SOLAR POWERED
IRRIGATION
THE AIM.
Little Feat wants to help farmers and their communities fight Kenya's unpredictable rains and increasingly arid climate by improving their access to water and ability to irrigate their crops.
We aim to do this by harnessing a resource that in Kenya, is abundant and reliable - the sun.
THE HOW.
By providing and installing solar powered water pumps and connecting them to drip irrigation systems, we will be able to give farmers a more efficient, reliable and cost effective solution to watering their crops.
We will also set up additional water harvesting measures and educate farmers on the best means of storing natural rainfall.
THE OUTCOME.
We create a fail-safe system where the farmers will always have access to water for irrigating their land, this will increase their crop yield, ensure food security and offer better nutrition. There is even the potential for a small business enterprise, selling their surplus at market.
Solar pumps are also fuelled by renewable energy meaning they are environmentally clean and sustainable.
Solar panels harvest the sun’s energy to power a pump (either surface or submersible, depending on the water source) that feeds water to a tank. The tank then gravity-distributes the water to an irrigation system - simple as that! No batteries are used in the system and the pump only runs during the daytime.
As solar radiation is the main driver of the pump, the volume of water pumped increases on clear hot days when plants need more water, and reduces on cloudy days or when there is rainfall. There are even systems available that use a sensor to detect moisture level in the soil and regulate the water flow based on the respective requirements of the crop.
The principle of the drip irrigation method is simple. With the use of various valves, hoses and pipes, water drips slowly and at regular intervals to the roots of the plants which enables the growth of more crops with less water.
Some of the many benefits to drip irrigation:
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A reduction in water waste
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Improved plant growth
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A reduced risk of crop disease
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Better for the soil
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Discourages weeds
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Efficient and adaptable
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Environmentally friendly