Peace Corps Home Page World Wise Schools Home Page
About the Project   Resources   Lessons Plans   Help   Learning Communities
Return to Water in Africa

Ferrocement Well

Diagram by Erik Nissen Peterson. A ferrocement well is a type of "earth wall" well with a straight, smooth surface. It is plastered with a layer of mortar, reinforced with chicken wire, and finally plastered a second time. To keep children and animals from falling into the well, a cover for the well is built above ground level. To prevent contamination of the well, a concrete apron, is also constructed in the area surrounding the well.

From: Farm Structures in Tropical Climates http://www.fao.org/inpho/vlibrary/s1250e/s1250e00.htm. Edited by Lennart P. Bengtsson and James H. Whitaker, FAO copyright 2000.