Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

AIDFI’s holistic ram pump water program brings safe and accessible water to remote upland communities that are often excluded from conventional water systems because they are too far, too high, too poor, or too difficult to reach. At the heart of the program is the hydraulic ram pump, a simple and durable technology that uses the energy of flowing water to pump a portion uphill without fuel, electricity, solar panels, or greenhouse-gas emissions. But the project is much more than the installation of a pump.
AIDFI works with the community from the very beginning. Before construction starts, the villagers are organized into a water association that will later own, manage, and sustain the system. Through this process, AIDFI helps revive the Filipino tradition of Bayanihan — the spirit of cooperation, mutual help, and care for one another. This tradition has many local names in different dialects, but the meaning is the same: people come together to solve a common problem. The water association becomes the structure through which this spirit is mobilized and maintained.
Community members contribute many volunteer hours. They attend meetings, help identify water needs, assist in household baseline surveys, clear pathways, carry materials, prepare the route for pipelines, help during construction, and support the installation of reservoirs, tapstands, ram pumps, or water kiosks. Local volunteers also help organize the General Assembly, elect officers, and form committees. Village technicians are selected and trained so that the community itself can operate and maintain the system.
Volunteer opportunities can support both the social and technical sides of the program. Social-work volunteers can assist with household baseline surveys, community profiling, orientation meetings, documentation, women’s and household participation, and strengthening the water association. Technical or hands-on volunteers can support construction, pipeline preparation, installation activities, monitoring, and post-installation follow-up. Volunteers can also help with documentation, storytelling, impact surveys, and learning exchanges between communities.
The program creates direct results: less time and hardship in fetching water, improved health and sanitation, more water for household use, vegetable growing and livestock, stronger local cooperation, and greater involvement of women and village leaders. By combining appropriate technology with community ownership and revived volunteerism, AIDFI’s holistic ram pump program does not simply deliver water. It helps communities build the system, own it, sustain it, and use it as a trigger for wider development.

AIDFI Annual Report 2025.pdf

AIDFI Annual Report 2024.pdf

Pictorial Ram Pump Program AIDFI (17 Mb).pdf

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Last Mile Water: Triggering Sustainable Futures

Auke Idzenga, a Dutch, is co-founder and CEO of AIDFI, a Philippine Social Enterprise founded in 1992. He studied Marine Engineering and sailed three ships before making a complete turn around and utilize his interest, knowledge, and skills in Appropriate Technologies for the poor. In 1985 he chose the Philippines and designed a unique ram pump which became part of AIDFI. Over the years AIDFI installed environment friendly ram pump water systems in 602 upland waterless villages benefitting some 303.000 people. For their holistic work with ram pumps AIDFI received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2011. Many more prestigious international awards would follow. In 2019, for having worked over 30 years for the poor, Auke received himself the St. Teresa of Calcutta Award as ‘Engineer for the poor’. AIDFI is owned by its regualr staff and some affiliates. It has 30 fulltime employees of which each provide at least 50 hours volunteering to the communities AIDFI serves.

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