July 9, 2010 - On February 8th, 1990 there was an extra annual meeting for Water for All in Sweden. One reason for the meeting was because Atlas Copco Energy had donated a drill rig to the organization.
Atlas Copco Energy was to close down part of its business, and instead of selling an already depreciated prototype rig together with its two spare engines they donated it to Water for All. If the rig would be to no use in any project it was up to Water for All to sell it.
The value on the market after restoration was estimated to around 200 000 SEK. The repair should cost around 50 000 SEK. The meeting come up to that it would be a good investment and decided to renovate the drill rig, an Aquadrill 60. The only thing missing was a co-operator and an interesting project where rig could come into use.
An interesting note, which I will come back to later, is that in the minutes from this extra meeting it is well documented that the organization had been in contact with an umbrella organization in Sweden to find new co-operators and projects. PMU Interlife was specially noted as one organizations working with water and also getting support from the Swedish
International Development Agency (SIDA) in their projects. Regarding well drilling PMU only had projects in Sudan.
In June 1990, a meeting with The Swedish Cooperative Union (KF) regarding their tree planting project in Kenya, better known, at least in Sweden, under the name:” Vi-skogen (Vi Agroforestry Programme” was held. Although the organization at this time only worked with tree planting as an answer to the massive erosion in west Kenya, the need for water had been actualized several times. A co-operational plan was established where Viskogen
also should start drilling for water in the area where they had tree planting projects going on.
After some time it was decided to use the donated Aquadrill rig although it hadn’t been made for use in Africa. It probably could be fixed and get to work there as well. An application for 50 tube wells during a two years period in west Kenya was send to SIDA and
was approved late 1991. In February 1992 the yellow rig was donated to this Vi-skogen project.
The rig was prepared and sent to Kenya together with pipes and spare parts by boat in two containers. On September the 1st they got it all through the customs at Nairobi Ports Authority and loaded the containers on trucks to take them the remaining 400 km to Kitale, the central town in the area. Everything went as planned. The containers were for many years used as local office and as storage of pipes, drill steel, drill bits and others.
The first drilling was done during the first week in September but was stopped after drilling 44 meters without reaching water. The risk for the hole to collapse and losing a lot of the equipment was too big. The second try the days after was successful reaching the water table at 15 meters depth.
The project went on. The first months were hard and filled with many problems and struggles.
With experts and new drillers working together, sharing and learning from each other, they
soon started to understand how to do it and get it to work in best manor.
The project aimed for getting water to the people but the beneficiaries were not involved as much as we today know is needed to get a water point sustain for longer time.
Vi-skogen also learned that water drilling was not that easy as they thought and lots of problems with not working hand pumps was coming up after a while. No one knew or had learned how to repair the pumps and it was also difficult to get spare parts. After the completion of their first water project Vi-skogen no longer wanted to take part, but instead concentrate more on tree planting, which they still do with success. Water for All and Vi-skogen had to find “a new home” for the yellow rig.
After some time and a lot of work a new establishment was made with International Aid Services (IAS), an organization that was willing to look over the situation of the first project and also to start a new three year SIDA supported project. Almost 200 tube wells were made in the new project, which started in 1996.
During a period of waiting for spare parts in 1998, the team went over the rig completely and made a big restoration. Afterwards it looked as good as new.
After the three year project was concluded in 2001 (five years from the start), IAS did not really knew what to do with the rig. No new water projects were planned in the area and in other IAS projects other types of drill rigs were needed.
After months of consideration, the rig was moved to the Nuba Mountain area in Sudan, an area heavily affected by the civil war, that still was going on. The area was like an island, controlled by the resistant movement SPLM/SPLA, surrounded by government controlled
areas.
The need for a water drill rig was enormous and the yellow rig could do very well in the region. No other organization was drilling after water there. But the rig has to be transported to the area. It was done via OLS, Operation Lifeline Sudan, based at the airport in Lokichokio in north western Kenya. The rig, a compressor, a four wheel drive vehicle, pipes, spare parts and more were all put into an airplane together with several IAS staff.
During landing everyone though their last time was coming as the load got loose and everything was squeezed during the heavy braking. Well outside the plane the staff, dizzy but released, took contact with the surrounding people that had gathered around them.
IAS told them they had come to help them drill for water. The reaction was awaiting and very hesitating. The people had earlier met several persons talking and promising, but never had anything come out of it. They changed their mind though, as the saw that the drill rig, compressor, jeep etc was taken out of the plane. The IAS staff got a warm welcome.
Since 2002 the rig have drilled an enormous amount of wells in Nuba, no one knows exactly how many. Thousands have, because of this rig and its staff, got access to safe and clean drinking water. When I visited the area in 2004, the rig stood still and looked mostly like scrap and in state of final retirement, but a couple of months later new spare parts were in place and it was in use again. Finally the yellow rig has now left the Nuba Mountains and
is moved to the IAS office in Khartoum waiting for a final decision what to do with it.
During our 25 years celebration three IAS drillers were in Sweden and was visiting us during the event. They had all three drilled with this rig, one of them had actually been working with it since it first came to Africa in 1992. He recognized a lot of people in the pictures from 1993 and was very touched. From now on this small yellow rig is no longer just a drill
rig but “That Drill Rig” which always will have a certain place in their hearts with a certain
meaning to them. I fully understand them. The rig as well as the staff using it has been a
fantastic story.
Who could have believed that from the start, more than twenty years ago? How the story
will end is yet to be written, but to connect to the beginning of this article I will tell you that Leif Zetterlund, the IAS director, was responsible for the PMU drilling in southern Sudan as Water for All was looking for new co-operators in the late 80’s. It is fascinating how a story
now and then draws a circle.
/Mikael Lorin
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