By Parth Patel
I had always been interested in the interactions of nature and technology, the ways in which we visualize natural phenomenon. My interest in this research project began from one of the stories of past experiences in a mountain region of north India Kharu, Ladakh. It was about a volunteering done with NGO back in 2019 called Educare, it worked with the local remote communities outside of Ladakh. I had the opportunity to stay with the community of 40 houses in Kharu village for over a month and learned about their way of living. What I remember the most about the experience of how life takes in rough, harsh terrain in a cold region of Ladakh. How it’s so different from the rest of technological advanced world. Where people still relied on communal efforts instead of machines. As part of my research, I wanted to blend my current body of work to relive and contribute to my past experience. My beginnings were precisely like an uptight designer as I started researching about a problem. My idea of contribution was that the only way I can involve myself with a community is through a problem which I can resolve, my first step was top-down.
As recalled the list from my volunteering experience, I narrowed down on electricity, I found it to be an issue even when I was living there. Due to the high altitude and rough terrain, the community had to live through frequent power cuts. But things had changed since I was in Kharu, the development had reached to the village and people had constant power supplies. However, my supervisor from my volunteering experience redirected me to another village in the same region called Turtuk. To an outsider like me, life in Turtuk or in any remote region can seem challenging. Its is a small village of about 3,000 people, located on the India-Pakistan border in northern India. Locals proudly call it the “last village.” The community is split by a river into two parts: Farool and Yul. What fascinated me most was Turtuk’s geographical location—perched at 10,000 feet above sea level—and the unique challenges that come with it. Electricity in winters is available only during two short windows, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., powered by a diesel generator. In winter, the village becomes completely inaccessible; no food supplies can be delivered. Reaching Turtuk itself requires crossing Khardung La, the highest motorable road in India, at an altitude of 18,000 feet.
Yet, all of this felt like a distant assumptions about the place, I wanted to talk to people from the community and I did found a connection of the village sarpanch of the Yul, Anayatullah. We had back and forth dialogue about how people live in Turtuk, what the life looks like? We discussed about the issues on electricity, what are the power sources for it, what can be done at a small scale. The terrain had a sharp sun and moderate wind as the only resources that one can work with. About solar, the people receive subsidies from the government but yet proves to be costly to scale up. Wind was moderate but a good starting point to interact and prototype in collaboration with the community. The insights from Anayatullah helped me find a starting point. I wanted to understand how a wind turbine works, what the assembly looks like, and what components come together to create a functioning system.
At this stage, I was focused on the initial process of prototyping different wind turbine forms. Based on my research, I identified nine designs that could be tested in a small, controlled environment to evaluate which one performed best. I developed these at a 1:10 scale using 3D-printed models, as I was specifically interested in testing one key criterion: physical form. The rest of the assembly included an MPPT controller, a 12V DC battery, and an inverter to convert the battery’s DC output into AC, the form of electric current typically used in households. As shown on the Turtuk at 10,000 feet above sea level right, I imagined this setup as a compact, modular kit of electrical components, something that could be carried in a box and easily deployed.
Once the prototypes were developed and sent to Anayatullah for the feedback. Quite abruptly, I lost contact with Anayatullah. Several follow-ups went unanswered. Luckily, I was able to have a zoom call with Eshey, NGO worker at LeDGeG, based on sustainable energy. He helped me get in touch with Mr. Ghulam Mehdi, district counsellor of Leh. Conversations about Turtuk with Ghulam sir made it clear that experimenting with turbines built from local materials was worth pursuing, given I can test what materials and in what capacity to use. I had took the opportunity of returning to India, put my ideas and speculations to test. Working at home, was a challenging yet collective endeavor. Help came from unexpected places-friends, family, and skilled hands all played a part. Each had a significance to a level where it informed the next steps in the research. From finding the right materials, even close to home, and bringing my initial ideas into reality required learning new skills and adapting along the way, all required improvisation from my earlier plans. As I have come to a belief, randomness if accommodated right, can bring better results than planned things.
