Recently in News Category
SolarAid once again graced the Malvern Hills as an official partner at The Big Chill Festival earlier this month. The festival showcased SolarAid's work in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia whilst providing a phone charging service to all those festival-goers with low batteries (of the mobile phone kind) using solar power. The platform allowed SolarAid to communicate its commitment to fight both climate change and poverty in a fun, easy going and picturesque setting.
The volunteer base SolarAid has is bigger than ever and this year 80 volunteers and staff members dressed in solar themed fancy dress to deliver SolarAid's key messages both on stage and off as compères, phone chargers, technicians, and yoga instructors (to name a few). Fashion designer James Randall's Sun King costume outshone the competition, successfully catching the public imagination (see above). Meanwhile our solar roller teams offered phone charging on the move using the innovative mobile units in the main arena.
The SolarAid Buskers' Stage and Sun Hut
SolarAid's Sun Hut acted as a haven for all things solar. Next door to the solar powered SolarAid Buskers' Stage (powered by Firefly) it was the ideal location to listen to the best live music on offer or to simply lounge on bean bags and cushions. Hugely successful, SolarAid charged more than 1,200 phones generating over £5,000 in the process.
Havaianas and Oceans Events
For this year's festival SolarAid partnered with Havaiainas and Oceans Events, who together raised almost £8000. Festival-goers were invited to exchange old flip-flops, plus a £10 donation to SolarAid, for a brand new pair of self-designed Havaianas. With 100% of all donations going to SolarAid, total takings for the weekend rose to £12,758. SolarAid would like to thank Havaianas and Oceans Events for a fantastic contribution.
To find out more about the Big Chill go to www.bigchill.net/festival.
If you would like to support SolarAid you can make a donation here.
On Monday 26 July, SolarAid's star fundraiser Matt Jones set off on his 'Eco Trek 2010'.
Matt will embark on an incredible journey on foot covering the 1,300 miles from John O'Groats to Land's End.
In just three days, Matt has already covered almost 60 miles and is currently near to Golspie, Sutherland on the eastern coast of northern Scotland.
Matt setting off from John O'Groats on 26 July 2010. Matt will be using SolarAid's Ravi product to charge his mobile phone. The 1.5W panel will sit on Matt's rucksack harnessing the sun's rays as he undertakes the 1,300 miles of the journey!
To read more about Matt's preparation in the lead up to his departure, read our earlier story here.
You can follow Matt's progress on Twitter, Facebook. Please show your support for this amazing solo venture by sponsoring Matt here and helping him reach his £5000 target.
SolarAid will once again be spreading some sunshine at The Big Chill Festival in August. A star team of volunteers will be educating and entertaining Big Chill festival-goers around the issues of SolarAid's work, as well as offering an innovative and clean way to charge mobile phones via our 'Solar Rollers'.
On the top of the hill in The Enchanted Garden, our Sun Hut will provide festival-goers with insight into our projects in Africa where we're using solar energy as a solution to world poverty and climate change. The Sun Hut will also host The SolarAid Sign Up, where in return for joining the SolarAid mailing list, festival-goers will be entered into an hourly raffle of Big Chill Label merchandise and other ethical goodies.
The SolarAid Buskers' Stage
Positioned alongside the Sun Hut, this year's solar-powered SolarAid Buskers' Stage has an incredible selection of new music, undiscovered gems and Big Chill favourites, as well as opportunities for festival-goers to get on stage and perform on the greenest stage at the festival.
Between noon and 1pm, from Friday through to Sunday there will be an open performance slot for musicians and performers on the SolarAid Buskers' Stage in the Chillers' Open Busking Sessions. Names will be selected on a first come, first served basis and participants will be allowed to perform a few songs each.
Phone charging
In 2009 SolarAid pioneered a unique piece of technology; a compact, fully-portable, solar-powered charging system for mobile phones - The Solar Roller. As the quirky name and design suggest (see below), the Solar Roller does what it says on the tin. We developed this innovative product because we wanted a phone charging solution that did not rely on fossil fuel-guzzling generators. We also saw an opportunity to demonstrate to festival-goers that solar power does work, even in the UK.
The Solar Roller provides off-grid, clean power on wheels. It is literally solar on the move and is the creative answer to a problem that so many festival-goers know well; being in the middle of a field with a dead phone battery.
The line-up
Shaping up to be the event of the summer The Big Chill 2010 has a musical line-up which boasts Massive Attack, M.I.A., Lily Allen, Thom Yorke, Roots Manuva, Gregory Isaacs, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Kelis, Plan B, Roy Ayers and Bonobo (to name but a few), an arts programme featuring renowned artist Spencer Tunick and Tate Britain's ground-breaking Rude Britannia exhibition, as well as much, much more.
