Ya saw a chain of changes in the Bambally Basic School Cycle in Gambia. Join us on this inspiring visit!
In The Gambia, Ya’s crew also visited the village and school of Jarreng Tenda. Our trip started and ended at Lamin Lodge.
From the vibrant and friendly Gambia, we wish you a warm and healthy Christmas. We hope you can enjoy your company; if you are alone, with family or with friends. And we wish you happiness and good health. Above all, we wish you good, fossilfree, spirits:)
The Ya sailed far up the Gambia river. Here you get a view into the life of a little fishers village and its children.
Impressed? So are we. If you want to donate to the school, then make a transfer to:
Name: Stichting Schone Golf (Dutch for Clean Wave Foundation)
Place: Rotterdam
Country: Netherlands
IBAN: NL03 TRIO 0788885464
SWIFT/BIC: TRIONL2UXXX
The Clean Wave Foundation makes the effort and pays the collatoral costs to make 100% of your donation effective to the black boards, the wall between the classrooms, the bore hole, and/or the light.
After meeting with Wally Bahoum at Lamin Lodge, we wondered if the batiks from Indonesia have anything to do with the African batik. We found two intriguing stories. Find out which one you like most. And of course… check out Peter’s new outfit!
African style Batik: is the origin Dutch?
Lots of the fabrics we see in West Africa nowadays are not made by African firms.
Some African designers even refuse to use African wax prints, because they see them as a legacy of colonialism. What is the story behind this?
Indonesian origin, English recording, Dutch design and print, and a global trade of Batik
The English documented the batik making process in Indonesia in the 19th century. This was at the time that the British captured the island from the Dutch. Sir Raffles explained how the Indonesians passed hot wax through a tube to draw designs on fabric. After that they dyed, re-waxed and dyed the fabric again for up to 17 days.
When the Dutch ruled Java again, they used his book. They worked out how to mechanise the process so it would be cheaper than the expensive hand-made batiks. The Dutch continued exporting their wax prints to the region for the next 22 years.
Why did Dutch textile become popular in West Africa?
Well, the Dutch were expanding their colonies with the help of soldiers from West Africa. When these soldiers returned to West Africa, they took the Dutch-manufactured batiks with them. And from that moment, there was a growing demand for these wax prints in West Africa. The material was easier for sewing machines than the thicker locally woven material. They also had some similarities with the West African traditional local tie-dye.
So, some of the ‘West-African’ prints were actually designed in the North-West of Europa and most of them are now produced in the Far East, because production costs are lower there.
African style batik: The authentic Gambia’s Batik Art.
Ever since the Gambians coloured cloth with fermented mud, they have made special designs for their fabrics.
This documentary shows the traditional tie-dye process in the Gambia
Gambians carved inspiration of the land and the river in wood, or they painted it in mud, stamped with wax and dyed the fabric. Originally, they dyed the fabric with mud. Or with the colour from Kola nuts, which is a deep orange or reddish colour. Or with indigo, making a deep blue colour.
The industrial dying products are now used more often because they are cheaper and more practical.
Batik can be simple using one colour. It becomes more difficult when you add a second or third colour, and you vary the pattern of stamps. A special technique is a form of dripping where you take a paint brush, dip it in the hot wax, then let the wax drip on the cloth to make a pattern of dots. You can dip the cloth in many different colours, creating a beautiful effect. And you can coat the entire cloth in wax and then roll and crack the wax, creating wavy lines throughout the fabric. At Lamin Lodge we saw a combination of these techniques, which makes it stand out from the products tourists can find at the coast. Wally learnt Batik from his father and now adds his own touch to the design.
The maker can use stamps or templates to be able to produce dozens and dozens of batiks for the short tourist season. Or he can make unique, custom-made articles. He decides, using his knowledge, skills and inspiration to make the most beautiful batiks. This is authentic craftmanship, sometimes even art.
We are quite sure the unique handmade quality of Gambia batik, like we found in Lamin Lodge, cannot be replaced by factory work. And last but not least: this kind of entrepreneurship helps to build resilient communities.
