I don’t know. I was last there in 2015 although I keep in contact with friends and colleagues there. I doubt it. That said, in the late 90s I had a solar panel to heat water and in the villages some used solar stoves. Certainly many houses in Kathmandu have solar panels and batteries. Outside the cities I am less sure.
That's really interesting about the solar panel to heat the water. It makes me think about those solar panels on Voyager I, still somehow providing energy to the thing we've built that's furthest away from us. They worked fantastically well when they were built 50(!) years ago, but the reason they didn't catch on much sooner was the cost.
I don’t remember being a high cost, they were pretty rudimentary. Many middle class Nepalis were installing them. 1993? 1994? There was an issue with lack of electricity (the euphemistically termed “load shedding”) which meant sometimes as little as 2 or 3 hours of electricity a day. I had young children then and needed hot water. And we usually had sun. Only thing was keeping them clean in Kathmandu pollution. Suspect even then that they were Chinese but I can’t recall,
Oh, I only meant that the cost to manufacture and install them often outweighed the value of the electricity they generated over their lifetime. The gap started to narrow in recent decades, and it's really different now. Solar panels outlive their cost because they're much more efficient today. Those older ones just produced a lot more energy per unit.
Even with that being said, if you can get a solar panel to a remote area, you can use the Sun's energy for (potentially) decades. Neat!
They were to heat water, not for electricity. Sorry for confusion. The water was heated, went into an insulated tank and was recycled when it got too cold. Nowadays, they have solar panels for electricity and batteries to cover. In early 90s they did not. Indeed too expensive
Thanks for sharing all this and satiating my curiosity! It's always good to hear from folks who have first hand experience with things I'm thinking about.
Excellent example. Do you know if Nepal has done this with energy sources as well? I know there is an effort among smaller nations to leapfrog some of the fossil fuels and directly into renewables.
Speaking of frogs and globalization too do you know that European countries import 4000 tonnes of frozen frog legs every year. It is estimated that somewhere between 80 -200 million frogs are killed to enable this.
E-commerce platforms such asJumia and Konga have facilitated the leapfrogging of traditional retail model in Nigeria. These platforms enable businesses to reach customers nationwide, bypassing the need for extensive physical retail infrastructure.
A few I remember from my last visit to India a few years ago (I used ChatGPT for details):
Unified Payments Interface (UPI): UPI is a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that facilitates inter-bank transactions. It allows users to transfer money instantly between bank accounts using a smartphone. Apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm also utilize UPI. UPI has revolutionized digital payments in India, reducing the reliance on cash and enabling financial inclusion for millions.
Aadhaar is the world's most extensive biometric identification system, providing a unique 12-digit identity number to residents based on their biometric and demographic data. It is used for various services, including opening bank accounts, obtaining mobile SIM cards, and accessing government subsidies and welfare programs. It's pretty similar to our SSN.
DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing): DIKSHA is a national platform for school education, providing teachers and students with digital resources, including textbooks, lesson plans, and interactive content. It supports multiple Indian languages and has been integrated into various state education systems.
eNAM (National Agriculture Market): eNAM is an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India. It integrates existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets to create a unified national market for agricultural produce. Farmers can sell their produce directly to buyers online, improving transparency and efficiency in the supply chain. eNAM has increased market access for farmers, reduced the role of intermediaries, and ensured better prices for agricultural produce.
