Our publications

Resources produced during our past projects are accessible here.
For more than 10 years, we have capitalised documents on groundwater development, irrigation, drinking water supply and sanitation. You can find lessons learnt from the field, project reports, technical sheets, (training) manuals, videos, etc.

Check out and share the information you are interested in with the rest of the sector in order to support local enterprises and strengthen their technical and business skills.

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PuPu pump information sheet

Technical information over the PuPu pump. Developed by Practica, this pump can pump sludge of different consistencies into a tank away from the emptied pit. It suits densely populated areas that are difficult to access by vacuum trucks.
The PuPu pump is now commercialised in West Africa by Energy & Services.

More information on this technology is available on the website www.pupu-pump.com including technical information, videos and contacts.

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WaterTime – Infosheet

WaterTime is a modular asset-focused set-up and business approach to managing 
 small-scale piped drinking water systems sustainably. Its objective is to increase reliable access to basic water supply for people in underserved areas by offering a more sustainable alternative to commonly used handpumps.

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Adopting asset management tools to model cost recovery of rural piped water services

This policy paper is the result of a piped water project in Northern Uganda implemented under the Dutch WASH SDG Programme and partners of the WASH Alliance International. The policy paper responds to the ambition of the Government of Uganda to supply all households with piped water by 2040. To realise a sustainable acceleration of piped water services, it is essential that recurrent costs are recovered. Cost recovery through water pricing remains, however, a controversial and politically challenging topic.

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Asset management for water systems

Water Systems’ Asset Management is an approach to support water users’ committees, water operators, caretakers, and governmental institutions in optimising their water systems’ technical and financial performance.
It assures the water quantity & quality, and systems’ reliability and accessibility, it matches customers’ demand, and it supports decisions on infrastructure’s design, use and maintenance.

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Market-Based Sanitation Strategies Using a GIS

This learning note presents the main ideas behind a basic approach to using a geographic information system (GIS) to establish geographic segmentation as part of a market-based sanitation (MBS) strategy. The use of GIS assumes that the most densely populated, most accessible zones are characterized by a more dynamic economy, making them easier to tap into to develop a sanitation market that is currently nonexistent or, at best, barely exists. A GIS facilitates the task of differentiating those dynamic, accessible zones, allowing partners to target their interventions more accurately and prioritize their actions.
All of the tools and data sources presented here are open-source and accessible, including for people who have no prior experience with GIS.
More information and additional learning briefs are available here.

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How to assess the size of a sanitation market and segment It?

Any market-based intervention must be based on a good understanding of the size and characteristics of the potential market for various products and services in the target areas. This information helps to prioritize activities, define sales and marketing systems that are appropriate for different market segments, and help service providers understand the size and nature of the market opportunity.
Ultimately, showing the market size and its characteristics will also help stimulate public and private investments in the sanitation sector toward the products most likely to contribute to the sustainable economic viability of the sanitation market.
More information and additional learning briefs are available here.

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Human Centered Design for sanitation products

This document provides guidance on the skills, steps, and resources needed to conduct a rapid human-centered design (HCD) process for improved toilet products in rural areas. The lessons and tips shared are based on work done as part of a broader sanitation market development exercise in the Maradi and Zinder regions of Niger.
HCD is a process for understanding people’s needs, preferences, and behaviors to enable working with them
to implement the sustainable solutions they value. Using the HCD approach to develop product options allows incorporation of ideas and feedback directly from the people who need improved sanitation solutions to ensure that the final products will meet both the needs and preferences of potential customers. This is especially important when using a market-based approach, as people will be asked to spend their own money on toilets.
More information and additional learning briefs are available here.

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Small modular and solar piped water systems

The purpose of this training manual is to serve as reading material and background information for a training about the technical aspects of modular solar drinking water supply systems.
Three types of trainings are also part of the training package. 1) To understand the design and rationale of modular piped systems and how design decisions affect the operational expenses; 2) about the business case and asset management behind the concept. This training gives tools and insights on how one can maintain and financially monitor the system; 3) a technical hands-on field training on construction, installation and maintenance of modular systems.

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Technical reference solar irrigation solutions

As part of the project GCCA+ financed by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France we implemented a pilot on the “Co-construction of innovative solar irrigation solutions” in the town of Boghé, in Mauritania. Based on the result that we obtained after co-constructing the solutions with the local farmers, we developed these technical reference to be used as an example and guideline when setting up solar irrigation systems.

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Characterization of Farmer-Led Irrigation Development (FLID) in Mali

This work forms part of the project “Diagnostic and future directions for Farmer Led Irrigation Development (FLID) in Chad and Mali”, which aims to assess the current extent of farmer-led irrigation in Chad and Mali, and assess the areas that are suitable for further growth. FLID is the process by which farmers drive irrigation development. This report aims to shine a light on the specific irrigation practices and technologies used and opportunities and challenges experienced by individual farmers.
The report aims to inform and contribute to the development of effective supporting mechanisms in the frame of the PARIIS program. The FLID assessment was done through a desk study, interviews with 10 farmers in the cercles of Ségou, Baraouéli, Dioïla and Koulikoro, and interviews with government officials, MFI institutes, farmer associations, equipment suppliers and well drilling companies.