Sources and further reading:
https://www.smcm.edu/gambia/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2015/03/art-and-survival.pdf
It must have been in the 80’s that Peter, a German sailor, sailed his way through the creeks and ended here. He bought a piece of land. He cut a way through the mangrove from the land to the creek. There, on a sandbank, he built his 3 floors Lamin Lodge. All constructed with the men from the Lamin community and with the wood from Gambia.
He made moorings for the sailing yachts and a little dock to come with the dinghy. How is Lamin Lodge now?
We hope you will like it.
Let us know at info@fossilfreearoundtheworld.org.
Also, if you want to know where we are now, you can follow us on the map.
We are keen river-sailors. One of the most beautiful rivers in Africa is the Gambia. What makes Gambia so worth visiting? For one, according to the World Economic Forum it’s one of the few countries in the world to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.
(Source: WEF)
Now this statement is a paradox. Gambia simply can’t meet these goals. Their export product is literally and in figuratively: peanuts. China invested in fish meal industry, but the economic and environmental impacts are controversial.[79]
Half of the 2.4 million people lives under the poverty limit of $1,25 per day. The chance a baby dies in its first year is 10 times higher than in Europe. Half the population is under 18 years. They suffer the consequences of climate change, even though they have not caused the problem.
What is the answer to get out?
The government and numerous private initiatives revert climate change, focus on small scale solar power, change the way to produce rice, and keeping cattle. And; Ecotourism.
Gambia welcomes ecotourism. They want to avoid the mistakes of mass tourism, where a few big companies rule and take the profits home. During COVIV they have revised their strategies. They focus more on small scale tourism, more ecotourism, more African tourism. This will also reduce the ecological footprint of the tourism.
African tourists form a less seasonal so a steadier source of income. For example, during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, many tourists from outside Africa cancelled trips to The Gambia while Nigerians continued to visit. For Africa the regional travel share is just 40%. This is expected to increase thanks to strong economic growth on the continent and an expanding middle class. The Gambia hopes to catch the new African tourist’s eye. (Source: https://unctad.org/news/gambia-targets-african-tourists-more-sustainable-growth)
In the words of Adama Bah:
“What we need is fair trade and where it is a charity, it should be designed to make us self-reliant economies, not aid or charities that are designed to make us more dependent. Our people must be trained to have the required skills and also make it possible for them to have the markets to sell their products. Tourism, if managed properly, can make this possible. We should link-local production to the tourism market so that tourists will buy, eat and drink what is local”.
Well, this is very much in line with Ya’s way of life.
Plastic and other pollution also hit the shores of Gambia. But Gambia strikes back. The Gambia Ocean Heroes clean up the beaches and actively use social media to raise awareness on pollution.
Elizabeth Wathuti started reforesting Kenia. In Gambia, a reforestation group started in 2018: Green Up Gambia. Their main goal is to reforest the savannahs in Gambia and bring back the rainforest. This will also stop the continuing desertification of the region, from Morocco all the way south.
Please don’t book an ‘all inclusive’ but book directly and spend your money directly on the locals. Access Gambia gave some useful advice for (future) travellers.
The first ones you can also try at home:
You want to know where we are? Check the map ‘here are we now’
You want to get in touch? Mail to info@fossilfreearoundtheworld.org
We visit El Hierro. The smallest of the Canary Islands with only 10.000 inhabitants. It is the most southern part of Spain. And it can be 100% self-sufficient with renewable energy.
The island is so far away from the mainland, that no electricity cable was ever laid. The old diesel-fired power station is built near the main port.
The most logical source of renewable energy on El Hierro is wind power. Even in the protected harbor the wind is blowing. For the island, a Nature 2000-reserve, it was also important to choose a source that does not interfere with the landscape. And although the trade wind is pretty reliable, the energy supply needs to be constant, not depending on when the wind blows, .
So, besides the five wind turbines with a total capacity of 11.5 MW, they built two water reservoirs. One at sea level and a second one at an altitude of 700 meters. All left over energy, generated by the wind mills, is used to pump water to the upper reservoir. When there is no wind, the water will flow from the upper reservoir to the lower one through the hydroelectric power station, where turbines generate the electricity needed on the island also when there is no wind.