I love the idea of things moving quickly. Technology has infact helped in many areas! A.I. is AMAZING but it has also harmed. Although this isn't really about A.I. at least not 100% technology is infact technology. Example: I can't be on etsy, facebook, instagram anymore due to fake technology. Even here on substack, I cannot add my credit card without getting a fraudulent charge and having to get a new credit card. That puts people like me in a position so that we can not make money and cannot do alot of the things that come easily to others. I only can keep track of certain things because I know how to offline and no online virus, bug, etc. can bother things offline. I've had technical issues for years though that could only be created by some sort of bug or computer virus that cannot be traced. The same technology used for some smartphones often has some sort of flaw in it that people simply have not found in order to control it properly. Some people are VERY poor, to deny them the option to pay their bills could put them on the streets. Depending, it can also be what harms them enough to kill them. That's nothing to play with in my point of view. People taking technology so lightly is why it's easier for some to pass computer viruses, etc. on. I personally STILL LOVE A.I. I still LOVE technology and I will always use it but as for banking on my phone goes, NO SIR! Not until that sort of thing is looked into and stopped. Not until it's taken seriously by those in charge and looked into, will I even consider going that far. I tend to think that's why some votes, etc. have been tampered with. Those in charge have NO idea how to prevent that, it hasn't been found yet. Until the technology that creates those bugs, etc. is found and controlled I personally would not feel comfortable using my phone for operations as important as paying bills, etc. Interesting read.
"The fist ships powered by steam helped to extend Britain’s lead over the rest of the world in the centuries-long race to exploit the world’s human and physical capital."
I realize this is a typo, but I bet these FIST-SHIPS looked something like this:
They would have to get the ships to move really fast in order to have a punch-like impact. That's probably why the British developed the jet engine back in the early 1800s.
Thank you so much Andrew for shedding light on this. The technology is evolving and leapfrogging us. We have seen enormous impact from it. The learned, the unschooled, the technology enthusiasts, the young, the old. And Mpesa has been part of us since.
I don’t know. I was last there in 2015 although I keep in contact with friends and colleagues there. I doubt it. That said, in the late 90s I had a solar panel to heat water and in the villages some used solar stoves. Certainly many houses in Kathmandu have solar panels and batteries. Outside the cities I am less sure.
That's really interesting about the solar panel to heat the water. It makes me think about those solar panels on Voyager I, still somehow providing energy to the thing we've built that's furthest away from us. They worked fantastically well when they were built 50(!) years ago, but the reason they didn't catch on much sooner was the cost.
I don’t remember being a high cost, they were pretty rudimentary. Many middle class Nepalis were installing them. 1993? 1994? There was an issue with lack of electricity (the euphemistically termed “load shedding”) which meant sometimes as little as 2 or 3 hours of electricity a day. I had young children then and needed hot water. And we usually had sun. Only thing was keeping them clean in Kathmandu pollution. Suspect even then that they were Chinese but I can’t recall,
Oh, I only meant that the cost to manufacture and install them often outweighed the value of the electricity they generated over their lifetime. The gap started to narrow in recent decades, and it's really different now. Solar panels outlive their cost because they're much more efficient today. Those older ones just produced a lot more energy per unit.
Even with that being said, if you can get a solar panel to a remote area, you can use the Sun's energy for (potentially) decades. Neat!
They were to heat water, not for electricity. Sorry for confusion. The water was heated, went into an insulated tank and was recycled when it got too cold. Nowadays, they have solar panels for electricity and batteries to cover. In early 90s they did not. Indeed too expensive
Thanks for sharing all this and satiating my curiosity! It's always good to hear from folks who have first hand experience with things I'm thinking about.
Nepal leapfrogged in the 90's with telephones. Instead of landlines (a real problem in the mountains with few roads), everyone got mobiles...
Excellent example. Do you know if Nepal has done this with energy sources as well? I know there is an effort among smaller nations to leapfrog some of the fossil fuels and directly into renewables.
See above… reply went to wrong bit of comments
Speaking of frogs and globalization too do you know that European countries import 4000 tonnes of frozen frog legs every year. It is estimated that somewhere between 80 -200 million frogs are killed to enable this.
Wow! I think I tried frog legs once when I was a kid. It wasn't a trick and I knew what I was getting, but I was unimpressed.
E-commerce platforms such asJumia and Konga have facilitated the leapfrogging of traditional retail model in Nigeria. These platforms enable businesses to reach customers nationwide, bypassing the need for extensive physical retail infrastructure.
Nigeria is such a great example of a nation that uses leapfrogging.
