Redhill Community Wind & Solar

Unlike most of us, Ricardo Fortune does not have to worry about high electricity bills.

His home is powered by wind energy in winter and by solar power during summer.

Fortune, a father of three, is part of a Rastafarian community who have chosen to live on the mountainside behind Ocean View in the southern peninsula.

The Rasta philosophy is to live in peace with nature, which is why they collect their water from mountain streams and don’t connect to the Eskom grid.

But, Fortune, who is an electrician, said the lack of electricity prompted him to install a wind turbine on his backyard to use the strong Cape winds to generate energy for his home, which is one of dozens of shacks and timber homes  the community has built on land granted to them by the City.

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