When we approached the island, we hardly saw the windmills.
The 5 windmills are set in a valley. They are catch all the wind accelerating along the mountain ridge, and can be low enough not to dominate the landscape. Also, the water reservoir has a cleverly and respectfully located. It lies in a natural basin. The pipelines lie out of sight in a valley. So, all installations fit in the natural environment.
The company is proud of this achievement and welcomes visitors. Even though the combination of wind- and hydropower seems very innovative, it’s all existing technology, like on Ya. The pumps are standard and you see the turbines in many other hydroelectric power stations around the world.
Since the plant operates from 2015, and delivers an increasing part of the island’s energy by this combination of wind and hydropower. Only if there is too little wind and the water level in the upper reservoir is too low, the company will fall back on the old diesel generators. The company is constantly improving the management of the installations. Interesting: the island’s energy mix is publicly accessible. It helps well in cutting down the usage.
What we really like about this initiative, is that Gorona del Viento not only invests in generating energy. It also invests in awareness. On their website and in their talks on schools., they stress the importance of saving energy. Not only by distributing LED-light bulbs, but also by mentioning the bigger issue: water. Almost half of the fresh water on the island is produced in desalination plants. The production and distribution of water accounts for approximately 45% of annual electricity consumption. So logically, they also stress the importance of saving on water consumption.
For their efforts, in June 2021, Gorona del Viento El Hierro, has won the second place in the RESponsible Island Prize. The jury liked the energy generation, the commitment to clean transport, and the awareness-raising campaigns. It has demonstrated that a reliable power supply can be generated from renewable energy, even if it comes from intermittent sources, in order to give stability to the network. “This is a pioneering project that is now inspiring other territories”.
For this article, we thankfully used Sailors for Sustainability’s article on El Hierro. They also made this great video on their visit to the island.
After 7 years our lead acid traction batteries were at their end. Their effective capacity was still 22.5 kWh, about 50% of their original 55 kWh. This is still enough to live comfortably, but this would quickly become less, so it was time for a renewal.
In our last article we checked the alternatives. We compared lead acid to Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LiFePo4 , or LFP) batteries. We had to conclude that:
Always thought these LiFePO4 were way too expensive? We made a cold analysis and shaped it in a business case.
This business case about Lead Acid traction batteries versus Lithium Ferro Phospate batteries is based on:
First, we pick the right LFP battery bank:
The LiFePO4 batteries will decrease to an estimated 70% after 12 years. So, if we still want to take 22.5 kWh, we need to start with new batteries of
100/70% X 22.5kWh = 32.1 kWh effectively. So far for the durability.
It costs energy to ‘push’ the electricity into the battery, and again to ‘pull’ it out. Check the last article for the full explanation. If we take the energy out of an LiFePO4 battery, it costs some 2% of the energy.
So, if you have 32.1 kWh in your LFP battery, you can only get out of it: 98% X 32.1 kWh = 31.4 kWh. From a lead acid that would be 28 kWh.
The LiFePO4 and Lead Acid traction battery compared.
If you buy a battery, you find the Ah of kWh number on it, which is the nominal storage capacity. This is the total storage capacity, if you would empty the battery to 0%. This is theory! Never do it, you damage your battery! A good traction lead acid can go down to 20%, and an LFP to 10% of its nominal value. We call this the effective storage capacity. Because that is what we want to have.
Like we did with our lead acid (or at least till year 6), we like to stay on the safe side and intend never to discharge to the very minimum. So, we prefer to take an extra margin of 15%. So, we take 85% out of it as maximum.
So, if we want an effective storage of 31.4 kWh in our LiFePO4 battery, we need to buy one with a nominal value of:
100/85 X 31.4 kWh = 36.9 kWh
We found a 42.5 kWh (nominal) battery bank for 16000 Euros, including transport within Europe. It still is about 15% too large, but that is what we found on the market. This extra is no wasted money. Check the ‘durability’ graph and it means the batteries will last an extra year before they reach the minimum of 22.5 kWh.
