In November 2017 I started my ‘politics of water’ blog as an outlet to share experiences and findings from my research in rural Malawi on water governance and service sustainability. This third installment looks at handpump mechanics.
Category: A hidden crisis? Strengthening the evidence base on the sustainability of rural groundwater services
Investigating handpump and borehole failure in Uganda
“They Gave Us Breakfast and a Good Meal”: Roles, Perceptions and Motivations of Water Point Area Mechanics in the Maintenance of Borehole Hand Pumps in Balaka District, Malawi
by Thokozani Mtewa, Evans Mwathunga, Wapumuluka, Mulwafu Abstract "In the rural areas of Malawi, water is accessed mostly through boreholes. The borehole and hand pump functionality concept is currently getting a central place in development agenda for the provision of affordable and…
An Analysis of Hand Pump Boreholes Functionality in Malawi
by Prof T. Mkandawire, E. Mwathunga, A.M. MacDonald, H.C. Bonsor, S. Banda, P.,Mleta, S. Jumbo, J. Ward, D. Lapworth, L. Whaley, R.M. Lark Abstract A survey on functionality of boreholes equipped with hand pumps was undertaken in five districts in Malawi in 2016. The survey…
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Resilience of Rural Groundwater Supplies to Climate Change
Key Note Presentation by Prof. Alan MacDonald @ 1st SADC Groundwater Conference Keywords: (Drought, Climate, Change, Infrastructure, Groundwater Resources, Resilience). "Recent droughts have highlighted the need to understand and forecast the resilience of water supplies to climate variability. Resilience of groundwater…
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Facing the groundwater threats and opportunities in Southern Africa
This week, regional and international water experts have converged on Johannesburg at the 1st Groundwater Conference of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The event has been convened by the SADC Groundwater Management Institute (GMI) in assocciation with a number of…
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:: New UPGro Paper :: Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance
Two new social science papers from Hidden Crisis Cleaver, F., and L. Whaley. 2018. Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance: a critical institutional reading. Ecology and Society23(2):49. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10212-230249 Whaley, L., (2018). The Critical Institutional Analysis and Development (CIAD) Framework. International Journal…
Read More :: New UPGro Paper :: Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance
Championing environmental sustainability in Malawi schools: inspiring the next generation
In March 2018 a team of motivated scientists from ‘Malawi Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’ (MAGSTEM) at Chancellor College, a scholar from the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures (University of Sheffield) facilitated by an UPGro researcher teamed up to reach out to disadvantaged schools in Zomba, Malawi.
A Malawian researcher takes UPGro knowledge to up-and-coming scientists in college
Interview by Isaiah Esipisu, PAMACC News Agency – http://www.pamacc.org Patrick Makuluni is a lecturer in the Mining Department of the University of Malawi, the Polytechnic. Makuluni holds MSc in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology from Curtin University in Australia and…
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UPGro early careers researchers share experiences on an international platform
Compiled by Isaiah Esipisu, PAMAC news agency http://www.pamacc.org Five African early career research scientists took to stage at the 41st Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)’s International Conference at the Egerton University in Kenya to showcase ongoing research achievements so…
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Debating real-world community-based management of water points
Community-management has been the mainstay of rural water supplies in Africa, and in many other parts of the world, but is it the only way? Are there better alternatives? In this lively webinar, researchers from the UPGro Hidden Crisis project…
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