Tickets are on sale now - please visit www.bigchill.net/festival for more info.
Hope to see you there.
The SolarAid team
Eco Trekker Matt Jones is counting down the days until 26 July when he starts his major trip on foot from John O'Groats to Lands End for SolarAid. This gruelling 1,300 miles will be undertaken with minimal reliance on the national grid. Matt will be using solar power (in the form of SolarAid's SunnyMoney 'Ravi') for lighting and to charge his mobile phone. He will also be wild camping for the majority of the trip and eating food as locally-sourced as possible, or foods that do not require fossil fuel for their production or distribution.
With just 16 days left before he sets off on his epic 10 week journey, Matt is busy getting last minute plans in place. He has been training hard over the last few months. And that's on top of taking his final exams at Southampton University; from where he has just graduated with a 2:1 Hons in Geography.
Matt on the Jurassic Coast, 30 miles east of Exeter, during his practice trek. The tent in the photo will be Matt's home for 10 weeks.
Being prepared
In April, Matt trekked from Exeter to Southampton on the South West Coastal Path as part of his training programme, covering 160 miles in an impressive six days. Matt has trained hard on his bike and with shorter local treks. Amazingly, he has managed to wear down his first pair of hiking shoes before he's even left John O'Groats!
Matt has kept focused on the trip, despite preparing for exams, and has also been working hard on increasing his weight. It is estimated that he will burn approximately 4000 calories each day. So in the last few weeks he has had to increase his daily calorie intake to 5000kcal, gaining an extra 10 kilograms; which is what he expects to lose over the months of trekking.
Matt told me recently; "I'm both excited and nervous for the immense challenge ahead. I hope that my expedition inspires people to help support the charitable work of the truly irreplaceable SolarAid".
You can follow Matt's progress on Twitter, Facebook, or right here on the SolarAid website.
Please support this incredible venture by sponsoring Matt here and helping him reach his £5000 target.
SolarAid has received a donation of 200 solar panels from TÜV Rheinland PTL to be installed on the roofs of health centres and clinics throughout our project regions in rural Tanzania.
Many health clinics use highly toxic kerosene lamps for light, which when inhaled can lead to respiratory disease - one of the leading causes of death in Tanzania. Solar power however, enables clinics to operate 24 hours a day and with clean affordable light - this not only improves working conditions but saves lives and reduces illness.
We have already installed 70 of the panels on 14 health facilities in the Iringa region of central Tanzania. The remaining 130 panels will also be used in Ludewa, Makete, and Kiwango throughout the course of the year.
SolarAid's Head of Programmes, John Keane said:
"The donation from TÜV Rheinland PTL is enabling us to have a direct and positive impact on rural Tanzanian communities, which do not benefit from grid electricity. Together with these communities SolarAid helps to bring light to rural health centres that serve villages for miles around."
TÜV Rheinland PTL is based in Tempe, Arizona. As part of the world's largest solar and photovoltaic testing network the company donate many of their used modules for use by non-profit organisations, such as SolarAid, to expand awareness and share the benefits of renewable energy. Dr. Govindasamy Tamizhmani, president of TÜV Rheinland PTL said:
"I strongly believe that solar photovoltaics will soon become a major contributor of electricity in developing countries."
I recently caught up with Gwyn Roberts to hear about his progress on his epic Overland in the Sun trip, from London to Cape Town.
Gwyn and Ryan are currently in Iringa in central Tanzania, visiting Neema Crafts, where SolarAid set up one of its first manufacturing facilities, as part of the craft workshop.
After eight months and 35,000km, the team will soon be arriving in Malawi, where they hope to visit the SolarAid team in Mzuzu. From there, they will go through Mozambique and plan to arrive into South Africa around mid August.
Aside from a few minor technical problems with the vehicle, the team have had a very successful trip so far.
The vehicle, which is semi solar-powered, has proved to run very efficiently. In fact, for every 100km travelled, they have saved an entire litre of fuel by using photovoltaic solar on the roof of the truck. That's a saving of 350 litres of diesel, which equates to almost a tonne of carbon saved so far.
Gwyn's truck parked up whilst the solar panels (bottom right) charge up the battery in the sun. Tanzania, June 2010
You can follow Gwyn and Ryan's progress direct through their blogs at www.overlandinthesun.com
Please support Overland in the Sun and SolarAid, by sponsoring them. You can help them reach their target of £20,000, and help SolarAid enable many more rural communities in Africa to use solar technology as a means of generating sustainable income.
Thank you,
Anna
SolarAid is delighted to announce that The Body Shop Foundation is supporting our programme in Malawi with a £40,000 donation over a two year period. Funding will help with the implementation of our SunnyMoney brand - bringing light to the households to those who need it most.
