On Wednesday I travelled from Blantyre, Malawi’s second
city, down to Mulanje in the south-east of Malawi with a group of
representatives from Scottish Government. As we drove further south the
landscape began to change from the relatively arid, red landscape I’d seen so
far in Malawi. Dramatic granite peaks started to appear and vegetation became much more
lush and abundant. We were heading down to Mulanje to see an operational hydro
scheme that has been developed by MuREA – Mulanje Renewable Energy Agency in conjunction with Practical Action. With
MuREA being one of the Strategic Energy Partners (SEPs) of the MREAP programme it
was a great opportunity not only to see the hydro scheme but also to meet people
who are on the ground, developing community led renewable projects in Malawi
and see what issues they face (see first blog if acronyms are becoming
overwhelming!).
Mulanje Mountain
As we left the main road in Mulanje, we wound up a dirt
track between the tea plantations at the base of the Mulanje mountains to reach
the hydro scheme at Bondo village. As we bounced our way over boulders and skirted large pot
holes I couldn’t help but be incredibly impressed at how the civil engineering
kit managed to get up the track. Later discussions revealed that materials had
been taken up the track by hand and that very little machinery had been used in
the construction of the scheme. Just goes to show that where there’s a will
there’s a way!
Emmanuel from Practical Action with children from Bondo. Note the newly installed electricity poles!
On arrival at the site we were met by Emmanuel, a Technician with Practical Action who has been working with MuREA on the hydro project for a number of years. The first idea for the hydro project came about in 2007 with work starting in earnest 2/3 years ago. The project was finally operational on the 9th July and now provides electricity to the health centre and some 14 households in the community of Bondo, Mulanje.
The village chief, Mr Salupi (left) and his friend (right) at the Bondo community hydro project
Children at Bondo at the canal which transports water to the hydro scheme intake
Penstock pipe from the canal down to the turbine
The 88kW scheme utilises a Pelton turbine manufactured in
Zimbabwe which uses a canal system to transport water some 600m from the river to
an appropriate intake point. The head of the scheme is in the region of 150m
and the system is designed to take flows in the region of 1000 litres/second. Householders which are connected up to the scheme need to
pay between 7,000 – 15,000 kwatcha (between £15 - £30) to install the necessary
wiring in their homes. A pre paid meter will then be installed which
householders will top up with credit to pay for the electricity.
Even though the hydro scheme has only been generating
electricity for a few weeks, the significance of this project and how excited
the community are is already tangible.
Now that the health centre is connected up to the hydro
scheme, vaccines can be stored there reliably giving increased access to essential
medications for this remote rural community. The provision of electric lighting
also means that health workers and patients no longer have to rely on candles
which are often blown out during important procedures in inclement weather.
Householders are utilising the provision of electricity to
launch new business opportunities. One householder has already built a
screening room onto the side of this house where he will connect up a projector
and sound system to provide a community big screen – just in time for the world
cup!
Bondo children in front of the grass and canvas house extension which will support the big screen powered by the hydro.
Nicholas Dzadza from Practical Action, Zimbabwe showing where the big screen will be.
Other enterprising householders that have connected to the
hydro scheme have purchased maize mills to process locally grown maize and turn
a profit from the milled product.
What was apparent whilst talking to members of the community
is how excited everybody was about the introduction of reliable electricity to
the area and that there are now significantly greater opportunities for
development within these communities. This scheme hasn’t been without it’s
hiccups but what is heartening from this project is that barriers have been
overcome and that learning from this project can be transferred to other
projects which are earlier in the development process in other areas of Malawi.
An incredible achievement for all those involved.
No comments:
Post a Comment