Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 - (Page 28)

with the national government’s Rankine cycle systems for nearby Ha skills, so many leave the country or Appropriate Technology Services. Teboho and Bethel, the communities become cab drivers or auto mechanics. Most important were the four Basotho that would eventually use them. e rest of the world does not think of technicians and engineers who shared Our machine shop experienced technology as something that originates in the construction and trial systems. chronic power outages due to wonky in Africa. e prophecy is fulﬁlled Bo-Ntate Motlatsi Sekhesa, Tumelo diesel generator sets and deliveries because Africans end up believing the Makheta, and Makoanyane Khakanyo were constantly being delayed by truck rest of the world. and others joined STG and brought breakdowns on the mountain roads or e deﬁning moment in our work several important design improvements shipping delays on the Senqu River. came when our four Basotho colleagues to the table, including a more elegant I remember Tseuoa often quoting designed and built this technology. In steel structural design for the solar the title of his favorite Chinua Achebe the end, the Solar Turbine Group was arrays and more wind resistant supports novel, “ ings fall apart.” But people not fully developed at MIT. We worked for the parabolic mirrors. hand in hand with Basotho, to actually are capable of picking up the pieces develop the technology with Basotho, and forging ahead, and our Basotho e all watched as the because the technology was intended counterparts showed us the way. women and children of for Basotho, and because experience ree months ago we installed two Ha Teboho came to turn with technology development is so prototype renewable energy systems, on the tap and get hot water. We all relevant for economic development. one to produce hot water for a girls’ We are helping Ntate dormitory at Bethel High Sekhesa to incorporate a School, and the other to Solar Turbine Group in produce hot water for Ha Lesotho as a majority-owned Teboho village with electricity Basotho enterprise. Ntate to come in 2008 after more Makoanyane is making regular testing and adjusting of the visits to the two sites to check generator. progress with the hot-water e Solar Turbine Group users. e four MIT students faced two types of challenges. left Lesotho exhausted and e ﬁrst is technical: how to exhilarated by the work we turn the fairly dilute energy had accomplished. It is of sunlight into electrical our job to ﬁnish the ORC potential without losing too component tests and assure many photons, the measured that our prototypes succeed amount of light energy. We Q-DRUM is a rolling water carrier of durable plastic that and our partners continue to must ﬁnd the best way to make weighs 4.5 kilograms and holds 55 kilograms of water. thrive. an eﬃcient and cost-eﬀective Designed by two South African brothers and is in extensive use in Northern and Kwa-Zulu.Natal provinces and in With luck and hard work, transfer. e other problem Namibia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. www.qdrum.co.za next March Ha Teboho will go is perhaps even tougher: how online with electricity. With to introduce a solution from this potent demonstration of the top down. All technology home-grown technology, STG Lesotho developed in a lab at MIT watched together as they queued with will be able to pursue the investment represents the top-down approach. their buckets in their hands and big it needs to become a self-sustaining When seemingly well-conceived smiles on their faces. We told these supplier of renewable energy to rural solutions fail to work in the ﬁeld it is villagers that their system was free Basotho. usually because they do not ﬁt well with because it was an experiment, but later some unanticipated aspect of the social the grandmother chief came to us and Matt Orosz is a doctoral candidate or environmental context. handed us a crinkled envelope ﬁlled at MIT’s civil and environmental How can we mitigate the problems with Maluti coins and notes she had engineering department researching associated with that fact? We collected from the villagers. We were integrated cycles for solar and biomass worked with the Bethel Business and speechless. energy generation. He was a Peace Corps Community Development Center, a But wait, if Lesotho has capable environmental education volunteer in trade school, to determine how the technicians and engineers, why aren’t Shalane, Lesotho from 2000 to 2002 technology could eﬀectively meet they building the roads and bridges and and worked with the Rural Self-Help local needs. We conducted surveys energy infrastructure that the country Development Association to support and held stakeholder meetings with so desperately needs? It’s a good farmers with training and access to Lesotho to describe our work and get question that deserves more explanation agricultural inputs. feedback. We received the support of than I can do justice to at this time, but local government, local chiefs–very when we asked our friends, they said important in Lesotho–and partnered that when there is little market for their W 28 Winter 2007 http://www.qdrum.co.za

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007

Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 Contents President's Note Lafayette Park Note to Readers Commentary Letter from India Commentary Letter from Botswana Letter from Ha Teboho Letter from Jumbi Valley Letter from Mununga Letter from Medellin Giving Back Community News

Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007

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