Site Visits on Independence Day

Sesotho word(s!) of the day: Khotso, Phula, Nala - Peace, Rain, Prosperity

Independence Day

October 4 is independence day in Lesotho. A day usually occupied by attending and feasting on a traditional braai (barbeque) and enjoying plenty of Maluti brew. (Maluti brewery is the biggest brewery in Lesotho, and is named after the Maloti (pronounced maluti) Mountains) This independence day was distinguished from most others as the day that the Government of Lesotho unfirled the new "Peace" flag.



Yup, the Government of Lesotho changed the flag of Lesotho. The previous flag had the three colors of the new flag, but arranged in diagonal stripes, with a shield, a spear, and a traditional weapon crossed together in the upper left-hand corner.

The new flag retains the three colors that symbolize Khotso, Phula, and Nala, but replaces the war symbol with the traditional Basotho Hat. This is the new peace flag. THis flag has been excepted with mixed reviews from the Basotho. Some like it, some don't really care, and some have complaints about the hat. The biggest complaint is that the hat on the flag is black, whereas the hat in real life is light brown - made out of thatches.


Site Visits

On Independence Day, the Solar Turbine Group bowed out of all braais, and went on the road to conduct site visits. We visited all three sites under consideration for the deployment of our pilot systems: the village of Ha Teboho, the clinic at Ha Nohana, and the high school in Bethel.

The village of Ha Teboho is an ideal site - a fairly level ground, a perfectly-sized clearing just adjacent to the gravity-fed water pump that supposedly never runs dry, and an almost unobstructed horizon. Our site visits involved taking measurements, noting the angle of the horizon, measuring the flowrate and temperature of the water available from the tap, and speaking with the chief.

Site and Water Source

Site Assessment in Action

Matt and the Chief

The clinic at Ha Nohana is in desparate need of electricity. The clinic currently has no source of electricity, which forces the doctors to perform emergency procedures that must be addressed at night in the dark, with the assistance of a headlamp and a parafin lamp. As one of the physicians says, this situation is clearly "sub-optimal". This site, however, is a distinctly more challenging site. The ground is uneven, several new buildings are planned for the grounds of the clinic, which would take up most of the open sites, the horizon is blocked to the west by a giant moutain, and the location of the water and electricity load are less than ideally located. So we took measurements of several areas, and will find the best that will work!

Water Source and Clinic

Uneven Ground at Ha Nohana

Mountain Obstructing the Horizon

Bethel high school is more in need of hot water. The school currently has a generator that pumps electricity into its underground grid to power the school buildings. Their electricity usage per day is quite high, as they run over 20 computers pretty much all day long. To meet these needs, the school runs the generator from about 8-4 and again from 6-8 to meet the electricity needs for evening studying, cooking, and cleaning. The school also has dormatories with no hot water. It gets extremely cold in Lesotho in the late fall / winter / early spring months, and the unheated water is often even dangerous to bathe in. To suit these needs, the system we design for this site will produce hot water for the dorms and electricity to reduce the load on the generator, but certainly not displace it. Site prep at the high school will be very straight-forward. The site is level, unobstructed, and has good proximity to both the water source and to the electrical grid into which the system will feed.