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The '''Rope Pump''' is a highly '''efficient''', modern and '''low cost''' pump and one of the few designs that can truly be operated and '''maintained totally at a village level'''. There are various modern developments of the ancient design but the basic design of all pumps and consists of is '''a continuous loop of rope with pistons (or plastic washers) attached to it, the rope passes up through a plastic pipe with only a small clearance, thus allowing the pistons to push the water up and out of the top of the pipe'''. Rope pumps have proven highly successful and there are hundreds of thousands of pumps in use world wide and used for anything from community adn domestic water supply to irrigation and cattle watering. For wells down to 35 m, rope pumps are often five times cheaper and more sustainable than standard piston pumps. Rope pumps can be powered by hand, bicycle, motor, horse, or wind power.
==History and social context==