Introduction

Several years ago Rupert Bozeat (RB) and a member of staff working in the volunteering department at Leeds Metropolitan University (Leeds Met) went to The Gambia to explore the possibility of setting up a volunteering project there. They did not find suitable partners at the time. However, RB returned in December 2008 accompanied by myself, to organise a trip for Leeds Met design students the following year. There we met Maurice Phillips and his wife, Geri, who (amongst many other things) run Sandele Eco Retreat near Kartong on the South coast of The Gambia. They turned out to provide an ideal platform for a Leeds Met volunteering expedition.



 

Training the volunteers

The first week of the excursion RB and myself had to train our student volunteers. This was one of the limitations of the volunteering project because ideally we would have taken a group of people who were already familiar with the work ahead. At first we gave an introduction to the workshop and equipment to be used. It was great to see the volunteers rapidly gain confidence using the machinery.

Health & Safety

It is important to recognize that Health & Safety standards maredly differ from the ones in the UK. In terms of the wind turbine this was especially noticeable in the way locals use electrical machinery including welding equipment. On occasion this relaxed attitude also transferred to the student volunteers.

bottom left: volunteer using an angle grinder in flip flops

bottom right: RCD to protect us from dodgy wiring

Local techniques and knowledge

right: a human jig saw

bottom left: to get a smooth finish on wood products timber is scraped with glass

bottom right: inferior chipboard is improved with a thin lipping


Other turbines

There are a number of turbines to be found along the coast between Kartong and Serrekunda. This includes several working (and derelict) turbines to pump water (bottom right); a 150 kilowatts turbine in Batakunku; a few smaller imported turbines including one at Sandele. The Sandele turbine meant that our wind project would be feasible in terms of the technology. We also came across one for sale in Kanifing (below).

They then started to work in pairs on the construction of a 3m turbine under our supervision. 

top: carving a blade

right: resin test

far right: placing magnets to a metal disc.

bottom: resin casting

break

As part of their stay in The Gambia the volunteers had a two night/ three day break for sightseeing.

training the locals

After initial confusion about when the locals should join us and how many there would be we worked with about 20-25 Gambians over the next two weeks. These were mainly students from the Kartong Skills Centre.

Once more we started with an introduction to the workshop facilities. This time the pairs of volunteers took over this task which added another dimension to their experience (we emphasised the importance of passing on skills in this context) and also worked out great with the number of Gambians who participated.

Again a transition to working on the construction of a turbine (1.8m) then followed.

top: measuring out a blade

right: winding coils


things go wrong

Inaccuracies during the first two days helped us explain the importance of working with precision. Other mistakes, including a magnet being glued on the wrong way (my biggest nightmare come true) were an opportunity to demonstrate how to rectify errors. This also brought to our attention issues related to language and differences in education which essentially leads to the next point...

... mechanisms and techniques of knowledge transfer

Doing practical work generally makes it easier to overcome language barriers and other issues related to teaching. However, more abstract things such as an angle required us to be more creative in the way we taught. At this point the fact that we had volunteers who had not been experts in constructing wind turbines prior to the trip but therefore had other skills, became an advantage. For instance, two of the volunteers were doing educational degrees and knew how to explain what an angle is. On other occasions we designed contraptions (right) that helped explain mechanisms. In this case the way magnets move over the different coils and the three phases.

Also, see ‘final hours’ below for Richard Seymour’s idea of painting the blade tips in different colours to show if the turbine requires re-balancing in the future.

day to day

After the locals joined us at Sandele we generally worked with them until about 1 pm, then went for lunch, waited for the temperature to cool down and work on the 3m  turbine in the afternoon/ evening.


a day at the skills centre

We did spend one day working at the Skills Centre in Kartong. Due to the lack of time, finances and welding equipment at the school it was not feasible to spend more time there. We continued work on the small turbine and returned back to Sandele in the afternoon.


where do we put the turbine

A small group including myself had already established that the space behind the Skills Centre would be ideal to place the turbine. There is already a small charging station for car batteries that locals use, the Gambians we worked with were mainly students and staff from the school (so they know best how to maintain it and hopefully take pride in the project), there is room to keep batteries, etc. safe and the obstruction from trees and buildings is minimal. However, we did have wait to arrange a meeting with the Village Development Committee (VDC) to get their approval and support. Luckily the VDC, the people from the Skills Centre, us lot and even the translator happily agreed. 

right: back of the Skills Centre


the tower

As mentioned earlier we were on a very tight budget and we needed a tower at least for the small turbine. Maurice had come across a fallen down phone mast which we inspected at the beginning of the the trip. Actually there were two masts and both were in sections. There was enough material to create one or possibly two towers. However, the structure was owned by a national mobile phone provider and what followed was a drawn out bureaucratic process which meant Kartong village was allowed to have the tower but it did not actually materialize before our departure.