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Solar irrigation market analysis Mozambique

This study formulates recommendations for the promotion of solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) in Mozambique by conducting an analysis of the actual off-grid solar irrigation technologies available and promotion to small scale enterprise level farmers (<2ha) in Mozambique. The analysis includes: (i) Analysis of the current supply of small-scale solar-powered irrigation technologies in Mozambique; (ii) Reveal gaps, challenges and shortcomings for the development of the solar irrigation market (supply and demand sides); (iii) Provision of concrete Inputs and Recommendations in light of the specific GBE requirements on further development of activities and concepts. The results are recommendations of this study have been translated by Energypedia. Click here to read the Portuguese version.

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Solar pumping for small scale farmers

PRACTICA’s publication on solar pumping for small-scale irrigation has been selected for the call for innovation launched by COSTEA.
Since the decrease of the cost of solar irrigation panels, solar irrigation solutions are emerging on the African markets. For many farmers, it is the only solution to reach water deeper than 10m. Nevertheless, investments costs remain high at the moment, and without offers from banks and financial institutions, digital financing solutions like PAYGO seem to be the only option to improve access to these solutions.

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A glance at 2020 (annual report)

With the pandemic situation, 2020 was clearly a special year. We adapted our working methods but pursued our projects and even started new one. Read our annual report 2020, and have a look at our activities and achievements during this period.

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Action research findings from Ghana on Modular Building and the TokenTap

This paper presents the action research findings of a pilot on Modular Building, related to safe drinking water provision in Ghana. In this pilot – in collaboration with project Maji – a small modular piped network of water kiosks was constructed. The hardware was optimized based on multiple years of field data and was fitted with a novel mechanical prepaid device called the TokenTap. This paper describes the rationale behind the design and approach, the field findings and a financial comparison of the system with a single water kiosk approach.

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Mapping irrigated areas and identifying areas suitable for irrigation, in Mali and Chad

This work forms part of the project “Diagnostic and future directions for Farmer Led Irrigation (FLID) in Chad and Mali”, which has the aim to assess the current extent of farmer- led irrigation nation-wide in Chad and Mali, and assess the areas that are suitable for further growth. In both countries, farmer-led irrigation exists, but the extent is not well known. As a first step towards the characterization of FLID, this report focusses on the identification of total irrigated areas (both small-scale and large-scale) for the full territories of Chad and Mali, using remote sensing and machine learning, and identifying areas suitable for small-scale irrigation by using a multi-criteria model. Combining the areas of actual irrigation with suitable areas, we determine regional zones where expansion of irrigation has a high potential.

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Cover digital tools for drillers infosheet

Digital Tools for Drillers – Infosheet

The Digital Tools for Drillers are a set of tools developed to improve data collection and sharing during the construction of water points. They include a smartphone app for field operators, a dashboard for WASH agents and capacity building. The lack of data collection and sharing during water point construction, such as siting data, lithology data and pump tests result limits the implementation of cost effective water programs. That’s why the Driller’s toolbox has been developed.

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Asset management and monitoring manual

Asset management is an approach to optimize the use of an asset – and to assure that the service level meets the needs of the user. It is one – of multiple – critical elements to ensure a technically and financially sustainable water system.
It can be used to:
• record the asset and make a maintenance plan for it – to ensure technical sustainability;
• use it for financial prognosis – and analyze the financial sustainability of it;
• optimize the asset plan by finding the optimum between financial and technical sustainability in relation to the service level;
• monitor the asset to ensure one can avoid breakdowns due to mismanagement.
The objective of this manual is to gain a general understanding of the principles of asset management and how one can apply it to a piped water system.

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Evaluation of the app Kolochilikélan in Mali

This paper, publicly available from the Science Direct journal, is an evaluation of the smartphone app Kolochilikélan, developed by Practica, together with Join For Water in Mali, for a faecal sludge management project in Bamako.
In this paper you will read:
• The introduction of a mobile application to improve efficiency of emptying operators’ business in Bamako, Mali is discussed.
• The application provides useful information for truck drivers and owners, operation managers and local authorities alike.
• Application use reduces over time since drivers and owners have interest to keep their business out of official control.
• Semi-mechanical operators still use the app contributing to higher income and serving a niche market inaccessible by trucks.

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The Driller’s Toolbox – User Manual

This the user manual of the Driller’s Toolbox, a smartphone app for groundwater development. It assists in common tasks such as geophysics resistivity measurements, drill log data capture and reporting, and pumping tests. The app contains simple user
interfaces to make it easy to capture high-quality data, and after submission the user receives a PDF report plus the
raw data in Excel, for further analysis. The app is available for Android devices, in English, French, and Portuguese.

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2019 at a glance (annual report)

In 2019, we invested in R&D throughout our four working themes. We developed some hardware, such as the TokenTap, the mini-pivot, some softwares like the Driller’s toolbox and the SIPS app (Solar Irrigation Pump Selector), and also some new approaches for drinking water infrastructure management, which we plan to further digitalise and develop in 2020. In this annual report you will find a snapshot of our achievements this year, and will get a concrete overview of our projects and innovations.

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