Driptech is an international water technologies company based in Silicon Valley, with offices in Pune and Beijing. Through its proprietary, widely deployable manufacturing systems, Driptech produces affordable, high-quality irrigation systems designed for small-plot farmers. The company distributes its products through local governments, corporate partners, and NGOs in India and China and now through Fronteira Seeds (Pty) Ltd in Southern African Countries.
The World Economic Forum selected Driptech as a 2012 Technology Pioneer and the Tech Awards honored Driptech as a Laureate in 2009 for its innovative use of technology benefiting humanity. BusinessWeek featured Driptech as one of the top five most promising social enterprises of 2010, and as one of the 25 most intriguing new startups of 2009.
Our Mission
Our mission is to alleviate poverty by creating extremely affordable, water efficient irrigation solutions for small-plot farmers in developing nations.
Global water usage is unsustainable from a food security perspective. Available water per person in developing countries is 20% of what it was fifty years ago. In these same places, agriculture accounts for 81% of total freshwater usage, primarily for flood irrigation. In addition to wasting water, flood irrigation leads to lower yields for many crops and is very labor intensive. At the same time, most small-plot farmers cannot grow crops throughout the year due to insufficient rainfall and are unable to afford existing irrigation systems which are either too expensive, too complicated to use, or of too poor quality. Under these conditions, small-plot farmers are limited in ability to improve their livelihoods.
Compared to flood irrigation or relying on rainfall, drip irrigation increases crop yields 20-50% and requires less labor and less money spent on diesel or electricity for pumping water. With our proprietary manufacturing technology, Driptech is able to produce and price drip irrigation systems at least 50% lower than the nearest competition. Unlike other drip irrigation systems, our systems reduce over 12,000 parts per acre by eliminating the use of complex and expensive emitters, meaning easier installations and maintenance.
Driptech Irrigation System Components
Driptech drip irrigation tubing
Delivers uniform water flow into the roots of the crop via precisely punched holes. The Driptech tubing requires no expensive and complex emitters, eliminating the top cause for clogging. To adjust for the size of a land plot, a farmer needs to just scale up or down the number of Driptech rolls. Each roll contains 200 meters in length of tubing.
Driptech takeoff valve
Connects the Driptech tubing to the PVC piping. The takeoff valve is a manual ball-valve that allows farmers to specify which area of the land to irrigate. This control system allows farmers to divide a land plot into different zones of crops.
Grommet
Helps to connect the takeoff valve into the PVC piping, while sealing off water leaks. The grommet allows the valve to be easily installed without the use of adhesive.
Filter
Ensures clean water is delivered into the Driptech irrigation system. The Driptech system uses a mesh-type screen filter, which allows farmers to easily clean by flushin