Useful links

• Leeds Met Volunteering http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/cpv/

• Sandele Eco Retreat in The Gambia http://www.sandele.com/

  1. •Hugh Piggott http://www.scoraigwind.com/

  2. •Centre For Alternative Technology http://www.cat.org.uk/

  3. •Materials for the construction of small turbines http://www.wind-turbine-supplies.co.uk/

coming to an end

The last days of the construction were very hectic at times as our departure was approaching and we still had two turbines to finish, sort a tower and bits to hoist the turbine.

right: assembling the blades


It was important not to loose the focus of knowledge transfer and keep a cool head when equipment failed such as the welding machine.

bottom left: drilling holes in the frame

bottom right: stator fixed on the frame

In the end we used a temporary tower (about 11m) to demonstrate how the turbine spins up in the sky


In the autumn of 2009 I took part on a course on How To Build A Wind Turbine at the CAT in Wales under the instruction of Hugh Piggott. Keeping in mind the experience RB and I had had of The Gambia as well as the fact that he had run several Leeds Met volunteering excursions to Indonesia (2 of which I went on as a student volunteer) he suggested to run a volunteering project that involved constructing a wind turbine  for Kartong village.


Shortly after, Maurice visited the UK. Rupert, myself and Susan Robinson from the volunteering department at Leeds Met discussed the possibility for such a project with him.


I returned to The Gambia in December 2009 to plan a longer stay in the country for the autumn of the following year. Maurice kindly organised a meeting with the Kartong Village Development Committee (VDC). The committee consists of village elders with whom we had the opportunity to propose a Leeds Met volunteering project: to work with locals on the construction of a small wind turbine that would compliment an existing battery charging system.


Leeds Met has been running international volunteering trips for a number of years now. Anybody working for or studying at Leeds Met can apply. Initially, excursions were heavily subsidised by the university with first time participants covering 50% of their trip. This has recently changed and members of staff have a lesser chance of receiving money towards their trip. This and the fact that the trip to The Gambia happened during term time (Easter break and one week before) might explain why virtually all applicants were students.


Volunteers typically go through an application process that includes a written part as well as an interview. Although not the official team leader (RB was abroad) I was keen to get involved in the application process, co-scoring the written application as well as sitting in the interview panel. There were about 25 applicants for 15 spaces. Both RB and myself were keen to reduce the number to a more manageable size and in the end (after the application process, some drop outs, etc.) we took 8 students to The Gambia.


RB ran one session in the Leeds Met workshop to give volunteers a more hands on idea of the type of work we would be doing. We would have liked to provide more training but this was not possible within the time frame of the project. The volunteers were offered a place before Christmas 2009 and paid a deposit after the holidays. After the deposits were received, Su Robinson could then conclude work on booking arrangements for the trip. As we were heading to The Gambia over Easter (19th of March - 9th of April) we were now on a tight schedule to fundraise enough money to make the project happen. We decided that each volunteer needed to raise £100; 8 volunteers and 2 staff members totals £1000. This budget had to buy all the materials and equipment for the project. A £100 target seemed adequate, bearing in mind also that the volunteers had to raise money to pay for their trip - flights, transport, 3 day break, accommodation inc. full board at Sandele Eco Retreat.


One of the big dilemmas RB and I felt was the fact that we did not wish to have volunteers simply construct a turbine for the village and then leave without knowledge transfer having taken place. We decided it would be best if we were to purchase enough material for two turbines: one to train the volunteers and one for our group to then train locals from the village. A £1000 budget was very tight for all the materials and spare parts in case something went wrong. RB decided it would be best just to go with one turbine. However, the order for materials had already been put through wish inevitably resulted in a better project in terms of impact but also meant we went over budget. Sandele Eco Retreat very kindly agreed to buy the 3m turbine which was a huge relief. We still went several hundred pounds over budget which was reduced by another fundraiser.

Final hours

Towards the end of our last day part of the group transported the tower to the Skills Centre while the rest finished off the small turbine (right).

bottom: dry run - lifting the temporary tower

We were supposed to be on the way to the airport when the turbine went up - then we realized the tail was in the wrong position and actually kept the turbine out of the wind. In the end though the turbine went up the right way which made all the hard work worthwhile.

left: lowering the turbine to change the position of the tail







left & bottom: taking down the working turbine


Time to go home

If the project was a success will show over time.

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LAST UPDATED July 20th 2010