Friday, 23 December 2011

You Don’t Miss Your Water

My mother was almost 30 years of age when my community was connected to the national grid. I once asked her what she would miss most if mains electricity were to disappear, she replied without hesitation pumping water.

Pedal Powered Water Pump
Before electric water pumps many rural Irish women spent a lot of time carrying water in buckets. Water was needed for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing clothes and bodies. Those who were lucky has a good source of water nearby, usually a well. But even if the well was nearby keeping the households water requirements met was an endless round of drudgery.

The thing is that pumping water on a domestic scale is one of those jobs that does not need electricity. A little equipment and some imagination can eliminate a lot of tedious work, as this video demonstrates.


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