What are treadle pumps?
Do you have water available to you with less than a 20 foot vertical lift and no electricity? Then this foot-powered piston pump might be the answer. The treadle pump works off of human leg power (similar to walking, a treadmill or Stairmaster). By simply walking using this device human power can be used to lift water from shallow wells or storage devices for irrigation purposes.
Here are two short videos demonstrating a treadle pump and hand pump that I taped at an Ag Fair in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Too expensive? How about a bamboo treadle pump?