Sulawesi-born Nuryadin talked with the aQysta representative, Ms. Annisa Anindita, on how Barsha Pump can help people in Sulawesi fight the problem of irrigation and how is the preparation going for the very first demonstration of Barsha Pump in Makassar, Indonesia.
Annisa – What triggered you to apply as a retailer for Barsha Pump in Sulawesi, Pak (Mr. in Bahasa Indonesia) Ichsan?
Ichsan – I was born and brought up in Sulawesi. I have seen farmers face the water lifting problems in this region. What is worse is that the lands here remain completely barren in the dry season. Some of them try but the harvest is too less and farmers end up in loss. Many farmers in Sulawesi, they depend upon rainfall for watering their land. The diesel is available but the operating cost for diesel pumps are high and for the electricity pumps, there is no access to electricity in rural areas. The river is way far from the house or farm from where the electricity line is to be connected. Also, the diesel pumps are not easily mobile and leaving it overnight in the river has the risk of getting the parts stolen. So it is quite financial and physical trouble for farmers. My organization, we work for a social cause. Our mission and vision revolve around uplifting the livelihood of the smallholder farmers, making their life easier and we believe with Barsha Pump, we can achieve that.
Annisa – Great. How did you first come to know about Barsha Pump?
Ichsan – We came to know about Barsha Pump when we were looking for the tools and materials to make river-powered water pump on Youtube. We, then, saw the video of a water wheel technology and it was Barsha Pump. It drew our attention in no time and we got interested in knowing more. We then realized that Barsha Pump is a better solution and partnering with aQysta would be more effective than trying to do it ourselves.
Annisa – So, Pak Ischan, you clearly see the need of the Barsha pump in East Indonesia. What about the farmers? How beneficial do you think the farmers will be with the Barsha Pump?
Ichsan – I think the Barsha Pump can be the game changer in this area. Like I said it is a perfect solution to the problem farmers faces here – the problem regarding the dry season farming. Barsha Pump will help farmers water their land, free of cost and without any pollution. Here, we have a Walanae river, we named our company after this river (laughs,) a river that flows year round. It some regions of Indonesia, rivers dry up in the dry season and get filled up in rainy reason. But the Walanae River does not have a record of drying up. And Barsha pump runs from the flowing water meaning the pump can be operated 24/7, 365 days. The Walanae river flowing year-round has been a bonus since we came to know about Barsha Pump and its working principle. I am looking forward to introducing it to the farmers in the upcoming demo.
Annisa – So you mentioned about the demonstration of Barsha Pump, can you tell us more about it?
Ichsan – Sure, we’re demonstrating the pump in Makassar Indonesia, in two phases. In the first phase, we’ll be demonstrating the pump to the provincial government and Vice Governor of South Sulawesi, who himself contacted us for the demo. He heard about the pump from the people in the village in Makassar. The second phase would be in the harvesting season and it will be demonstrated to farmers, community leaders, agriculture students, and other interested parties. We did a demo trial in Makassar a few days back and concluded that Barsha Pump can pump up to 32,000 liters of water in one day which I think is great given no any cost associated with it. We’re planning the first phase demo most probably at the end of May.
Annisa – That is great, Pak Ichsan, please do keep us posted about the event. So, how has your experience been so far working with aQysta? Though it has only been around 5 months that you have started working with aQysta?
Ichsan – Yes, officially it has been five months. I really think aQysta and CV Walanae can solve the problem of water supply for irrigation in Sulawesi and other areas by providing an alternative solution to fuel-based and rain-dependent irrigation. Also, we are happy to expand our partnership with aQysta with its other hydro-powered water wheel pumps, yet to come to the market. We look forward to it.
Annisa – I am sure the feeling is mutual. (Laughs). So, a very last question, Pak Ichsan. If you have to describe the Barsha Pump in a few words, how would you describe it?
Ichsan – Well…I would say… A Green and Smart Technological Solution for Irrigation.
CV Walanae, a retailer of Barsha Pump in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is soon demonstrating the fuel-less hydro-powered Barsha Pump in Makassar, Indonesia. Here are the coordinates of the location of the demo site – Demo Site in Indonesia.
For more information about the demonstration in Indonesia? Please contact us on +62 813 1425 4271.
Would you also like to partner with aQysta to demonstrate the water-powered water pumps in your region? If yes, please drop us a message here.
