rate of about 1,400 liters an hour. A faucet under the tank allows the locals easy access to the stored water and since the large storage tank stands about 7 meters off the ground it provides a rare opportunity to sell ad space in the rural communities the PlayPumps are designed for. Two sides of the tank are sold for consumer advertising while the other two carry health and educational messages and the money generated by the ads completely pays for the pump’s maintenance.
[PlayPumps] VIA [Make: Blog]
There was actually a PBS special on the PlayPumps. You can actually watch it online at: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/10/south_africa_th.html
what i especially love about this concept is that its so simple, it works! self-sustaining and fun to use.
i wonder if the same can be done for electricity where you can store energy into a huge battery.