Making good use of natural resources
Ecological aspects are very important in the Diani Maendeleo Academy. Overlooking our school compound one can discover a lot of ecological projects, which are explained in the following: Solar energy on the roofs of the buildings, an energy saving oven and a solar cooker, a wind generator and some projects concerning the natural resource water. Also the school has ECOSAN toilets; after a process we use the urine and the waste as fertiliser. We also produce compost.
Solar Panels
In Kenya there is almost every day sunshine from morning till evening. Our school is near to the equator, where the sun is especially intense. This brings a high energy level.We want to make full use of it. Thus we invested in solar panels. Some panels were constructed on the roof of our boarding house so that the girls living there have light after the sun sets at about 6.30 pm in order to do their homework, cleaning their rooms and can live in a safe environment. Other panels are ensuring a constant use of our laptops for the teachers and students. Even though our school is connected with the public power company, there is often no power. The solar energy gives the school a lot of opportunities. Besides it is friendly to the environment as well as the costs for power are less.
Solar cooker
Every day our students get fresh made food by one of our workers. He usually has cooked with open fire, which has wasted a lot of wood and charcoal. To reduce this, the school constructed a solar cooker with friendly support of a German school class. Consequently the solar cooker was brought to Kenya and installed on the school compound. After the introduction of the manner of function, the solar cooker is now assisting in preparing the food on sunny days. If it rains our cook will fall back completely on using our energy saving oven.
Wind generator
Another method to get clean power is to use the energy of the wind. A donation from one of our charity members gave us the opportunity to invest in a wind generator. With a wattage of 500 Watts the generator produces enough power for a laptop that is used for about nine hours.
Water
Water is often rare in our area, especially during the dry season and we really take care of our resources. To collect the water is very important, as the school is not connected to water pipes; so all our roofs are fitted with gutters to collect rain water. This water catchment system so far has a tank capacity of 129,000 litres.
Our Interact Club provides the school with clean drinking water through a method called SOlar Water DISinfection. This simple procedure makes rainwater drinkable. One has to fill water in plastic bottles, put the bottles in the sun and has to wait for minimum six hours. Through a mix of the high temperature and UV-A-light the water is disinfected of small pathogen micro organisms. SODIS was positive tested by the Deputy District Public Health Office. This procedure makes it possible for our girls to get fresh and drinkable water daily.
These projects show the importance of sustainability in the Diani Maendeleo Academy. We care about ecological issues by integrating parts that are friendly to the environment as well as make the school more independent from public given facts. All our students join many advantages as e.g. clean water, high technology, well-prepared food and light during darkness.