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This installation in Chifiri, in North Eastern province Kenya is an example of how wind and solar installations can be used to provide the needs of marginalized communities in arid and semi-arid areas.

Simon Mwacharo, TEDGlobal speaker and renewable energy innovator has written about it in wonderful detail and provided pictures. Read more about it here.

The turbine also provides some power to the nearby manyattas (traditional samburu huts), Simon noticed a Japanese guy camped out near the turbine. That was the only place he could charge his laptop and phone!

Do note that next week, the TEDGlobal talks will premiere on Ted.com. Subscribe in itunes by searching for tedtalks and also check the TED blog for a series of posts from bloggers who attended the conference. A piece i wrote is is alread posted on the TED blog, Like Emily said ‘This is the bloggers story to tell’, because there wasn’t as much coverage of it in the mainstream news. I hope you enjoy the talks.

Here is some great information on how to set up your own solar water pump from a shallow spring. Link to The Other Power. very handy…and look ma! no batteries!

Solar–Solar technology is very well suited to pumping water, even more so than the traditional windmill. A typical system includes one or more solar panels, an efficient 12 volt DC pump, a controller (with float switches), and a “linear current booster” (more about this later). As long as it’s daytime and the float switches show that the water source is not empty and the cistern in the house is not overflowing, the pump will run. The linear current booster allows the pump to run even if it’s cloudy out.

Image from The other Power