Baobab Health Partnership

Recently Chris Gordon volunteered a couple of weeks with Baobab. He built a tower and put a windmill on top. The following are some of his photos and his writeup from the experience:

Tower erection was a two-step process: first, we embedded the tower (in folded configuration: vertical for the first 8m; at an angle past the hinge) in a 4′ deep concrete foundation; once the foundation concrete cured, we raised the second half of the tower (and turbine) to vertical. At left, the tower in folded configuration, and me in anticipatory configuration. At left, the second phase of installation: raising the turbine to vertical. On either side are two sets of five people pushing the tower up with 14m aluminum poles. Also at each side is one person guying the tower with rope to control lateral movement. Next to the tower is a Mitsubishi Pajero (named Montero in US and Spanish-speaking countries and Shogun elsewhere, due to negative connotations of the word in Spanish) with 5000lb towing capacity. This is connected to a rope that extends to the top of the water tower and to the top half of the turbine tower. This was used more to maintain the amount the tower has been raised than to tow the tower to vertical. Finally, in the foreground, much of Ngoni assembled to watch the spectacle.

At right: success! The turbine shown spinning, 18m in the air.