Everyday Legend – Asharfi Lal, ‘The Man Who Can Solve Any Water Problem’

By Tom Hasker, Associate Partner, Lighthouse International

The state in India called Uttar Pradesh is one of the poorest and driest in the country. During the 1980’s the Indian government set about drilling new wells to serve its population, but while this solved the problem for a short time, it didn’t solve it completely because of one simple problem; Maintenance.

If you run anything without caring for it, it will eventually break. This is a fundamental principle known to anyone who has owned a vehicle, yet with a project as essential as clean water, it can be overlooked.

Asharfi Lal was a young man of 16 when he saw a team of mechanics fixing the water well in his village. He became fascinated by the work they were doing, and he followed them from village to village, learning from them all the time. As Mr Lal says;

“I was curious, I started following the mechanics; I tagged along. What I observed, I quite liked.”

In his own time, he made the specialist tools needed and began repairing his own pump. When he called the government official to show him what he had done he was offered a job. However, working for the government didn’t suit Mr Lal, and after 4 years he set up his own company to take over the maintenance of water wells. After working in his community for 24 years he built up a reputation as ‘the man who could solve any water problem’. With investment from Charity Water he now has a team of mechanics and is looking to serve over 100 villages this year!

So what can we learn from Asharfi Lal?

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Firstly, there is the principle of ‘Production and Production Capacity Balance’. This is the best understood through the fable of The Goose and The Golden Egg. If you don’t look after and nurture the goose (in this case the well pumps) then the quality and quantity of golden eggs (the water) will literally dry up! Any plan, to produce something in your life like a better career, more money or a better family, requires a way of maintaining and renewing that thing; and the most important part of the plan, is investing in the producers of that outcome, be it yourself or others.

Secondly, the need for an entrepreneurial mindset. This is best demonstrated by comparing NASA (a big government organisation) with Space X (a small privately funded company). Here, the need to make money to invest back into better products – creates a drive to become more effective and serve better. In the case of Asharfi Lal, he could see that by being independent and building a great team of people – who offer a great service, he could achieve the aim of supplying water much quicker. The huge value his team adds to the community is amazing! A major repair on a pump costs $6 and 93% of all problems are fixed in 24 hrs.

For more on what Asharfi Lal is doing and how he achieves it – visit charity: water’s post here.