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.
Mobile Applications for Fecal Sludge Management (FSM)
Smartphone use is developing rapidly in the towns and cities of Africa and Asia. The widespread use of these devices and mobile internet in urban areas allows for creating new, accessible, and highly efficient tools for monitoring, optimizing, and controlling faecal sludge management services.
Online Emptying Services Comparator
The emptying sector is often organised informally. Therefore, households resort to the nearest sludge
removal service provider without being in the position to choose among the ones that best meet their needs. In Antananarivo (Madagascar) and Bamako (Mali), Practica is developing comparators that orient users towards the better offers. These tools aim to improve the accessibility and quality of the services by catalyzing the introduction of true competition.
Infosheet – Faecal Sludge Emptying (FSE) business
In a context of increasing demand for faecal sludge removal services, small-scale FSE businesses provide a solution to collect faecal sludge under hygienic conditions and transfer it towards disposal or treatment sites. This infosheet describes the added value and needs of small-scale FSE services.
Considering the needs in areas that are inaccessible to conventional services, small-scale FS emptying services offer the possibility of hygienic sludge disposal in densely populated settlements. Targeting very low-income populations, these
services are based on business models and techniques that minimize investment and operating costs. To address accessibility concerns, services are often proposed per volume starting at 200 liters.
Training manual – Solar irrigation pump
Manual for basic understanding of pumps, solar energy and irrigation.
The manual is part of a training, the full content is only available through the PRACTICA training. For requests: www.practica.org/contact
If you are looking for more information about the solar suction pumps mentioned in this manual, and purchase options, please indicate your interest at https://futurepump.com/
Video – An alternative emptying service in Bamako
Empty a latrine in a big city like Bamako, where many neighborhoods are not accessible for a normal truck? Not easy. Protos and Practica have set up an affordable emptying service.
The objectif is to improve access to pit emptying services by populations living in low-income neighbourhoods. We provided training on both manual and mechanical techniques to local enterprises so that they would be able to adapt to the area and would be able to access even isolated places places usually not covered by this type of service.
Solar pumps developed by PRACTICA
Une fiche informative sur 3 pompes solaires développées par PRACTICA. La pompe SF2 est maintenant commercialisée par Futurepump, tandis que les pompes Volanta sont construites et vendues au Burkina Faso par le Centre Sainte Famille de Saaba.
Introduction & Professionalisation of Manual Drilling
Manual drilling covers a range of techniques to drill high quality drinking water wells at a relatively low cost. To assure a sustainable introduction and quality of works; PRACTICA works through long-term capacity building and advocacy programmes. Manual well drilling techniques are not new. They have been used for centuries in Asia. The innovation lies in the private sector approach. We are professionalising the sector by transferring knowledge and providing the skills and tools small-scale entreprises need to respond to local demand.
Emergency rotary jetting kit – Field manual
The Emergency Rotary Jetting Kit is a technology to drill wells for drinking water in emergency situations. This is a field manual that details the material required and how to make use of the kit in practice. The kit is simple, compact and robust and could be operated and maintained by local drilling teams. While ready-to-use for emergency contexts or feasibility studies the kit can be handed over to the local private sector, thereby increasing local capacity and resilience. The complete kit and corresponding training programmes can be delivered by PRACTICA. Learn more about the kit by clicking here.
Capstan-based design to mechanise manual drilling
This paper describes a technical innovation that utilizes a simple and affordable mechanical device to improve the use of manual drilling in consolidated and highly weathered rock formations. Such mechanical device increases the effective drilling time and reduces the labour requirements. The proposed method uses a rotating capstan that provides a lift and relative effective free-fall mechanism. This capstan kit is designed as an open source innovation for local fabrication and maintenance in asset-poor areas.
Annual report Practica 2015
We proudly present the 2015 annual overview in which we display a few highlights of our work. In 2015, we worked towards completion of two of our substantial programs; The Dutch WASH alliance and the S(P)EEDKITS program, in which
we have booked successes in getting innovative technologies into the sector. In our other projects, we continued our established relationship with partners and jointly created impact on the ground. As an organization, we have strengthened our positioning by organizing a training on ‘Business cases in Water and Sanitation projects’, attracting an international audience. To be able to continue our innovative work, in 2015 we have invested our restricted reserves in the development of a range of new technologies and concepts. Altogether a great achievement of our international team of experts and as a result we look back at a successful year.
