Rural Kenyans can no longer rely purely on subsistence farming. They need hard cash to buy enough food and to pay for school fees and healthcare. Yet most live on farms less than two acres in size.

To help farmers maximize their productivity, Kickstart introduced their suitably-named line of MoneyMaker irrigation pumps. The pumps provide adequate irrigation, allowing small-scale subsistence farmers to turn their land into vibrant commercial enterprises. The inexpensive ($52-90) treadle operated pumps irrigate plots up to 2 acres in size from water pumped from hand-dug wells, rivers, streams, lakes or ponds.

Many thousands of entrepreneurial farmers are now irrigating with KickStart’s manual MoneyMaker irrigation pumps [6] and changing their small subsistence farms into vibrant new commercial enterprises. With irrigation they can grow and sell as many as three to four high value vegetable crops every year, and ensure that the crop is ready for market when the price is high.

These “farmerpreneurs” are increasing their incomes by as much as ten-fold and making as much as 400,000 shillings ($5400) profit per year. KickStart’s low cost micro-irrigation pumps are transforming subsistence farms into highly profitable enterprises.

The Original MoneyMaker Pump

KickStart’s Original MoneyMaker [7] pump was introduced in September 1996. This small treadle operated pump could pull water from as deep as 23 feet (7m) and be used to furrow irrigate up to two acres of land.

Over 4,050 Original MoneyMaker pumps were sold. They are still being used to generate over $3.9 million in new profits and wages every year and they proved the potential of micro-irrigation in East Africa. However, this pump can only pull water from a well or pond and dump it into an irrigation furrow – it cannot push the water thru a hosepipe or up a hill. It soon became clear that Kenyan farmers preferred to irrigate with a hosepipe or sprinklers and wanted to pump water up to their fields on the sides of hills. So in October 1998 KickStart introduced the new Super-MoneyMaker Pump and this new suction and pressure pump superseded the original and the Original MoneyMaker was taken off the market in February 1999.

The Super MoneyMaker Pump

The Super MoneyMaker Pressure Pump [8] was launched in October 1998, in response to a demand by farmers for a pump that can push water uphill as well as simply pulling it up from the source. This means it is suitable for use on steeply sloping land where the water source may be at the bottom. Thousands use it to pump water from hand-dug wells, rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. It is ideal for sprinkler irrigation, filling overhead water tanks, or for use with nozzles and sprays attached to the end of the delivery hose. This powerful pump can draw water up from 23 feet (7m) and has a total pumping head of 46 feet (14m). It can be used to irrigate up to 2 acres of land.

The MoneyMaker Plus Pump

Due to the demand for a lower cost pressure irrigation pump KickStart designed and launched the MoneyMaker Plus [9] pump in July 2001. This small leg operated pump has one piston and one cylinder but can still pull water from 23 feet (7m) deep, has a total pumping head of over 69 feet (21m) and can be used to irrigate as much as 1 acre of land.

The MoneyMaker Hip Pump

Click here to see how a $33 investment helped one family out of poverty
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