ČEZ Light Up Africa Hackathon – let’s light up the kashitu secondary school campus

A lot has happened in recent months as we planned this year's activities. We've met many new faces, traveled with our exhibition, and formed partnerships that have the potential to last for years.

One of our major achievements is the partnership with ČEZ, a.s. Their team is full of enthusiasm and has discovered numerous ways to contribute to the project. We launched this long-term collaboration with the Hackathon Light Up Africa, which brought together students from leading Czech technical universities. The goal was to introduce students to the realities of rural Africa, where we are building the secondary school, and within this context, to design a photovoltaic power plant.

Why photovoltaics?

If you remember last year's construction, we experienced frequent power outages from the public grid, which repeatedly delayed our schedule. Zambia gets most of its electricity from hydropower – water from dams is released to generate energy for the national grid. However, in the past two years, Zambia has faced extreme droughts. Water levels dropped, and during the dry season – when there's no rainfall at all – energy supply becomes scarce.

By building the secondary school, we aim to create a stable and high-quality place for education for children and youth from the broader region. To achieve this, we must rely on essential infrastructure – one of which is a reliable electricity supply for lighting, drawing drinking water from the well, and operating electronics and other essential equipment.

What are the conditions for solar energy in southern Africa?

In the Czech Republic, nearly every other house has solar panels on the roof. But in Zambia, it's a different story. You might occasionally see large-scale photovoltaic systems – typically at agricultural cooperatives or industrial facilities – but solar energy is rarely used in regular housing. Rural communities simply can't afford such solutions and remain at the mercy of the weather. For schools, blackouts often mean interruptions in teaching.

When we compare the design parameters for the system, we find that the solar potential and photovoltaic efficiency in southern Africa is almost double that of the Czech Republic.

So, what's the plan?

We currently have two completed buildings, each with an area of about 110 m², and we plan to build another this year. Based on the student proposals, the roof of the first completed building – a workshop now used as a storage space and carpentry training center – will be sufficient for the pilot photovoltaic installation. Since last year, this workshop has been used by community members trained in carpentry.

The system will include a battery storage unit to compensate for any outages in the grid. The electricity network will later be extended to the other buildings, ensuring reliable power across the entire campus (as it currently stands).

This is a huge milestone for us, and we're deeply grateful for the collaboration with ČEZ, a.s. and the National Centre for Construction 4.0, whose support made this pilot project and event a success.

Special thanks go to Lenka Dobiáš Černá, Petr Jeníkovský, Viktor Starzewski, Martin Mác, Michaela Chaloupková and others from ČEZ, a.s., as well as Ilona Miková, Radoslav Sovják, Tamara Almeida, and Michal Mára from NCS 4.0 – all of whom dedicated many hours and immense enthusiasm to this project.

We are grateful that people see potential in us – thanks to this support, we can keep moving forward and contributing to change where it is truly needed.

Thank you!

The Kashitu School Team