Role of Parts, Supplies, and Maintenance

by Jeremy Corwin
(San Diego, CA)

I volunteered for a two week trip to Mexico last year with my church. There was a group of farmers who were trying to regrow a field of corn that had dried up because they could not water it.

They had water and they had a diesel pump, but the pump wasn't working. Our group leader was able to work on the pump and get it running only because he happened to have the part they needed in the van.

These farmers were not able to find parts they needed in the town nearby and even if they had, they did not have the tools or skills to fix the pump.

They have had that pump for a long time so they must have had some parts for it and someone to work on it in the past.

So, when we are talking about sustainable technology, in this case a diesel pump, I think parts, supplies, and skills that are locally available would be extremely important.

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May 04, 2011
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starstarstar 		Maybe a donated pump?
by: Anonymous

Maybe someone in the past had given the pump to the farmers without checking out the availbility of parts or the local ability to repair a diesel.

This is a problem with donating stuff, sometimes. You don't always know if what you are giving them is really what they need.

If they can fix and maintain the machine, then great. But, if they can't, it isn't going to last long and it's not going to do much good for the people you are trying to help.

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