A few I remember from my last visit to India a few years ago (I used ChatGPT for details):
Unified Payments Interface (UPI): UPI is a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that facilitates inter-bank transactions. It allows users to transfer money instantly between bank accounts using a smartphone. Apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm also utilize UPI. UPI has revolutionized digital payments in India, reducing the reliance on cash and enabling financial inclusion for millions.
Aadhaar is the world's most extensive biometric identification system, providing a unique 12-digit identity number to residents based on their biometric and demographic data. It is used for various services, including opening bank accounts, obtaining mobile SIM cards, and accessing government subsidies and welfare programs. It's pretty similar to our SSN.
DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing): DIKSHA is a national platform for school education, providing teachers and students with digital resources, including textbooks, lesson plans, and interactive content. It supports multiple Indian languages and has been integrated into various state education systems.
eNAM (National Agriculture Market): eNAM is an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India. It integrates existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets to create a unified national market for agricultural produce. Farmers can sell their produce directly to buyers online, improving transparency and efficiency in the supply chain. eNAM has increased market access for farmers, reduced the role of intermediaries, and ensured better prices for agricultural produce.
I love the idea of things moving quickly. Technology has infact helped in many areas! A.I. is AMAZING but it has also harmed. Although this isn't really about A.I. at least not 100% technology is infact technology. Example: I can't be on etsy, facebook, instagram anymore due to fake technology. Even here on substack, I cannot add my credit card without getting a fraudulent charge and having to get a new credit card. That puts people like me in a position so that we can not make money and cannot do alot of the things that come easily to others. I only can keep track of certain things because I know how to offline and no online virus, bug, etc. can bother things offline. I've had technical issues for years though that could only be created by some sort of bug or computer virus that cannot be traced. The same technology used for some smartphones often has some sort of flaw in it that people simply have not found in order to control it properly. Some people are VERY poor, to deny them the option to pay their bills could put them on the streets. Depending, it can also be what harms them enough to kill them. That's nothing to play with in my point of view. People taking technology so lightly is why it's easier for some to pass computer viruses, etc. on. I personally STILL LOVE A.I. I still LOVE technology and I will always use it but as for banking on my phone goes, NO SIR! Not until that sort of thing is looked into and stopped. Not until it's taken seriously by those in charge and looked into, will I even consider going that far. I tend to think that's why some votes, etc. have been tampered with. Those in charge have NO idea how to prevent that, it hasn't been found yet. Until the technology that creates those bugs, etc. is found and controlled I personally would not feel comfortable using my phone for operations as important as paying bills, etc. Interesting read.
"The fist ships powered by steam helped to extend Britain’s lead over the rest of the world in the centuries-long race to exploit the world’s human and physical capital."
I realize this is a typo, but I bet these FIST-SHIPS looked something like this:
https://cdn.midjourney.com/044defcd-caf3-4d22-8e64-0f82725b116b/0_3.png
Or this:
https://cdn.midjourney.com/ac432ff4-8076-4c7e-be61-8231e9238ca2/0_1.png
Scary stuff! No wonder Britain dominated.
They would have to get the ships to move really fast in order to have a punch-like impact. That's probably why the British developed the jet engine back in the early 1800s.
The real tragedy here is the irony of me writing "type" instead of "typo."
As far as future historians (who are somehow unable to see edit history) will know, we never made these mistakes.
Whoa.
…what mistakes?
I think it's spelled "Miss Steaks." That's my nickname for Dink-Dink.
My first "hand phone" was purchased in Aceh, Sumatra in 1998. Everyone had them there. We did have a landline but only used it for dial-up internet.
Fascinating! I think I got my first cell phone in 2003. I was a real late bloomer.
Thank you so much Andrew for shedding light on this. The technology is evolving and leapfrogging us. We have seen enormous impact from it. The learned, the unschooled, the technology enthusiasts, the young, the old. And Mpesa has been part of us since.
Thank you for helping me understand where you live better!
Welcome and always pleasure reading your takes on different universe of topics
Likewise, my friend - keep up the great work!