[[Image:waterboys system.jpg|thumb|right|300px200px|Layout of Waterboys bucket system. Drawing: [http://www.samsamwater.com/library.php?serie=RELMA%20Technical%20Handbook%20Series RELMA.]]]__NOTOC__<small-title />
Waterboys (U) Ltd. have adapted drip irrigation technology and developed a bucket kit for smallholder farmers in Uganda. The kit comprises of one 30-litre bucket (the bucket is part of the kit), and 2 x 10 m of drip tubes connected to a water distribution manifold. The drip outlets in the standard kit are spaced at 30 cm. No filter is included in the Waterboys kit.
There is a growing demand for bucket kits. For example, Chapin bucket kits are reported to be in use in over 80 countries world wide and the demand is growing fast. By 2001, more than 5,000 kits had been sold by KARI to Kenyan farmers who have adopted the bucket drip irrigation system. It has been shown that plants that are watered using the bucket system have higher yields.
===Construction, operations and maintenance===
'''System components'''<br>
* 30-litre bucket
Since a filter is not included in the kit, the Waterboys bucket kit system requires water that has already been filtered for irrigation. This may not be the case in many rural areas and even in some urban centres. Thus, if the water requires filtration, tie a clean cloth on the mouth of the bucket and always pour the water required for irrigation through it.
===Field experiences===
The Waterboys bucket has mainly been used in Uganda, although a number of kits are in use in Kenya and Tanzania. Elsewhere in the world, for example in India, resource-poor farmers have used drip irrigation systems with reported success.
===Manuals, videos and links===
* [http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Other/Reports/PDF/Water_for_wealth_and_food_security.pdf Water for wealth and food security: Supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management]. 2012 study by AgWater Solutions.
===Acknowledgements===
* Sijali, Isaya V. [http://www.samsamwater.com/library.php?serie=RELMA%20Technical%20Handbook%20Series DRIP IRRIGATION: Options for smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa.] RELMA, 2001.