Because of their inferior efficiency compared to a water mill, water scoops are less common, and have been used in the past mostly for applications where linear motion is required rather than rotation, for example hammers in smitheries, saws in sawmills, and stamp mills in mining.
A monjolo is a type of water scoop used for the processing and grinding of grains and introduced in Brazil by the Portuguese during the colonial period.
[1] It can be used to peel and grind dry beans, resulting in a thicker flour.
[2] It is formed by a wooden beam suspended so that the part that supports the pestle is larger than the other, which ends with a trough.
It is common for rural people to seek to live near a river or stream as a source of water.