Got solar?

Zambia has electricity in towns.  There are power outages at inconvenient times but it is still what draws me to come in from the bush.  Here I can cook on a stove, work on a computer, and take a hot shower--all powered by electricity.
Meanwhile, back at the Mpepo Rural Health Center there are 4 large solar panels mounted on the tin roof.  One is for the lights on the porches of the hospital.  One is for the radio communication with the Ministry of Health and other emergency situations, and two are powering the refrigerator which holds our vaccines and medicine.  Less than 1/4 km away power lines run through our village originating at the waterfalls and ending at the Chambeshi transformer.  This set-up was installed and donated to Zambia by a private company.  The lines are currently not connected to any institution or house as we await the government and electric companyto decide who and how to pay for connection and delivery--infrastructure-- is the buzzword.

I brought a Solio solar charger with me from the states to charge my phone.  It works very well even in the rainy season. The villagers pay a fee to charge theirs at the clinic or tuck shops which also have solar panels. I was recently gifted with a solar light bulb from Barbara--another volunteer--sent to her by an NGO in the States.  I hitched it to a long pole which I tuck into the thatch so the bulb hangs out in the sun during the day and over my work area at night inside my hut.  I call it my bulb on a stick.   

Now that I own a computer I have been very happy but a little frustrated about having to come to Kasama to work on it.  None of the existing panels in Mpepo generate enough power to charge the netbook-sized laptop.  When I bought it online from Walmart, I researched the solar set-up needed in Zambia and found it cost prohibitive.  The panel alone cost more than the computer.  If I stayed longer than 2 years, it would be worthwhile, but... The panel needs to be connected to a car battery which holds the charge and is connected to an inverter which regulates the power and is connected to whatever you want to charge. (I may have left  out a hip bone connection)  You can imagine my excitement when I arrived in Kasama and learned that a fellow volunteer just found and bought the set-up for a fraction of my store estimates.  Yesterday Barbara and I walked out of town to the local market and bought the same set-up as he.  I got installation instructions from the other volunteer.  If it works, I will be writing my next blog post from Mpepo. 

PS:  the new banner picture on my blog is a photo of a rainbow over my outhouse and the windmill at the rural health center.