[[Image:Stone_hammer_well_drilling_icon.png|right]]
The previous drilling methods are not suitable for hard soil formations, so ongoing development led to the Stone-hammer. This method consists of a heavy hammer hitting directly on a hollow drill-head. Although it does not penetrate very hard stone such as basalt, it is a tougher option than the Rota-sludge method. This technology is being refined further in India and Nicaragua.
The Stone-hammer method has won a competition for innovative irrigation technologies organized by the World Bank, Winrock and IDE (International Development Enterprises).
[[Image:Stone_hammer_well_drilling.PNG|thumb|right|150px|The Stone-hammer in India, drilling a 20 m deep well in a stony layer ]]
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align="center"
|-
! width="50%" style="background:#efefef;" | Advantages
! style="background:#ffdead;" | Disadvantages
|-
| valign="top" | Significantly cheaper than piston pumps.<br>
Easy to maintain.<br>
Easy to train on maintenance.
| valign="top" | Not all introduction programs have been successful.<br>
|}
== Capacity ==
40 litres / min from 10 meters depth.
== Costs ==
* US$ 20-120 depending on model.
== Applying conditions ==
<ul>
<li><b>Numbers:</b> 50,000 in Nicaragua, 20,000 in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanaznia, Senegal.</li>
<li><b>Range of depth:</b> 1-35 meter (60 m with two cranks).</li>
<li><b>Application</b> Communal wells, houshold, irrigation. </li>
<li><b>Cost of introduction:</b> US$ 10,000-20,000 per project, including 20 pumps, engineering and hands-on training. US$ 60,000-100,000 per project, including 1,000 pumps, production workshop and hands-on training.</li>
</ul>
== Rope pump building manual ==
PRACTICA foundation and the Technical Training Programme of the ETC Foundation (TTP/ETC) have put together a really [http://www.greenocean.org/akvo/PRACTICA_180306_Rope_pump_manual_Ethiopia_March_2006_complete.pdf excellent manual on how to build rope pumps] (PDF, 2.5 Mbyte). It is an 86 page long document with detailed instructions.
== External links ==
* Evaluations [http://www.irc.nl www.irc.nl ]
* Africa [http://www.pumpaid.org www.pumpaid.org ]
* General info [http://www.ropepump.com www.ropepump.com]
* How to build [http://www.ropepumps.org www.ropepumps.org]