Another trip overseas is finished and it’s time for reflection and planning for next year. But first another excerpt from my Malagasy Journal.
Sunrise over Ambohimahamasina. During the PV project I stayed in the new accomodation for trekkers - very comfortable and now with full electric lights and plugs.
I arrived in Madagascar this year with hopes and plans and enough funds to execute both. However, from Day One, it was to prove my most difficult trip, from a psychological and emotional point of view. I was depressed and despondent much of the time and being attacked by a modern day cut-purse, whose razor sliced right through my bag, notebook, t-shirt, and trousers shortly after I arrived, set me off on negative attitudinal decline that I only fully pulled out of at the end of the trip. But, as always, there were delightful moments and some real achievements, a few of which I will recount here.
M.Donne, my most experienced helper, preparing to attach the mount frame for the solar panels. The roof was so steep that we had to use safety ropes at all times.
Ambohimahamasina Revisited
One of the two large projects I had pre-arranged with Sam, of Ny Tanintsika, a local NGO, was to install a 420 Watt PV system to power the Soamiray women’s basketry co-operative in Ambohimahamasina. A new two-storey building had just been completed with funds from Prosperer, a private sector/state funder that supports rural enterprises. They also funded the solar system, though not quite to the extend of the 1,000 Watts I had originally asked for. If I had been in charge of the purchasing, we could have bought the larger system for the same amount of money, but that’s another story! I had the metal racking for the panels welded up in Fianarantsoa and made the usual rounds of the covered market in Tsaralalanana, Tana, to get the best prices for tools, and cable etc.
One of the two large projects I had pre-arranged with Sam, of Ny Tanintsika, a local NGO, was to install a 420 Watt PV system to power the Soamiray women’s basketry co-operative in Ambohimahamasina. A new two-storey building had just been completed with funds from Prosperer, a private sector/state funder that supports rural enterprises. They also funded the solar system, though not quite to the extend of the 1,000 Watts I had originally asked for. If I had been in charge of the purchasing, we could have bought the larger system for the same amount of money, but that’s another story! I had the metal racking for the panels welded up in Fianarantsoa and made the usual rounds of the covered market in Tsaralalanana, Tana, to get the best prices for tools, and cable etc.
The finished solar array - 560 watts of PV power. The array is oddly positioned because the roof faces North-West and I needed to face the panels due North. Now there's plenty power to go round.
I had asked for 3 helpers to assist with the heavy lifting and to train up as knowledgeable maintenance men. But in the end, it turned out to be a jobs-program, where two were on-the-ball enough to grasp the fundamentals of PV and electricity, but three were restricted to heavy lifting under strict supervision. Luckily, the winter weather In Madagascar is a delight to work in – a bit like summer in the Bay Area – cool, even foggy, mornings and evenings, with a pleasantly hot afternoon. The orientation and tilt angle for the panels was a bit of a challenge as the roof pointed north-west and it already had a 30 degree slope. But as all those who attended my later training sessions will , I hope, know, the panels must face due North in Madagascar and in Ambohimahamasina, should be tilted at about 22 degrees. I left a space on the racking for two more panels, should the funds ever become available. In short, the installation went very smoothly and we were even able to provide power for the local electricians who did the interior wiring of the lights and plugs. Three of the upstairs rooms of the Vannerie (basket weaving), building are dormitory rooms where tourists who come for trekking can stay. The co-op ladies manage this little business and it is another source of income for them. All in all, there are now 26 lights and 15 plugs, all powered by solar energy. The system was heralded by the whole community as a great success. I later came across a cheap source of what seemed like reliable panels in Tana, so purchasing two, I returned to Ambohimahamasina to complete the installation.
The road to Solila - enough said!
PV Trainings
This year I held three PV training sessions – one in Tana for professionals or people wanting to break into PV, one in Solila and one in Ambalavao. The last two were attended by people who were already responsible for solar system attached to schools and clinics. The Tana one I gave in French as usual, but for the other two I was able to teach in English and have it simultaneously translated into Malagasy. This was a big improvement – many thanks to my translator Mamy Ives! Another innovation this year was the formalization of the curriculum for the Introduction to PV course. It took me 10 days of combing through all my reference books to come up with a 10-page document. But now it’s done and each new training can be tailored to the participants using this curriculum. Mamy Ives is translating it into Malagasy and I’m sending it off for translation into Karen and Burmese.
This year I held three PV training sessions – one in Tana for professionals or people wanting to break into PV, one in Solila and one in Ambalavao. The last two were attended by people who were already responsible for solar system attached to schools and clinics. The Tana one I gave in French as usual, but for the other two I was able to teach in English and have it simultaneously translated into Malagasy. This was a big improvement – many thanks to my translator Mamy Ives! Another innovation this year was the formalization of the curriculum for the Introduction to PV course. It took me 10 days of combing through all my reference books to come up with a 10-page document. But now it’s done and each new training can be tailored to the participants using this curriculum. Mamy Ives is translating it into Malagasy and I’m sending it off for translation into Karen and Burmese.
Translator Mamy Ives explains the use of the multimeter.
Sambavy
Another fun project this year was a quick visit to the village of Sambavy, near Fianarantsoa. This is the location of a large tea plantation and is tucked away in beautiful hills about 25 kms out of town. This was another small pilot project where we gave LED lights and small batteries to 12 householders and a solar panel to one responsible person, who would operate the charging station as a small enterprise. I had brought the ultra-efficient lights from Burma and bought the rest of the equipment locally. Unfortunately, the high cost of the batteries and solar panel means that the charging fees and replacement costs will be much higher than in Burma. The batteries are brought back to the charging station twice a week and the latest report is that the pilot program is a great success.
Another fun project this year was a quick visit to the village of Sambavy, near Fianarantsoa. This is the location of a large tea plantation and is tucked away in beautiful hills about 25 kms out of town. This was another small pilot project where we gave LED lights and small batteries to 12 householders and a solar panel to one responsible person, who would operate the charging station as a small enterprise. I had brought the ultra-efficient lights from Burma and bought the rest of the equipment locally. Unfortunately, the high cost of the batteries and solar panel means that the charging fees and replacement costs will be much higher than in Burma. The batteries are brought back to the charging station twice a week and the latest report is that the pilot program is a great success.
The two ladies tasked with charging the batteries everyday. Having had no warning of our coming nor any prior experience of batteries, they did a great job of mastering the details in a short period.
So another trip to L’ile Rouge was concluded and I was happy to head back to California, via Thailand. Eight months on the road is a long time and I plan to manage my schedule next year with more attention to rest and relaxation. We’ll see!
I spent an afternoon at a battery repair shop, right there on the street in Fianarantsoa. The batteries are cut open, the ruined plates removed and replacements installed. The same acid is poured back in and you are out the door for $30! If they last another year, it's economically viable, but it's a dangerous, toxic business.
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