FRHistory
PRACTICA foundation started in 2001 as an initiative of a group of professionals working with affordable technologies for water supply, irrigation and renewable energy in low- and middle-income countries. The motivation to join forces and create a new foundation was a shared concern: we saw many missed opportunities for sustainable rural development due to a lack of knowledge about technological options. Since its inception, the mission of PRACTICA has been to work on improving the livelihoods of the rural poor in low- and middle-income countries by providing technical know-how and supporting the introduction of innovative and affordable technologies.
The early days (India, 1998)
Our experience in groundwater development programs started in the late 1990’s during the West Bengal Terrai Development Program in India. The program focused on action-research around the interaction between pumps, filters, wells and aquifers. We learned hands-on from local technicians (mistri’s) how to drill tube wells with locally made tools & materials and the role of the private sector in the dissemination and uptake of low-cost technology.
From the start, we have fulfilled our mission by collecting best practices on water supply, irrigation and renewable energy worldwide, and spreading these ideas to other locations. In addition, we developed new technologies in our workshop when we saw a clear need. This has led to a steady stream of innovations, such as the Volanta handpump, manual drilling kits, solar irrigation pumps, low-pressure irrigation systems, modular solar water supply systems, and more recently a number of smartphone apps for improved data management in the groundwater development sector.
Local enterprises are the foundation of sustainable technical solutions. Since the beginning, PRACTICA has chosen to pursue a supply chain approach, aimed at establishing strong local networks of producers, operators and supporting organisations. By systematically building capacities at all levels, we aim to enhance the local market for technologies, including the necessary maintenance and quality control systems.
Since our start in 2001, we have seen a large increase in the number of countries in which we work, especially in Africa. To reach the scale we want, we work with a large number of public and private partners.