Malawian welder Kumwamba believes rope pumps are answers to irrigation and access to clean water

Welding and fabrication expert Edson Kumwamba says gone are the days of using archaic treadle pumps and boreholes for agricultural irrigation but rather to opt for modernised rope water pumps.

Rope pump in use done by Kumwamba
A motor vehicle trailer
Door frames are also his speciality
Done by Kumwamba

Kumwamba, who plies his trade at Thyolo Boma behind Thyolo Market, has just returned from Mozambique where he went to install a rope pump.

“A rope pump is a kind of bore hole which is made out of locally made materials and is installed on where there is already a water well in both towns and rural areas. It’s also good for irrigation and it’s cheap to maintain. It is a kind of pump where a loose hanging rope is lowered into a well and drawn up through a long pipe with the bottom immersed in water.

“On the rope, a round disc or knots is a matching the diameter of the pipe that is attached which pull the water to the surface. It can be installed on both boreholes or hand-dug wells.

“What is required is for farmers or community villages to drill a well and the rope pump is built around it. The people use the wheel attached to the pump to draw water.

“It’s not as tedious as a treble pump or a holehole, it’s user friendly. It is good for irrigational farming as well as for communal domestic use. This is the best way to provide clean water to communities and we are willing to work with these NGOs that strive to provide clean water to rural people,” Kumwamba said.

Kumwamba, who was born in Nchathu Village, Traditional Authority Nkanda in Mulanje District, his studies in welding and fabrication at DAPP vocational school and after being contracted to do various jobs with several companies including Moya Engil, he decided to leave Malawi in 2002 for greener pastures in South Africa.

There, he said he was working at Gabriel Torre Parts and Components, making shock absorbers and struts for all kind of cars. He was also doing private jobs making residential sliding gates, folding steel door protectors and several other assignments.

He also learnt hands on how to build motor vehicles trailers of many types and the rope water pump.

Whilst still in South Africa, he invited his childhood friend Daniel Kantadza, who is also a professional welder and fabricator where they formed their own company called Danedo Welding Contractors.

fter acquiring good equipment, the two decided to return to share their entrepreneurial skills in Malawi and they settled for Thyolo as their base.

“We need to move forward in as far as entrepreneurship is concerned. Daniel is also a welding instructor and he was teaching welding to youths of Thyolo before going to South Africa to join me,” Kumwamba said.

“We are professionals and we are ready to honour jobs across major locations in Malawi. We offer all sorts of services for construction, farming, transportation and many others.”

He added that they are doing all the ferous and non-ferous metals, specialising in window and door frames, steel doors, sliding gates steel trusses, automatic sliding gates, rope pumps, utility trailers and fog trailers.

Kumwamba is also a professional athlete specializing in mountain trail races which he learnt through the annual Mulanje Porters Race and whilst in South Africa he joined a running club there that exposed him to also participate in several international competitions including in France and Netherlands.

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Comrade
Comrade
5 years ago

Kudos man, Malawi needs creative people like you.

Luka
Luka
5 years ago

These examples of the work of these gentlemen are very impressive.

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