So, this battery bank will last an estimated 13 years.
We could get the batteries a lot cheaper in China, but our hard condition is an A-brand, with an effective warranty and a tailor-made service. We found that at EV Europe, www.eveurope.eu (generally working business to business).
There were many extra costs (see next paragraph: Starting from scratch….), but now we deal with just the comparison of the renewal of an LFP versus lead acid battery bank.
On maintenance, there is nothing really on costs. You just plug in the charger to the shore power every three months and the battery management system will do the so called ‘balancing’.
It is possible that you have a bad battery. Then, just like with A brand lead acid batteries, you can exchange it for a new one for free (pro rato per year).
Exchanging the lead acid batteries for new lead acid batteries would have cost 9500 Euro, including the transport. The carrying of the batteries is so heavy, that I presume you need to hire a lorry, a strong man, et cetera. This costs money. On the other hand, we could get 500 Euros for the old batteries. In our case this money evens out the carrying/handling costs.
There are some maintenance costs. In every harbor, we plugged in to shore power, because it was best for the batteries. We did a three months acid (density) check of al 24 2-volt batteries and added the demineralized water. This is just a dirty job, costs you a T-shirt sometimes due to the acid, and you need an annual 25 Euro for the demineralized water to top up. So, the maintenance costs are peanuts.
Costs per year to renew the batteries are then:
So LFP costs 127 Euros less per year, so they are even a little bit cheaper than lead acid.
The extra advantages are: near zero maintenance, best safety (fire; toxics). And last but not least: a potential smaller environmental impact, which is good for the life of your children and grandchildren.
After so many years of low inflation, we have forgotten this economical phenomenon. But right now, as we speak, in 2021, the inflation has passed 4%. This means that people buying the lead acid batteries for 9500, will pay 9880 Euro a year later, and the year after again 4% extra on that, each year on. And you don’t get 4% interest from your bank. Given the growing demand on batteries, it is most probable that the battery prices will grow with an annual 4%.
So, you’d better buy your durable goods now, as much as you can and as durable as you can. This means, with LFP in your bilge you are better off.
Even if the LFP batteries would cost the same, or a little bit more, they are worth investing in it. Because the investment in a durable good, saves more and more money in the following years.
So, if you have a bit of money, ask yourself: shall I leave it on the bank devaluating, or put it in the form of batteries in my bilge, working for me?
Up to this point, we discussed the costs of the renewal of a battery bank. But if you think of a complete, new installation and think that lead acid is ‘cheaper’, then check the difference between ‘cheap’ and ‘low initial costs’ first, and don’t cheat yourself. Here is our experience.
We had 5000 extra costs to change the bank from lead acid to LFP. These costs were:
So, the initial costs for LFP will be 2000 Euro more. Over the 13 years this is
2000 Euro : 13 yr = 153 Euros per year. Add this to the 1230 Euro for the renewal, makes:
1230 + 153 = 1373 Euros for a total replacement of LFP batteries and cables and BMS.
Also, for the lead acid batteries there is some money needed for assistance to get these heavy lead acid batteries in? Think of a lorry, and handling costs of the (in our case) 1.4 ton. Let us say this is 500 Euros, which is initially, and let us spread this over many decades, to be on the safe side. Let us only count 10-15 Euros per year for that, so that makes 1357 +16 Euros = 1373 Euros, just as much as the annual costs for the LFP.
Here under the total picture with the inflation incorporated.
LiFePO4 and lead acid batteries will cost annually the same. If we have inflation, the durable LFP will gain advantage.
Till so far the short term costs. On long term, for our children and grandchildren, we have to take into account all cleanup costs of environmentally dangerous goods we leave behind. Lead and sulfuric acid then, has no future at all, we even don’t have to count that out.
So even if you do prefer the more expensive lead acid batteries, then please take the sustainable development into account. Do you like children? Then, give them a better future and don’t produce more toxic waste than strictly necessary for your life.
