Thai farmers typically use an Archimedes' screw, a simple machine  that consists of a helical screw enclosed within a pipe, to pump up water and irrigate their rice paddies.

When the screw is rotated, either manually or by a motor, it lifts water from a lower level to a higher level as the liquid travels upward through the spiral chambers. This ancient design, attributed to Archimedes and also referred to as a screw pump, is still used today for irrigation, drainage, and transferring liquids or granular materials.