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| Kamkwamba on his wind mill |
This location is in the southern part of Lilongwe city, CCDC to be precise. The area is habituated by the people who are mostly civil servants. People who year-in and year-out tussle with the country’s leadership pleading for better wages.
Our house is a small one with only two bedrooms and without a kitchen. But it manages to accommodate the four of us; me, my father, a young brother and sister. We managed to divide the sitting room with a mat to make it a three bed-roomed house.
At the end of every month, my father part ways with K11. 500 (US$ 68) as rent for the small house, this is plus water and electricity so we are assured that the Electricity Supply of Malawi (ESCOM) and Lilongwe water board will not on our necks.
Without a kitchen, my sister cooks next to me, at least less than a meter from the computer I am using. As I get deep into my assignment while listening to songs from Malawi’s late reggae legend Evison Matafale, and suddenly, my computer turns off and there is total blackout-the electricity is gone again.
“Our ESCOM, are we going to have electricity for the whole day one day?” Judith, my sister said, I know how angry she is taking into consideration that she is in the middle of cooking.
Black-outs are now part of our daily life. Almost every day, we experience about four-hour long period without electricity.
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| Kamkwamba preparing the windmill's blades |
It was the same day I went to Kasungu district, Masitala Village, T/A Wimbe, two and half hours drive northeast of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city.
This is the area where I met William Kamkwamba, a Malawian inventor of windmills which generate electricity power, giving light to the six homes in his family compound.
Born on August 5, 1987 in Dowa, Malawi, and grew up on his family farm in Masitala Village, William Kamkwamba's innovation can be a solution to Malawi's hydro-electric power which has over the years, turned into a burden to the country citizens, manufacturers, small and large-scale business operators.
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| The reporter on the wind mill |
Growing up while playing with plastic funs, (cut from plastic bottles) in the very rural area of Malawi and inspired by an 8th grade American textbook called Using Energy, which depicted wind turbines on its cover, the idea to try his vision of having an electrified house came into action.
“The first idea was to build a wind mill for water, but due to scarcity of resources, I went for electricity generation. The windmill was built on scrap materials like a bicycle dynamo, a tractor fun, shock absorber shaft and PVC pipes.
“The first trail was successful, I managed to light my room and later the whole house. We currently enjoy power every day, all day,” said Kamkwamba who received an innovation award from the Institute of Engineers of Malawi.
From then, Kamkwamba grew miles and the world had its ears and eyes to the wonder kid.
“I watch TV everyday and cook using the electricity. All households in my village are drinking clean water from the taps because of the windmills,” said Kamkwamba.
It is a pity though, that despite all the success, the homeland still has a mountain to climb to forget the electricity power woes let alone try to electrify the rural community.
It is in the rural electrification programme that Kamkwamba can play a role, rather, and also in some urban sector.
During a recent high level Power Conference in Lilongwe, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Grain Malunga emphasized a number of natural resources that could be tapped in for the development and production of power.
“We have perennial rivers, coal, high solar irradiation, wind energy, hot springs and uranium deposit,” said the minister without elaborating how the government is intending to exploit these natural resources.
But how much does it take to build a wind mill capable of lighting a large area?
“For resources, it can take up to K80 000 (about US$ 485) to build a powerful wind mill which can light a large area,” said Kamkwamba adding that, “As of now, all I want to see is my fellow rural dwellers sleeping in light, cooking using the electricity and also having a fridge in their homes, so I am ready to do the work for free.”
According to Malunga, the current electricity demand in Malawi stands at 347 MW and it is projected that demand will be 598 MW in 2015, 874 in 2020, 1193 MW in 2025 and 1, 597 in 2030.
“In contrast, our installed electricity capacity at the moment is 283. 8 MW, of which 98 percent is supplied by hydro electric power plants with the remaining 2 percent generated by a mini hydro power plant,” said the minister.
Malawi is at least assured of continued water tears and denied power for the rural masses.
“In the medium term, we are planning to construct hydropower plants on Shire River, South Rukuru and Dwambazi rivers. The projects are expected to cost at bout US$ 1, 246.5 million.
“In the long-term, it is anticipated that power will be generated from large potential sites on the Shire, Songwe, and North and South Rukuru rivers. These initiatives are expected to cost about US$ 753.5 million,” Malunga said
The minister is however, adamant on incorporating Kamkwamba’s innovation into the power all day everyday movement.
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| Kamkwamba |
“I have to look into that if it is applicable,” simple and straight from the honourable minister.
He added, “Government is therefore open to anyone who wants to invest in power generation through any source such as solar, hydro, coal, wind, geo-thermo bio-mass or any other sources possible,”
Moved with the visionary heart, Kamkwamba co-founded Moving Windmills Project which is aimed at bringing clean power, water, sanitation and education in the rural areas.
He is currently expected to enrol at Dartmouth College in USA where he is planning to study either Mechanical Engineering.
“After the study, I am planning to come back at my village and establish a company which will embark on rural electrification using the windmills,” he said.
After narrating this story, I turned to my sister, whose beautiful face was partly lighted by shy candle light and said, “Maybe one day we will say bye to the waters tears and welcome the wind smiles.”
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