SunnyMoney is the name given to SolarAid's innovative solar products. It gives solar entrepreneurs the means to earn an independent income - and help eradicate the use of harmful kerosene. It is a means for people to lift themselves out of poverty. By offering solar franchisees business training - we can help would-be entrepreneurs to develop their own successful businesses. And profitable businesses will benefit the wider community too.
The Body Shop Foundation is The Body Shop International Plc's charitable trust which supports innovative projects across the world working for social and environmental change. It is fantastic to have their support and we look ahead to an even brighter future for Malawi.
Read the latest news from Malawi here.
To visit The Body Shop Foundation website click here.
We are thrilled to announce that last week, on Saturday 5 June, SolarAid Tanzania completed an amazing installation of solar power for the whole of Chole Island, bringing renewable power to over 1000 habitants.
The Tanzania team worked with Coastal Air to get the solar panels and equipment over to Chole, a small island off the larger island of Mafia, which sits just off the coast of Tanzania.
A warm welcome from Islanders as the SolarAid team arrive with panels and equipment ready for the installation
Chole Island has no national grid power, and is unlikely to ever have access to it. The SolarAid team worked with local contractors to install solar lighting systems in a health centre, community centre and a secondary school on the island.
A community event: all island occupants helped with getting the equipment from the landing point to the centre of the island.
An investment for an entire community
SolarAid Tanzania also worked closely with their contractors to train local people on Chole in how to maintain and monitor their systems, to ensure they work to their maximum potential and are ultimately more sustainable.
Training locals about the system installed on a health centre. Meeting held under the Baobab tree!
Introducing Farihani
As part of the Chole Island project, SolarAid has also recruited a local SunnyMoney representative, Farihani Shomari. Farihani, who also works as a fundi (or handyman) in a hotel on the island, has already sold an impressive 37 products in just two months!
SunnyMoney Sales Rep Farahani Shomari (left) and his family, enjoy bright, solar-powered lighting in their home for the first time.
Farahani has also installed a few larger solar systems with SolarAid. He was one of three candidates who applied for the position of SunnyMoney sales rep, and has since been involved too in the training on the macro installations we completed on the island. Farahani is a fast learner and very hard working so we're thrilled to have him on the team.
The next generation of solar installers; children from Chole Island.
SolarAid and the team working on the project would like to extend a big thank you to all habitants of Chole Island, for their ambition to be energy independent!
SolarAid would also like to thank The Times and its readers, without whom we would not be able to reach so many people in Tanzania. And the contact for this project came from a reader who had originally seen a piece about SolarAid during The Times Christmas Appeal in December last year.
Some of the team of engineers and trainees who worked on the installations.
Here are some more photos from this exciting project...
Installation taking place on a clinic on Chole.
A brand new solar system, inside the clinic.
Nurses working inside the clinic, which is now fitted with lights.
A family on Chole Island enjoy solar-powered electric light in their home for the first time.
A curious young boy looks at the panels which arrived on Chole Island for the installation.
SolarAid's Founding Executive Director, Nick Sireau, is standing down at the end of September in order to devote himself to finding a cure for the rare genetic disease affecting his two children.
Nick set up SolarAid in 2006 with £35,000 and volunteer support from Solarcentury. Since then, SolarAid has raised $10m and grown into an award-winning social enterprise with 35 people in six countries working on ground-breaking new solar projects for development.
Nick said: 'We are looking for world-class individuals with outstanding skills in leadership, international management, scaling up operations in Africa and a proven track record of success. The best candidate will join an organisation with a superb board of trustees and a highly professional and dedicated team of staff and volunteers that are well regarded in the NGO and social enterprise community.'
Nick will continue on a part-time basis providing support for fundraising and development. However, the majority of his time will be spent building an international medical research consortium to find a cure for Alkaptonuria, the first genetic disease ever discovered (in 1901 in London):
www.alkaptonuria.info.
Nick said: 'I've thoroughly enjoyed my time at SolarAid. Seeing it grow from a small NGO based in my spare bedroom to an international organisation has been a real adventure. I now need to focus on finding a cure for my two boys.'
SolarAid would like to say a big thank you to Panasonic's Jamie Rogers and Soenke Plath who have worked hard and shown huge commitment to SolarAid over the past eight months. Together, they have been providing consultancy and product testing support as part of the 'Talent for Tomorrow' (TFT) programme, courtesy of CAN Engage. TFT allows Panasonic employees to share ideas with charities who otherwise would not have access to such skills or expertise.
We are looking forward to working with a Panasonic again in July.
Many thanks.
The SolarAid team
