MVLTC stands for Mafinga Vocational Lutheran Training Center. This is a school where the students learn all kinds of practical skills like carpentry, electronics, and metal works. This centre is initiated by the Lutheran church. They started with building wind turbines and water pumping windmills already a couple of years ago, long before ‘I love windpower’ was operating in Tanzania. Since two years they concentrate on Hugh Piggott type wind turbines.
The contact with the staff of the renewable energy department of this MVLTC was very good during our master class in Dar in september this year (see picture of Annemieke together with staff). Therefore we were very happy to pay a visit to their workshops. We could see that they really know how to assemble a Hugh Piggott turbines. Besides that, they make biogas-installations, re-used solar panels, solar water heaters, etc.
After visiting the workshop we visited a customer. This customer is using the electricity mainly for lighting. Moreover, he also charges mobile phones of village people for which he asks a small amount of money. Because the area is very windy, he never is running on low battery. Even not with the 60 Watt conventional bulb that is hanging in the living room! I recommended him to change that very quickly into a saving lamp, but he answered that he does not experience a low battery situation.
We thank Wilfred Nyambulapi, Jonathan Kisukuli, Fidos Mrema, Bastian Telgen and Raphael Karutz for the very welcome visit. In Tanzania we say Asante Sana!