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We find out how text messages are saving Kenya’s elephants and crops and meet local entrepreneurs across the Brussels Airlines network
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Find out how one man is using wind power to provide energy to a Gambian community
It’s an eye-catching design that looks good in the flat landscape on the Atlantic coast. It’s the pride of the whole village and means people can hope for more renewable energy in The Gambia and West Africa. We’re talking about a 150kW large turbine in Batokunku, the first modern wind energy plant in West Africa, which has been feeding green electricity into the network since the end of January.
The man behind this symbolic pioneer mill is German Peter Weißferdt, who lives in Batokunku with his wife, Gitta. Some years ago, he came up with the idea to supply his home with electricity from wind energy. To do this he founded the Association for Rural Electrification in The Gambia (Dorfelektrik in Gambia e.V.), which now runs the windmill. Before this dream could come true, Weißferdt had a lot of persuading work to do within the Gambian energy sector – to blow away technical and legal objections.
Meet the co-founder of Kenyan fashion label Kooroo (kooroos.com), which provides locally made, quality clothing
HEBRET LAKEW
How did you become a fashion designer? I studied fashion design in New York City and worked for Max Mara for four years. In 2006 I decided to start my own fashion label – Kooroo, meaning “be proud” – with my partner, Enid Lanez. Our aim was to create modern clothing with an African influence.
What difficulties have you faced as a designer in Kenya? It has been a challenge. When we started we were working from home and producing everything consistently, such as the size of clothing and the right fabrics, was difficult. We’ve had to improvise from time to time. We started out very small and it was just one thing at a time. Slowly, we’ve built up the business.
What’s the fashion industry like in Kenya? It’s growing. Designers are starting to show their work, here and internationally.
What advice would you give to fashion hopefuls living in Kenya? Don’t give up. If you’re interested in fashion, do it. Get the skills from a fashion college. I’d advise young designers to find somebody they look up to and work with them to get experience.
DIARY DATE
Don’t miss the 2nd EAC Investment Conference (eac.int) in Nairobi, 24-27 June. The event dubbed ‘East African Community: One Market One Destination’ will showcase investment opportunities across the region.
JUMBO TECHNOLOGY
Text messages from elephants
Elephants in Kenya are being fitted with collars embedded with mobile SIM cards that send text messages every time the animals approach a virtual geofence – alerting rangers that they’re about to enter farmers’ fields. Teams are then dispatched immediately to scare off the animals and prevent them from raiding valuable crops.
Crop-raiding is a widespread problem across Africa, costing farmers their livelihood and leading to elephants being culled. The pioneering scheme, set up by Save the Elephants, is tackling the problem head on and getting results, but it’s not a cheap solution. Collars cost in the region of €3,800 and then there’s the cost of hiring rangers and other staff to deal with the elephants when they approach the ‘fence’. www.savetheelephants.org
GADGET CORNER
Pocket PC causes a stir
We’re really quite taken with Sony’s sleek new Vaio P Series notebook. Measuring just 21mm in depth and weighing only 638g, it’s currently the world’s lightest 8in (20cm) notebook. It brings a new meaning to the term hand luggage, as it will even fit in your pocket. From €920, vaio.sony.co.uk
Power on the move
You needn’t be stuck for a power supply on your travels again, thanks to the new Solio Mono multi-platform charger. This compact water-resistant device works with more than 500 handheld appliances and stores enough energy in its solar panel to charge a mobile phone at least once. €54, www.solio.com