Wind Mobiles: Building DIY Wind Turbines for Phone Charging in Refugee Camps
- Re-Alliance
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
In refugee and IDP settlements across the world, a mobile phone is a lifeline for the people who liver there. But keeping phones charged in these contexts can be costly, unreliable, or even unsafe. That’s where the Wind Mobile project steps in, blending local ingenuity and resources, renewable wind power, and global collaboration to create real-world solutions that work where they’re needed most.
Launched by School of the Earth and supported by Re-Alliance, Wind Mobile set out to tackle a deceptively simple challenge: how can communities in refugee camps charge phones and power small devices using locally made, low-tech wind turbines?
Rather than developing a one-size-fits-all product, the project adopted a phased, community-driven design approach, working with four different networks across Africa and Europe:
Wind Empowerment (West Africa) – For early technical R&D using salvaged hoverboard magnets.
Africa Makerspace Network (East Africa) – To adapt and prototype turbines using recycled loudspeaker magnets.
Habibi.Works (Greece) – For hands-on, refugee-led manufacturing workshops.
Re-Alliance Network – To extend and test designs for diverse humanitarian contexts.
One of Wind Mobile’s most inspiring aspects is its commitment to appropriate technology by building what’s needed, using what’s available. Whether it was hoverboard magnets in Côte d'Ivoire or speaker magnets in Uganda and Kenya, each turbine design was shaped by what local communities could find and fabricate themselves. E-waste proved a reliable source of magnets while the skills of simple carpentry and car mechanics could be transferred to manufacturing the turbines.
Designs were carefully tested, including in university labs and international competitions, proving that hand-crafted turbines made with salvaged parts can deliver meaningful energy outputs, up to 500 watts in some cases!
In October 2024, the Wind Mobile vision came to life in a makerspace near the Katsikas refugee camp in Greece. Participants from Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana joined local and refugee makers for a week-long workshop at Habibi.Works. They built turbines, exchanged skills, overcame language barriers, and left with the tools and confidence to replicate the work in their home communities.
The event became a melting pot of ideas, cultures, and practical know-how - exactly what the project hoped to achieve.
Read the full end-of-project report here
