Richard Cansdale including some of his own words on the Canzee and Can-Lift Pumps
Have a look at the following movies:
Canzee Pumps and Well Jetting in Madagascar
The Canzee Pump
Marion Medical Mission Shallow Well Program Introduction
Innovation on tap: While experts argue that we need to make better use of the water we have, there are over one billion people who still have trouble harvesting any at all. Richard Cansdale has made it his life's work to help redress this and is a rare example of a non-profit orientated entrepreneur. His innovative Canzee pump is bringing reliable sources of water to villages across Africa, transforming lives and allowing water stressed communities to build for the future.
At home: Working from home in the picturesque heart of Northumberland, an old but accurate lathe takes pride of place in the workshop and has helped him churn out over 500 pump heads in less than a year. A product borne out of his own expertise with filtration and water extraction systems, 50% of his company's business now comes from the third world.
Non-profit orientated: “This side of my business is not profit motivated. The motivation is getting the end product to the people who need it and giving them something that works at a price they can afford. Back in the 70s, we had the foresight to build this house, which we did ourselves using recycled materials to keep the cost down. Inflation at the time was running at 20% so we let out some of our rooms and ran the house as a B&B. We also have a property we rent out and my wife, Sue, also sells eggs. I have always believed in the philosophy that if you have enough income trickles, you will get an income stream. It was this ongoing income that allowed me to carry on with my pump work and I am today where I am thanks to hard work, foresight and a few lucky breaks.”
London Zoo: SWS Filtration was started by his father in the 1970's based on years of experience and research into sea filters and pumping systems.
“My father's work as a forester in West Africa allowed him to study the wildlife and this resulted in him being asked to run London Zoo. When he left London, he founded Natureland, the marine zoo at Skegness, which required clean sea water to supply the aquarium, the seals, sea lions and penguins. He was advised that pumping the water across the wide beach wouldn't have worked so he sank a pipe into the sand. At the same time, the sand acted as a natural filter, so he solved the problem.”
All-round technique: Through trials back in Africa, they discovered the same techniques worked on dry sandy riverbeds to extract clean water.
“I left teaching to work with my father in his new business and today the company has clients around the world.”
Uses: SWS supplies clean sea water to a desalination plant for one of the most exclusive hotels in Grenada, pumps cool sea water for a hotel air conditioning system in Crete, and manages sea water intakes for a large fish farming processing plant in Ireland. But it is the development work that is taking up more and more of his time. The high costs of drilling deep bore holes and providing maintenance mean villagers often have to walk to a deep communal wells or rely sources of water that are prone to contamination, such as open holes or rivers.
“Our expertise at sinking wells by a process called water jetting can ‘wash down' a pipe through six meters of sand in less then a minute.
Pollution: "This allows villagers to get at the water and use the natural filtration qualities of the sand instead of digging open holes which can become polluted.”
Tapping a source of water is important, but finding the right pumping system has taken years of development.
Use: “My marketing has been very low key while the pump was developed, but now I feel the product is right. The latest model requires very little maintenance, is cheap and easy to install. The inspiration for the Canzee pump came from a man in New Zealand, who had devised a pump which was basically a pipe within a pipe and which didn't require any piston seals. This meant there was virtually nothing to wear out. We are now getting reports that people are using them for up to four years with no breakdowns at all.”
In recent years, Richard has sent his hand pumps to Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zaire, Angola and Madagascar.
Cyclone: “In 2003, I sent a dozen pumps out to a charity in Madagascar and they loved them so much they invited me out last year to visit all the pumps that had been installed. None of them had ever broken down. Before I arrived, a large cyclone hit the island contaminating thousands of open holes that are still being used as wells. The charity has since used EU aid to get more pumps in place and so far I have sent another 450.”
Demand: To help meet the demand, Richard has been working with international business development managers at RTC North to get a production facility established closer to the users, and create some local employment. And although SWS is looking at setting up production overseas his reasons for cutting costs are more philanthropic.
“There is no patent. The design of the Canzee pump is my copyright, but development work isn't lucrative and should anyone copy it, it can only mean more people who need fresh water will get it. Sadly, there is a big market out there, which exists because millions of people still don't have access to a regular source of clean water.”
