Water Pumps sites (Nalpar)
Transforming muddy pump sites in villages in India into clean, functional spaces that became social hubs for women.
Initiator(s)
DIAA ‘Dialogue Interactive Artists Association’
Description
The project consists of a water pump surrounded by a muddy pool in the village of Kopaweda. The pump emerged as a central meting point for women in the village and nexus of daily activity, essential to daily survival. After a lengthy dialogue with the users of the pump, a group of artists decided to restructure the pump sites for free. In 2001 the first water pump structure was built or Nalpar site, consisting of a smooth concrete pad, a more efficient pump design, an enclosure incorporating Adivasi cultural symbols, and a system of paved trenches to channel the water and collect it into smaller reservoirs. The sites operates on a more practical, ergonomic level and the construction was undertaken collaboratively.
Goals
To provide an easy and healthy means to collect water; to claim these spaces as a site of dialogue and recreation, as well as work, among women, while men are prevented from entering the Nalpar.
Beneficial outcomes
In 2007, they had constructed 3 Napalr sites in Kopaweda, Bastar and 4 elsewhere in Kondagaon, Chhattisgarh State, Central India.
Location
India
Users
DIAA (Navjot Altaf, Rajkumar Korram, Shantibai and Gessuram Viswakarma), residents of Kopaweda and Kondangaon, women and children.
Maintained by
DIAA
Duration
2000 - ongoing
Category
Scientific
Pedagogical
Politics
Urban Development
Economy
Environment
Social