Businesswise or sustainable, for both the recommendation is:
This is the first of 4 articles about LFP on the Ya. This is about the why.
The Lithium Ferro Phosphate batteries (also called LiFePO4, or LFP) have so many advantages over the conventional batteries, that we recently changed our system and installed them on “Ya”.
If we could do it all over again, we would have installed them right away. Not only because they are lighter, smaller, safer, cleaner, have a higher storage efficiency, they are more durable and require less maintenance. But also, because they have the future.
We replaced the 24 60 kg lead acid batteries for 48 LFP batteries. The lead acid bank was weighing 1420 kilogram, the new LFP bank weights less than 300 kg, including BMS and wiring. This is 5 times lighter.
A lead acid battery has resistance to take energy. It simply costs energy just to put the electricity in, for example from a charger. 15% (with new batteries) to 20% (when older) of the electricity put in, converts to heat. The charger has to ‘push’ it into the batteries. So, 80-85% of the created energy will be stored. And again, if the electricity must come out for a device, it takes another 15 (new) to 20% of electricity.
So, the storage efficiency of a lead-acid battery is 83% X 83% is about 70%.
For example, if you generate 10 kWh for your lead acid battery during the day, you will only get 7 kWh out of it in the night.
A lithium battery takes the electricity in easily and gives it just as easy to the consuming devices. There is hardly resistance, you will lose not much more than 2% to bring it in, and 2% to get it out. This makes an overall storage efficiency of up to 95%.
So if you would replace your lead acid for LFP, you could take the LFP 25% smaller and you have the same energy to consume.
The storage of a Lithium battery is also more effective. The best traction lead acid batteries, can be discharged till 20%. But the Lithium Ferro Phosphate battery can go to 10%. It is 90% effective.
So, if you replace lead acid for LFP, you can buy a 25+10% = 35% smaller capacity on the effective storage of the original lead acid, and you have the same amount of energy to consume.
LFP (Lithium Ferro Phosphate) is not Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer (LiPo or LiPol). These types are used in your mobile phone, or in electric cars, and they can start burning spontaneously. The problem is even bigger, because, even when the fire is extinguished, it is self-igniting. Now, electric cars with an extinguished fire, are immediately put in a big container with water, to cool it down for days. It is weird that the governments are OK with Lithium Ion, especially in big amounts, such as in cars. Never ever put it on your ship, because at sea you can step from board only once, and there are no emergency services for a quick salvage.
With LFP on board, the battery bank can only continue burning if you keep on putting energy into it. You stop the input; it is self retarding. So, when at sea, it is safer than any other energy storage medium, such as Lithium Ion, gas, petrol, diesel, or lead acid batteries.
About the lead acid. The hydrogen coming out of open traction batteries can explode. The sulfur acid can ignite and burn on higher temperature. And the sulfur acid (H2SO4) is dangerous by itself. When a battery bursts or explodes, the damage made by this acid to its environment is gigantic.
We know that diesel, petrol and other combustives are the worst on sustainability, because all of it comes into the environment. The biggest part as CO2 causing the climate change, but also much NOx and SOx, leading to acidification.
The A brand lead acid batteries recycle between 98 and 99 %. So about 14 to 28 kilo of lead and/or sulfuric acid of our old battery bank ends up in the environment. That is a lot, because lead is a heavy metal, so very bad to the environment, and sulfuric acid is as well.
About Lithium, the best thing is that we use about 1/3 of the weight compared to lead acid. The properties show that Lithium should have the potential to create a smaller environmental impact then lead and sulfuric acid. But we don’t know yet about the environmental care taken for Lithium. These batteries are new, and the sustainability number is still unclear. (source )
The traction lead acid batteries are always open batteries, you need to add demineralized water on a regular base. The batteries need to be equalized, to keep them in good shape, every 3 months, you have some hours of work on it. Nothing compared to a diesel of petrol engine, but still.
