THE KOMBI THAT PAUL MADE

Composed and forward looking entrepreneur demonstrates that necessity is the mother of creation

By George Gichuki

Many people who are in active employment   dread retirement.  They erroneously view it as a period    that will be full of monumental challenges.  A period when the income taps of their jobs will have run dry.  A period when their wallets will be thin.  Despite walking a tight   rope, they will still be required to eat, dress and live comfortably.  But that is as far as one side of the story goes.  With proper planning, retirement should mark a new chapter in one’s life.  It should be an opening   for   new tasks, hobbies and even careers. Indeed, those who are strong willed and optimistic, end up being more productive when they retire.  Their lives become better, promising   and enjoyable.

Foresight

Mr. Paul  Kamanu  is a  good  example  of  those  who  take  retirement  in their  stride.   Calm and collected, Mr. Kamanu took early retirement as a   factory unit manager of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) in January, 2020.  A holder of a bachelor of science degree in forestry, he had worked in the tea industry   for twenty three years. He therefore strongly felt that he needed to venture into a different field when  he was still  energetic.   His plan was simple.  He would apply the skills he had acquired over the years in his successful career to start    an enterprise that would keep him busy and possibly   generate a few coins for his family.   While still figuring out the enterprise that would suit his needs, Mr. Kamanu noticed that he was spending a lot of money on fuel during   his personal errands. “I had to cut my travel expenses to an economical level,” he reminisces.  That is how the idea of acquiring an electric vehicle was born.

Globally, the electric vehicles industry is dominated by Tesla and Rivian – both American automotive giants.  Recently, Apple abandoned an ambitious project to build an electric vehicle in which it had brought two thousand employees on board and invested billions of dollars.  It was dubbed ‘Project Titan.’ Given the spirited   campaign  for nations across the  globe    to  embrace  clean energy,  the demand  for electric  vehicles  is  growing  steadily.  By the same token, due to technological advancement   in the industry, electric vehicles will start being charged within a record ten minutes.  This will make them more attractive to customers.  Traditionally, it would take many hours for these vehicles to be charged; either at stations or overnight at the owners’ homes.

From his experience with a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle ( which  uses battery to power an electric motor as well as fuel to power an internal combustion engine),  Mr. Kamanu  had realized that there were enormous savings in his travel budget. 

“It therefore crossed   my  mind   that   an electric vehicle was bound to give me even  more savings,”  he says. Initially, he wanted to purchase a vehicle that was fully electric but after doing a survey in the market, he noticed that it would cost him a lot an arm and a leg.  “ I therefore opted   to  purchase a  second   hand   vehicle    and    convert its    internal combustion engine   into an electric one,” he says. That was a brilliant idea.

In order to achieve that goal, Mr. Kamanu   bought a shell of a Volkswagen Kombi which had been grounded at a cost of Kshs. 60,000 in 2020. The innovative project started gaining shape.   To start with, he bought components   that were required for the vehicle to be converted   from various   garages. Come February 2023, the process of installing those components commenced.  One member of his   team handled the mechanical  part  of  the project ( coupling of the mortar or the drive train with the gear box).  The second one fabricated its body so that it could hold the batteries.  The final one did the electrical integration of the batteries in order to run the motor. This work was completed in August 2023.  The iconic vehicle then left the garage. It   has been on the road since that time. On average, it is driven for eight to a hundred kilometres daily.

Interesting

Mr. Kamanu has no formal training in engineering.  It is a passion. As a young boy, he could repair the family’s electrical items (like cookers) together with his brothers hence honing his skills as a technician.  He has also   acquired   a lot of knowledge about electrical vehicles from online sources.

The meticulous  innovator  has  set  up   a  charging    station  in his  home garage  that relies  mainly  on solar  power.  The charging    process takes a maximum of twelve hours if the battery is completely down.  He is planning to develop a charger that is more efficient. It will reduce the charging period to six hours.

Occasionally during his errands, he parks the vehicle in busy places (mainly shopping malls). Consequently, he gets enquiries from curious people on how they can also acquire similar vehicles.  They are marveled by the innovation.  “Globally, the demand for electric vehicles is high, but they are very expensive,” he says adding that converting vehicles running on internal combustion engines into electrical ones can address that challenge.

He further says that the maintenance cost of the Kombi is just a third   of what he would have incurred if he was using a vehicle running on fuel.  For instance, it doesn’t require any oil change and he usually charges its battery   at   his home   station.

In Kenya, the uptake   of electrical vehicles is still low. Besides their high price, there are only a few charging stations for these vehicles in the country, found in the major cities like Nairobi. But if Mr. Kamanu’s innovative model is replicated in other households, that challenge can be addressed.  The model is also commercially viable. It can be used in setting up cottage industries which will create employment for many Kenyans throughout the country.  That should give our policy makers   food for thought.