We are making very good progress with the hydroelectric project.  We have now completed the intake dam and the generator house.  This week we will begin installing the penstock pipe and constructing the turbine house.  We will begin work on the diversion dam soon.  We will soon finish the funds that we have on hand for the project.  The total cost of the project is about $1.7 million.  We need to raise the last 10% of the budget.  If you are interested in supporting the project you may contribute at this link:  https://nabconference.org/give/special-projects/   Scroll down to the Hydroelectric Project in the Cameroon section.  We will appreciate your support.  

The intake dam is completed.  It was built in four months.  

The guys are cementing in the shutter gate that can be raised to drain the lake.  This was the last step in completing the dam.  The gate weighs about a ton but they were able to manually lift it into place.  The crane that we were planning to use is broken.  We are at the beginning of the dry season so the amount of water in front of the dam is very low.  

This is the site for the turbine house.  It sits just across a ravine that will need to be filled with dirt.  At the edge is 2X5 M stone wall that will anchor the penstock.  There is very high lateral pressure on the penstock so that it must be anchored very firmly to prevent movement.  The penstock goes through the stone wall and directly into the turbine.  

This shows the ravine.  We have placed a 1 M culvert at the bottom to drain the small stream that runs along the bottom.  

In order to move water from the diversion dam into the front watershed, we will place a 1 M culvert through a 100 M wide ridge.  We will need to dig down about 8 meters.  In order to save money, we are going to fabricate 200 of these concrete rings.  These will be placed at the bottom of the trench and buried.  This is a homemade form that our guys made.