LiFePO4 batteries have a Battery Management System taking care of all this. No refills, nothing. The only thing you do is take one minute every 3 months to push the plug of the charger into an 230 Volt outlet. The battery bank will be charged to 99%, and in the last percent the BMS will run a balancing routine. This balancing keeps them all on the same voltage level, so you don’t have the risk of overcharging or discharging one too much.
GRAPH PLUG IN OUTLET
Once in a quarter you put the charger plug in an outlet and the BMS will top up the bank and balance all cells. That’s it.
The durability of a battery means how long it lasts as an electricity storage. By using it, a battery loses a bit of its storage capacity. At the end of its life, it will use more and more electricity by itself.
The best condition for a lead acid battery (all types: traction, AGM or gel) is to keep it full, on 100%. They last long if you start an engine with it, and immediately charge it back to 100%. Like with cars. That way, the battery can even last for over 10 years.
The worst thing is, to empty it. That shortens its life dramatically. Deep cycles will also shorten the life a lot.
But its life also shortens when it is used just a bit all the time and it (hardly) ever is on its 100%.
Actually, the best is not to use a lead acid battery, or short, or sporadic.
On the Ya we oversized our battery bank in the first place, hence we prevent real deep cycles, so giving it the chance for a longer life. But, the inherent problem on Ya is that the lead acid bank was seldom fully charged, as it is the energy buffer. The meter generally showed a percentage between 60 to 90%. So, we committed a continuous light ‘abuse’ to the battery bank.
And we noticed this. Over the years, the batteries contained less and less energy. It was going down faster each year. In the seventh year, the battery bank contained effectively about 25-30 kWh instead of the original 55 kWh. It was still enough for getting us comfortably to Portugal and Spain, but we considered renewing them, because this deterioration process goes faster and faster.
Then we checked the LiFePO4 batteries, and we saw two interesting properties:
We thought first that LFP batteries were way to expensive. But:
This 35% better storage efficiency means: you need 35% less battery capacity than for lead acid.
The double number on durability means that the price per year would be lower.
So, is Lithium Ferro Phosphate really so much more expensive? All together, we were tempted to check the prices.
Next week we show the result in a sort of business case.
sources:
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries/?cf_chl_captcha_tk=pmd_UzmpBeaklu64YJSZjEHNitDOqdXlTcPUQuhTxJrCGtM-1635934800-0-gqNtZGzNAyWjcnBszQiR )
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/ah-efficiency
Any comments? Please mail us: info@fossilfreearoundtheworld.org
We met Matteo and Corinne in the laundry of Puerto Calero, Lanzarote.
“Are you the sailors from that electric boat?”
“Yes, Peter did a fossil free circumnavigation from 2016 to 2018.”
“Really? Matteo did a fossilfree circumnavigation in 2014!”
Wauw! This is an incredible coincidence that we now meet. That night, we ate Corinne’s splendid melanzane alla parmigiana, with tuna caught by Matteo. The video of Matteo’s circumnavigation made Peter and Matteo exchange their experiences.
Because of the language barrier, both sailors did not know of each other’s existence nor of the similar project they were working on. In both cases, a team of volunteers helped them. A true belief in the power of sailing fossil free and the passion for sailing connects them. Also, the hands-on mentality and the desire to shape their own ocean-worthy dream-ship. Both want to show to the world that it is possible to sail fossil free, even the complete world around. Both have written good books on sailing, in their native language. And for both, good food on board is one of the essences of sailing.
Now for the differences: Matteo built a racer that enabled him to sail around the world solo, completely autonomous and fossil free in 5 months. On board were 2 hens for eggs, fishing gear and his own ‘farm’ for growing vegetables.
Matteo took the route of the maximum wind speeds, avoiding populated areas.
Peter built a yacht that enabled him to sail around the world fossil free in a leisure cruiser, with guests, in 14 months. A comfortable life on board for Peter and his guests was possible.
He took the route of the trade winds. Nevertheless there was the challenge to include a passage through the doldrums, which would normally require, according to the sea man’s books, to ‘take as much diesel as you can”. Which he did not, of course.
We are very happy to have met our fossil free fellows Matteo and Corinne and we hope the community of fossil free sailors will grow!
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