DIY hydroelectric generator with refrigerator parts Malawi men's challenge to bring electricity to the village

[AFP = current affairs] Yobe Nkosi, a village in northern Malawi, Africa. Children used to do their homework in the candlelight at night. Because there was no electricity. Currently, a man uses a homemade hydroelectric generator to supply electricity to neighboring households.

Collerd Nkosi returned to the village in 2006 after graduating from a secondary school in a town 40 kilometers away. At that time, he realized that he could not return to life without electricity.

Nukoshi, who was 23 at the time, noticed that the stream flowing in front of his house had enough hydropower to manage to pedal his bicycle. So he made a generator out of the parts he had and drew electricity to the house.

Rumors quickly spread and neighbors began to visit regularly to charge their cell phones. "Since the voice of wanting to use electricity has begun to arrive, we decided to increase the scale," says Nukoshi.

Nukoshi had never been trained in power generation technology, but converted an old refrigerator compressor into a turbine. He installed it in a stream to generate electricity for six households. Today, it uses the motor of a machine that removes obsolete corn nuts from its shaft to turn a larger water wheel to power the village.

The villagers don't pay for electricity, but they give Nukoshi about $ 1 a month for maintenance. However, this alone cannot cover the repair costs, so the shortfall is mainly covered by Mr. Nukoshi's private expenses.

Despite the challenges, Nukoshi wants to extend this small-scale power grid to the surrounding area. "If more villages and schools get electricity ... we won't cut trees to make charcoal," Nukoshi said. The students also said, "I have more time to study." [Translation edit] AFPBB News ｜ Terms of use