The Harries family came to Kenya in 1904, as some of the earlier settler farmers. In 1912 we were responsible for bringing pineapples to Kenya, which later was developed into a very large business by Bobs Harries when the original Canning Factory, he helped build in 1947, was taken over in 1965 by DelMonte. In the 1960's together with the Ministry of Agriculture we pioneered Macadamia Nuts, and built this crop into the second biggest acreage in the world, behind Hawaii. obs Harries Engineering Limited (BHEL) is a Kenyan owned and registered family company. We have been involved in developing windpumping under the Trade Mark ''KIJITO'' since 1979. During that time we have installed some 400 Windpumps in East Africa and beyond. Currently, tens of thousands of people have access to a reliable, safe and clean supply of water in Africa thanks to our Kijito windpumps. We have been pleased to work with major NGOs and aid institutions, like (British Aid, UNDP, NORAD, CIDA, Rotary International and GTZ to name a few. However, the Catholic Church has always been our biggest customer as they are on the forefront of development in arid and remote areas of East Africa. Value & Strategy Since its origin, Kijito's development has been closely connected to the people we supply water to and their issues. ''Kijito'' is a Swahili word, the main language of East Africa. It means ''a small stream of water''. Thirty years ago, water was a key issue for millions of people across Africa. Today, nothing has changed, and if anything the future looks even bleaker. Lack of Water means hard living conditions and diseases; it disadvantages economic activities, fuels tribal wars, and causes premature death. Where people lack water, they get desperate. When people have access to water, they start projects, can believe in their future, and can expect better living conditions for themselves and their children. The projects developed within the short 30 years of Kijito's life are the best demonstrations of the values of BHEL. Providing technologically sound solutions for reliable water supplies in the driest rural areas of Africa, is one of the most difficult challenges the Continent has yet to solve. Products & services It is a BHEL value to help meet the needs of the rural people. Water is one step to development, energy is another one. BHELs commitment helps provide the umbrella to both issues. The development policy of the Company has been built on this strong value of acting for progress within our local and world environment. The Company involvement in proposing wind energy technologies for power generation results from the same logic of working for connecting people to world progress. Our Kijito windpumps are designed to meet the water and wind conditions in rural Africa. With 5 rotor sizes (12 to 26 ft - 3.65m - 7.9m), we offer a wide range of technical solutions both for deep water sources or high water needs. The multi-bladed rotor generates high torque which guarantees high performance even in low wind regimes. For example, a 20ft (6m) rotor can provide 113 cum a day in 4-5 m/s wind speed at a 20m head, making it ideal for use in either community water supplies, farming or irrigation purposes. This assumes an appropriate water source, and no serious obstacles to the wind flow within 100m of the Kijito. Many of our windpumps are operating in isolated areas. This was a major factor in the design of the Kijito, as we strove to ensure the windpumps would be robust, durable machines, requiring very little maintenance. The oldest Kijito windpumps still operating are more than 20 years old, and they are still going strong. During the last two years the company development has been focussing on wind power generation. March 2007 saw our first wind rural electrification project with the installation of a 1-kW wind turbine for battery charging in Esilanke Primary School, Kenya. The school is now able to offer their students both morning and evening classes and has its own computer and modern video equipment! Our eventual goal is to offer our customers wind power generation systems for battery charging together with complimenting the use of diesel gensets, by the use of hybrid systems. Wind is one of the greatest sources of natural energy. It is free and is available day and night for the production of economical energy to pump water or to generate electricity. With wind energy, access to safe and clean water, lighting, powering households or business places, cutting down the diesel bill is as simple as taking advantage of the local natural resource that is around you. The 30 years of the Kijito windpump history has made a major contribution to the fight against poverty and its consequences and has been supporting rural development. It has been driven by the strong values of corporate responsibility, effectiveness in solving the issues of the rural world and a concern to develop long-term partnership with the people we deal with. For the entire KIJITO team, providing technically proven, high-performance wind energy systems is more than just a business; It is our way of modestly contributing to the world challenge towards the emergence of a common awareness of our environment, its fragility and its richness, the common future of 6-billion people and the necessity to all be responsible for that future. We would like to thank you for allowing us to share these goals with you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you feel we are able to assist you with your future energy projects and goals. Description from ecoprofiles.org