Following the trip to Shyira (Wednesday), we lodged in Musanze and spent Thursday morning planning community surveys and going over some system-related information to learn while in the community (preferred electric load schedules, for instance).
While performing community/site surveys, we stayed in Byumba, Gicumbi. Although it is possible to cut eastward to Byumba from Musanze, it was quickest to go Musanze-Kigali-Byumba via buses, so Thursday afternoon and evening were spent traveling.
On Friday morning, we made our way out to the first site of interest, the Nyakeru river in Rushaki. From Byumba, we went to Maya via bus, then took motos from Maya to Rushaki center. To our surprise, there was electrification here! Turns out, a European Commission/USAID/MININFRA project a few years back installed a 45kW system nearby on a larger river. However, it is not enough to supply all of the villages nearby, and villagers reported that the system has some unresolved technical problems. We discovered that the lights go off regularly around 10PM every night, presumably as part of a load-scheduling scheme. Certain equipment cannot be used on the system (presumably motors, microwaves, and other high-power equipment), but no definite information was available on these restrictions, and whether they are automatic or manually enforced.
Single-Phase from the 45kW microgrid
Although streets might not be well-labeled (if at all), communities are very well organized from the district level down to the individual umudugudu. A grouping of umudugudu is called a “cell”, and on our way to Nyakeru we met with the local cell leader (Madame Beatrice) who provided us with some valuable information on the imidugudu in the ecll. She was also a trooper and walked with us for the entire length of the stream and stuck with us while we were doing our technical surveys (measure altitude with GPS and the flow rate).
Measuring that flow
Plenty of good technical information, and we set up a meeting with the community for Saturday, including teachers, community opinion leaders, committee members, farmers, and technicians.
Walking between Rushaki Centre Ville and Nyakeru
We returned the Byumba lodgings on Friday night, but planned to stay in Rushaki on Saturday to try to cut down on travel time. The local Catholic parish had some rooms for the evening, and was conveniently close to Nyakeru. The Priests were very encouraging of our project and we had an excellent time enjoying their company over dinner and breakfast the next morning.
On Saturday we arrived at the Rushaki school where we met with a good number of people, about 20, who would have some stake in a hydro system installation/business. We introduced ourselves and the UC Davis Blum Center/D-lab, as well as the interns and their university. Then we gave everyone attending a chance to introduce themselves and what they do. We moved on to “Problem Tree Analysis,” which is basically a group exercise to find out the “problems” (needs and wants) in the community and the causes and effects of that problem. We focused on energy access as the issue at stake.
Problem Tree: Branches=Effects, Roots=Causes
We did this analysis on Saturday with Rushaki community members and on Sunday afternoon with the Rwabafu community leaders, another nearby site which we also surveyed on Sunday. I was overwhelmed by the effectiveness of this exercise. The Rushaki community was very outspoken on many energy-related issues. We learned a great deal about electricity from their perspective and were encouraged by their eagerness to support a partnership. The Rwabafu site was equally encouraging but in a different way. At first, they seemed disinterested and skeptical about these Americans suggesting technical and business training for hydropower. They said it was OK, but how would they have the initial capital? We shared what we had learned so far from the UC Davis D-lab, other literature, and the cost of materials we’d found in Rwanda so far. This sparked a discussion and before we knew it, the four crumbling concrete walls were bouncing new ideas back and forth in a cacophonous discussion. We learned a great deal from this discussion too, like how to find cheaper materials and what skills and services were available in the area. The discussion was aptly summed up by a gentlemen who leaned back in his chair and confidently stated, “OK, we have all this material. We’re ready to get started.”
Kyle’s Spoon Turbine
While encouraging, it is also challenging us to think of specific next steps – a business? a technical and entrepreneurship training center? Armed with community knowledge and specific cost details, we are ready to consider the next move.
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