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Gondwana News
Air-conditioned rooms at Namushasha River Lodge
Lights on for 24 hours: Namushasha River Lodge has been connected to the national power grid.
The main switch is pushed up. At last, on 27 January, Namushasha River Lodge is connected to the national power grid. Everybody is tremendously pleased. “There was no time to celebrate, though”, says Reini Hoppe, the technical manager of the Gondwana Group. “We had to test the air conditioners in each of the 27 rooms.” Since that memorable day our guests sleep in pleasantly chilled rooms, and they can switch on the light in the middle of the night.
Previously that could not be taken for granted. Three diesel generators were operated 18 hours per day to supply Namushasha River Lodge with electricity. After Gondwana acquired the lodge in June 2012, various environmentally friendly alternatives to the generators were considered. The noise and CO2 emissions certainly weren’t compatible with the lodge’s concept of sustainable management. Furthermore, the diesel generators were expensive to run. The costs for fuel and maintenance was in the region of N$980,000 per year.
In the past years the Zambezi region has seen a huge investment in rural electrification through state entities and this roll-out continues. Towards the end of 2014 the power line was extended from Kongola southwards to Ngonga Primary School. This school is about 6 km away from the lodge. With the national grid spreading to Zambezi, the use of power from the national grid provides a cost-effective source of energy that has a range of social and financial benefits. After extensive consultations with representatives of the Mashi conservancy and the surrounding communities Gondwana has now replaced the use of generators with a 33 kV line from Ngonga Primary School to Namushasha River Lodge. The managers of Namushasha River Lodge, Kati and Stephan Klein, had a decisive part in this.
“Being connected to the grid improves the service to our guests”, Kati explains. “In particular we have those guests in mind who use respirators at night or need to store medicines in a fridge. All that is now possible as a matter of course.” And Stefan adds: “Now we can equip the camping site with motion sensors so that our campers needn’t worry that they might bump into an elephant if they go to the toilet at night.”
Gondwana has invested more than a million Namibia Dollars to get connected to the national grid. The nearby Namushasha Cultural Centre, which is managed by the Mashi community, also benefits from the connection.
#NamushashaLodgeNews
#NamushashaLodgeNamibia
#НамушашаЛоджНамибия
Gondwana News
Air-conditioned rooms at Namushasha River Lodge
Lights on for 24 hours: Namushasha River Lodge has been connected to the national power grid.
The main switch is pushed up. At last, on 27 January, Namushasha River Lodge is connected to the national power grid. Everybody is tremendously pleased. “There was no time to celebrate, though”, says Reini Hoppe, the technical manager of the Gondwana Group. “We had to test the air conditioners in each of the 27 rooms.” Since that memorable day our guests sleep in pleasantly chilled rooms, and they can switch on the light in the middle of the night.
Previously that could not be taken for granted. Three diesel generators were operated 18 hours per day to supply Namushasha River Lodge with electricity. After Gondwana acquired the lodge in June 2012, various environmentally friendly alternatives to the generators were considered. The noise and CO2 emissions certainly weren’t compatible with the lodge’s concept of sustainable management. Furthermore, the diesel generators were expensive to run. The costs for fuel and maintenance was in the region of N$980,000 per year.
In the past years the Zambezi region has seen a huge investment in rural electrification through state entities and this roll-out continues. Towards the end of 2014 the power line was extended from Kongola southwards to Ngonga Primary School. This school is about 6 km away from the lodge. With the national grid spreading to Zambezi, the use of power from the national grid provides a cost-effective source of energy that has a range of social and financial benefits. After extensive consultations with representatives of the Mashi conservancy and the surrounding communities Gondwana has now replaced the use of generators with a 33 kV line from Ngonga Primary School to Namushasha River Lodge. The managers of Namushasha River Lodge, Kati and Stephan Klein, had a decisive part in this.
“Being connected to the grid improves the service to our guests”, Kati explains. “In particular we have those guests in mind who use respirators at night or need to store medicines in a fridge. All that is now possible as a matter of course.” And Stefan adds: “Now we can equip the camping site with motion sensors so that our campers needn’t worry that they might bump into an elephant if they go to the toilet at night.”
Gondwana has invested more than a million Namibia Dollars to get connected to the national grid. The nearby Namushasha Cultural Centre, which is managed by the Mashi community, also benefits from the connection.
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