A pilot study of a combined energy and water hub in The Gambia Waterlines

Many people across the developing world live ‘off-grid’ in terms of access to mains electricity, and therefore depend upon alternative power sources to recharge their mobile phones. These recharging facilities are typically located in shops/informal businesses, and often powered by a diesel generator or solar panel. Many of these rural communities are also served by local water infrastructure that has fallen into a state of disrepair. It has been reported that many individuals are prepared to pay a small regular fee to recharge their mobile phone, whilst their wider communities may often claim to lack sufficient funds to keep their water infrastructure maintained. This paper introduces a pilot study in Gambia that combines an off-grid recharging hub with a community water point. It is proposed that a proportion of the income generated by this enterprise could be retained and used to fund the on-going maintenance costs of the recharging hub and the local water infrastructure.