Gaspar Makale (1960 circa. to December 2007, Tanzania) was one of the pioneers of solar electrification in East Africa. Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya During the 1990s he was the Chief Solar Technician at the KARADEA Solar Training Facility (KSTF)^[1] in Karagwe district, Kagera region in Northern Tanzania, situated between Lake Victoria and Rwanda. Karagwe is one of the 6 districts of the Kagera Region of Tanzania. Lake Victoria or Victoria Nyanza (also known as Ukerewe and Nalubaale) is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.

KSTF, the first dedicated training centre for solar energy technology in East Africa, was founded by Oswald Kasazi in 1993. Solar energy is the Light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth 's Climate and Weather and sustains Life During the following decade KSTF gave regular three-week long training courses which were attended by people from all over East Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia) as well as from further afield. The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the north Somalia to the northeast Tanzania to the south The Republic of Uganda is a Landlocked country in East Africa. Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known The courses were held in partnership with Alternative Energy Africa (EAA), run by Mark Hankins^[2] and Daniel Kithokoi^[3], who were based in Nairobi, Kenya. Gaspar Makale managed the practical sessions as well as arranging for the field-trips during which course participants installed solar electric domestic systems in the Karagwe district.

Solar training course at the KARADEA Solar Training Facility (KSTF), 1996, Gaspar Makale (front row, first on right), Daniel Kithokoi (back row, first on right) Mark Hankins (back row, first on left) (click image for higher resolution)

KSTF also ran a solar apprentice scheme for which Gaspar Makale was responsible. He was also involved in other solar training courses in Tanzania, such as the one held at Wasso Hospital,^[4] Maasailand, Tanzania. Course participants, many of whom later went on to set up solar businesses and work in the growing East African solar industry, got their first hands-on experience of installing solar electric systems under Gaspar Makale's experienced and expert guidance. He installed a Ampair Hawk 100 wind turbine at KSTF for charging batteries, the first wind turbine installed in that part of Tanzania. A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the Kinetic energy in Wind into Mechanical energy. He also ran his own solar business.

While working with KSTF, Gaspar Makale installed numerous solar systems in local schools, hospitals, clinic refrigeration systems, two-way radio systems, domestic lighting systems. He also installed systems in the refugee camps that sprung up in Karagwe after the Rwanda genocide in 1994. The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda 's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority He made one trip to the USA where he attended solar and wind energy courses at Solar Energy International^[5] in Colorado, USA. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He also ran a solar-powered disco in his own village where he lived with his family on a small farm.

Gaspar Makale also worked closely with Harold Burris of Solar Shamba,^[6] one of the very first people to see the potential of solar electricity in East Africa, and with Frank Jackson^[7] from APSO (the Irish state overseas development agency), who worked at KSTF during the 1990s.

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