Village-level operation and maintenance (VLOM) is a term used for water pumps, but which is relevant more generally to appropriate technology. It is sometimes referred to as VLOMM, or village-level operation and management of maintenance.
VLOM pumps are hand pumps that requires minimal maintenance - though the principles could be applied to treadle pumps and any village-level technology.
Inappropriate technology - lessons learned
During the UN decade on water, 1981-1990W, boreholes, water wells (hand-dug wells and tubewells) were constructed and water pumps provided to villages in developing countries around the world, paid for largely with official development assistance.[verification needed] This top down approach resulted, in a proportion of cases, in the installation of pumps that were unsuited to their context - in particular, they were difficult to maintain.
VLOM pumps were introduced after the water decade. Remote villages can thus maintain pumps themselves. This has become part of a larger strategy to reduce the dependency of villages on government and donor agencies.[verification needed]
See also
- Dipankar Chakraborti - aid critic
- Arsenic in groundwater
- PlayPump
- Participation