Corled Nkosi self-made Malawi engineer behind Kasangazi  power plant

He is multi-talented. At 31, Corled Nkosi, an MSCE holder he obtained at Mzimba Secondary School in 2006 is carpenter, a builder and a self-motivated electrical engineer behind Kasangazi Hydro-Electrical Power Plant.

His ability to divert water from Kasangazi River, create own water fall through gravitational force and able to generate power of over 300 volts testifies on his behalf.

With just 10-metre plastic pipes and a generator connected to some wires, he is able to generate power and transmit it through a line of about two kilometres to his Yobe Nkosi Village.

Unlike Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) which charges its power per usage, Nkosi is like a Good Samaritan. He provides the power free of charge to over 11 households with a population of over 30 people.

In his explanation, Nkosi says he started doing electrical engineering way back during his secondary school days.

“I used to play with electrical appliances during school days at Mzimba Secondary School. I used to fix electrical faults at school,” he explains.

He says the idea to build his own hydro electric power plant was hatched in 2012 after he had seen someone in Nkhata-Bay who generated his own power.

“I knew I could not fail to build my own power plant and that’s how I came to start assembling the materials,” he narrates.

Realizing that living in the dark was not on and that using candles and lamps was not sustainable, the 31 year old Nkosi thought on how best he could come up with the innovation to make up for ESCOM’s unavailability of power in some of his village’s households.

“I bought a generator engine, plastic pipes and some wires. I diverted part of the water through a 10 metre pipe and squeezed the water through a two-litre Sobo bottle at the end of the pipe to increase pressure and make sure that the water comes out with full force to drive the turbine, thereby making the motor to generate power,” says Nkosi.

Having spent over MK180, 000 to come up with the plant, including the power lines to his village, today, he proudly supplies power to his relatives and the entire village.

Their lives have extremely changed and almost at par with people staying in towns and cities that use electricity.

“Life has changed completely; we are like a village in a city. I am able to watch TV, listen to radio and play music without being scared of power outages.

“I also run a barber shop and I charge peoples’ phones from the surrounding villages from which I make a cool K25, 000 per month,” boasts Nkosi.

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