A solar engineer installs a solar kit in the village of Kikuube, Masindi, Uganda
The downside to modernization – in this case the village moving from fossil fuel burning as an energy source to solar-powered everything – is that you lose some long-held traditions. The village used to be a place where, just the mere thought of it, made you calm and at peace. You expected a sea of stars in the sky and a symphony of night critter song lulling you into a slumber.
You don’t expect the thumpa thump of the one village disco cranking it to 11 and all the neighboring villages trying to out-compete it. The hills are literally alive with competing base lines. It’s Friday night and all the villagers are making it rain at the club while I am trying to sleep. But can I really be mad at them for digging in their gardens all day and needing time to unwind? No. No, I can not.
Le Sigh. What is development again?
