This may be quiet interesting

[Nagaraj]

Dear Friends,

 

Yesterday I happened to search more on AP and found something interesting which I thought would like to share with you all. May be you are all aware of this but for me it is something incredible. Just browse

http://lukesmission.wordpress.com/aquaponics/  wherein the system works even without electricity.

 

Now I need some light on this as I am very much interested on setting up this kind of unit here as this suits well locally.

 

Regards

Nagaraj

[TCLynx]

Looks like a bit of a miss-statement if you read on.

Luke’s Mission has designed and installed systems which can work both with electricity or without electricity. 

Standard boat bilge pumps can be used without any problems in areas where therer is no access to electricity.

It should probably say without access to electricity.  And they go on to say using bilge pumps.  So I don't think they have discovered a way to lift water without a pump of some sort or some person there to bucket the water every hour.  Bilge pumps still use electricity but you can get it from a battery (of course then you need some way to charge the batteries.)

 

[Sylvia Bernstein]

I'm also afraid that Luke's Mission no longer exists... but since you seem very interested in finding low energy aquaponic methods you might want to join the Off Grid group in here (see the Groups tab above) and see what they are up to in there.

[TCLynx]

Ok wait I read a bit more there, one system does have a hand pump.  (which would mean some one has to go out every hour or so and pump it long enough to flood the beds.  Do you see an issue with this?  Got some one around to go out every hour or two to work a pump for 15 minutes round the clock every day?

 

 Both systems were maintained by the local Haitian project managers.  They both produced vegetables and fish in the way we anticipated they would.  Both were very successful and grew plants and fish well – one with electric power the other hand powered.  However, due to problems with oversight locally and changing priorities of our partner organizations, neither project is currently operational.  

 

[Chi Ma]

You gotta remember that in 3rd world countries they don't have leisure time to play on the intranets   so they either work or starve.

 

I think he was talking about hand operated bilge pumps like the one in the picture below. We sometimes forget in this modern day there are places that don't operate with the luxuries of electricity and gadgets.

 

TCLynx said:

Ok wait I read a bit more there, one system does have a hand pump.  (which would mean some one has to go out every hour or so and pump it long enough to flood the beds.  Do you see an issue with this?  Got some one around to go out every hour or two to work a pump for 15 minutes round the clock every day?

 

 Both systems were maintained by the local Haitian project managers.  They both produced vegetables and fish in the way we anticipated they would.  Both were very successful and grew plants and fish well – one with electric power the other hand powered.  However, due to problems with oversight locally and changing priorities of our partner organizations, neither project is currently operational.  

 

[David Waite]

Chi I think the key word in the article was neither unit was in operation. Aquaponics needs a absolute stable source of power and neither comes from solar or hand pumping. Who ever figures out how to lift water without an external source of power would have invented a perpetual motion machine and be the discovery of the world. I have alot of experience of putting in solar battery systems and solar grid connect and both are great but the cost benefit is a joke and I live in the sunniest state in the nation Nevada. The person or persons that invent a way to pump water without an external source will truly change all of our way of life. Imagine not having to factor in the cost of energy in any future venture. Probably not in this century. To bad the haitians gave up on it.

[Chi Ma]

It was probably abandoned because humanitarian aid handouts are easier than working for their food. My friend is over there right now and the amount of people showing up for aid is mind boggling.

 

If the system were designed better then hand pumping would work. It would require a large fish tank and a large sump. If you could hand pump water from the sump into a large fish tank and meter the water through the grow beds you'd only have to do it a few times a day. 

 

The idea is sound. Just not the execution.

 

[AJ Grottke]

I agree w/ chi.   I think that in a 3rd world country this "hand pump" could be feasible.  Large volumes of water plus tilapia = very forgiving IMO.   I guess the best way to say it is: hell, why not give it a try.  As chi said for them work or starve.

Chi Ma said:

You gotta remember that in 3rd world countries they don't have leisure time to play on the intranets   so they either work or starve.

 

I think he was talking about hand operated bilge pumps like the one in the picture below. We sometimes forget in this modern day there are places that don't operate with the luxuries of electricity and gadgets.

 

TCLynx said:

Ok wait I read a bit more there, one system does have a hand pump.  (which would mean some one has to go out every hour or so and pump it long enough to flood the beds.  Do you see an issue with this?  Got some one around to go out every hour or two to work a pump for 15 minutes round the clock every day?

 

 Both systems were maintained by the local Haitian project managers.  They both produced vegetables and fish in the way we anticipated they would.  Both were very successful and grew plants and fish well – one with electric power the other hand powered.  However, due to problems with oversight locally and changing priorities of our partner organizations, neither project is currently operational.  

 

[Calvin Schmidt]

i will say that one could use a small windmill to mechanically raise water, obviously dependant on an external power source(wind) still. If you had a large enough cistern above the the growbed/fish tank you could pump the water up and let gravity control the flow back down to the growbeds. with a large enough cistern you could mitigate some of the wind differential...

[David Waite]

If I was in a third world country I think I would pump water once and farm in ground as they do now. If they had to pump all day they truly would starve as they have alot better thing to do besides just pumping. As much as I am hooked on this way of growing it is not going to be cost effective for people off grid due to the fact solar and wind are to expensive as a primary power source for the third world at this juncture. Do I hope that changes sure, just that the technology is not there yet in green power.

[Robin Abraham]

In the above article it mentions that they pump the water 2-3 times a day. Is that enough?

 

Robin Abraham

[Wayne]

Give a man a fish he eats for a day.

Teach him to fish he eats for a lifetime. But he only eats fish.

Install Aquaponics and show him how to keep the system running he can eat fish and veggies.

Unless he is lazy, then he will still starve.

 

Its not like one person has to do all the pumping by hand. To be sure they could work in shifts to keep the water circulating.

Food for the fish may be harder to provide.

I always feel sorry for the children.

[TCLynx]

Yes, beware of falling food.  Or as they say, handouts.  People often don't want to be taught to do something themselves when they can simply have the results given to them. 

 

Now I am also very into aquaponics, however I kinda agree that in very rural places that sometimes the higher tech methods are not the most appropriate.  Something more akin to extensive pond aquaculture coupled with more traditional irrigation of crops using the pond water would be more appropriate and in places with scares water one might adapt wicking beds for extensive use with that scares water (wicking beds can be as simple as laying some plastic in a trench and covering over with the best soil available and planting over it.)  Also I strongly recommend Humanure Composting in the very poor rural areas to help retain what nutrients they have and close the loop while improving the soil, reducing disease problems and saving water.

 

Back to the ideas for electricity free pumping.  There is a method of pumping called a rope pump that might be useful and a rope pump can be operated by a windmill that doesn't need to be very high tech nor does it need as much wind as piston windmill pumps do.  The rope pump can also be modified to be operated by hand or by bike.  However, the rate of pumping is not all that fast so it would be a real challenge to keep up with more than a very lightly stocked system so again, the low tech approach would probably be more appropriate.