The project goal is to provide a sustainable energy solution for smallholder farmers surrounding Lake Bunyonyi in rural Uganda. The project focused on a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and reliable solution to provide villagers with access to electricity for phone charging and lighting. Long term goals include electricity for more commercial uses, but is not a primary objective at this time.
Project Review
People living within the villages surrounding lake Bunyonyi near Entusi Resort in South Western Uganda primarily use kerosene as their main source of household energy. Kerosene is a flammable hydrocarbon liquid commonly used as fuel for kerosene lamps, domestic heaters, and a means of cooking in Uganda [1]. Kerosene contributes to many negative health effects that, over time, can have a potentially fatal effect on the lives of users. The inhalation of kerosene for short periods of time (about an hour) can cause nausea, increased blood pressure, and irritated or bloodshot eyes. It has also been found that breathing in kerosene can have negative effects on the nervous system. After prolonged exposure, some of the long-term side effects include chronic headaches, light-headedness, poor coordination, and difficulty concentrating [2]. These long-term health issues can increase the chances of death at a younger age.
The community impacted by the project are farmers with families living off of limited income in an extremely rural location. The villagers’ only method of banking is via cell phones, so when they are without a cell phone, or location to charge it, they are without their money. This is a serious problem providing that the majority houses do not have access to electricity. Providing a reliable source of electricity will greatly simplify villagers' lives, save them money, allow an improvement in education, and increase the health of individuals. Overall, this engineering project has the capability of creating an astounding increase in quality of life for the villagers surrounding Lake Bunyonyi.
This design project was brought to us by the Global Livingston Institute (GLI), a Colorado-based company, whose goal is to find innovative approaches to international development and to build partnerships between communities. The staff at GLI have spent many hours in communication with our team and were a huge source of information as we worked on finding a solution for the design problem they presented to us.
One of the most significant constraints in this project description is the income of the villagers. Currently, income of a single person is approximately $1.00 a day. Another large constraint within our project is coming up with a solution that can be fully sustained by the villagers and will last for a long time without maintenance or repair. This constraint has pushed our team to not only look for inexpensive solutions but also simpler solutions that will create an energy outcome feasible for the villagers to use. In order to better understand the energy needs of the villagers, a trip was planned, and information was gathered by the team. A variety of useful information was gathered, and is discussed at length in the following sections.