Innovative rehabilitation of micro-dams
In the majority of cases, micro-dams are built on permeable ground, in particular to contribute to the recharge of the groundwater. To improve their impact, it is necessary to limit or slow down the longitudinal flow of the aquifer. Therefore, the deeper the foundations, the more water underground is retained. The use of a waterproof membrane (geotextile, PVC liner) along the entire length of the dike buried to a depth of 4 meters promotes the storage of groundwater over a longer great duration. This watertight wall prevents the creation of a vacuum (fox hydraulic) under the dike and its foundations caused by entrainment of particles that can destabilize the structure or create major leaks.
Impact of manual drilling in Mali
The use of manual drilling techniques, implemented by small businesses, is a sustainable and adapted to the context, alternative to mechanical and expensive techniques. To date, Protos Mali and Practica have trained companies on manual drilling techniques, metal workshops on the manufacture of equipment, and developed an operational guide for implementing the manual drilling technique. These activities were funded by UNICEF.
Rural water services through pre-paid handpumps
Accelerating sustainable rural water supply through innovative handpump management systems and water payment models. The innovation developed by PRACTICA lies in the application of a similar model to community handpumps. This entails shifting from community-owned and managed handpumps to a service contract with a (semi)private operator. Payments will be done per volume of water consumed.
This poster was presented during the 7th RWSN forum from 29 Nov – 2 Dec 2016 in Abidjan.
Bedrock – innovative low-cost well siting kit
A smartphone-based geophysical sounding kit to select the best location to drill for water. The Bedrock kit uses a Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) principle to assess soil resistivity at various depths and generate a corresponding soil profile. The hardware is based on a design by Clark and Page (2011) and further developed by PRACTICA.
This poster presented during the 7th RWSN forum organised from 29 Nov – 2 Dec 2016 in Abidjan.
Bedrock – Low-cost resistivity kit & Android app
This manual explains the operation of a low-cost vertical electrical sounding (VES) kit and the interpretation of measurements using the Bedrock app. The technology has been designed by Clark and Page (2011) and was adapted by PRACTICA Foundation to meet the requirements of manual drilling teams.
Toutes les données des sondages électriques archivées par l’application Bedrock sont disponible ici.
Veuillez noter que la base de données est encore en phase de développement.
Flood plains in Mozambique: The Scope for Shallow Well Development
Socio-economically the scope for flood wells is highly variable, depending on the local farming systems, current access to water, common livelihood strategies and market access. The largest scope has been identified in the floodplains at the Northern side of the lower Zambezi River. Remote and coastal zones mostly showed a limited scope as the majority of its inhabitants are not focused on cash crop production.
Status and Potential of Groundwater Use in Ethiopian Floodplains
Shallow groundwater development through lowcost technologies is a key asset to increase the productivity of smallholder farms in floodplains. The study demonstrates current initiatives of shallow groundwater use for water supply and irrigation, and reveals a scope for upscaling appropriate technologies.
Floodplains in Zambia: The Scope for Shallow Well Development
This paper looks at the potential of flood wells development in the floodplains of Zambia. It starts with an overview of the Zambian water resources (chapter 2), then it gives a detailed overview of the hydrological system, land use and agricultural production in the floodplains (chapter 3), analyses the geo-hydrological suitability of the floodplains for drilling (chapter 4), describe the stakeholders involved (chapter 5) and concludes with analyzing the feasibility of the floodplains to implement flood wells.
Business Development Training 9-10 June 2015
Information sheet on a business development training organised by WASTE and Practica in the Netherlands, June 2015 on the topic: Water and Sanitation Business Development. 8 sessions organised within 2 days cover the topics of the role of NGOs, manual drilling, water supply, sanitation, and markets. The goal is to increase awareness about having resilient and empowered local organisations and hopefully therefore reduce the failure rates of water and sanitation systems.
Advocacy for manual drilling
Promotional video for manual drilling made after the successful program funded by UNICEF and implemented by Practica to professionalise this sector. Many opportunities for manual drilling would allow a low-cost access to groundwater for drinking or productive use.