News: September 2009 Archives

Yesterday, on 23 September, SolarAid announced at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York its new commitment to scaling up a micro-franchise network across East Africa to reduce greenhouse gases and boost economic development.

SolarAid is identifying, training and supporting a growing network of micro-franchisees under the brand name Sunnymoney. These franchisees are drawn from the poorest communities in rural Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.

SolarAid offers its Sunnymoney micro-franchisees access to a multi-purpose solar kit that can power a light and charge mobile phones; a range of marketing materials; and training and support. It has already sold 10,000 products and plans to sell at least 100,000 over the coming four years.

This will lead to significant reductions in CO2. SolarAid's research shows that average kerosene lamp in East Africa produces one tonne of CO2 every seven to 10 years. So by selling 100,000 solar kits there will be a reduction in CO2 of approximately 10,000 tonnes.

SolarAid's Executive Director Dr Nick Sireau said: 'This commitment will make a significant difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in rural Africa. It builds on our previous commitment, which we made at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006 and which we successfully accomplished earlier this year.'

The previous commitment was to set up a carbon reduction programme in East Africa. SolarAid achieved this when it received accreditation by the Gold Standard, the world's highest quality mark for carbon reduction projects, in April this year.

Replacing kerosene lamps with solar lamps also has considerable health benefits. The use of kerosene for lighting is a significant cause of lung disease, eyesight problems, burns and accidental poisoning. Furthermore, SolarAid's research shows that the average household in rural Africa spends 20% of its income on kerosene, candles, and charging cell phones. Buying a Sunnymoney solar kit therefore leads to considerable energy savings, which are then used to pay for more food, education and medicine.

For more info about The Clinton Global Initiative, go to: www.clintonglobalinitiative.org

SolarAid is thrilled to be part of an exciting new music project. It will be the beneficiary of a new compilation album called Power up the Planet.

The album, produced by Planetwize, will feature tracks by renowned world artists including Thievery Corporation, Ozomatli, Zap Mama and Brazilian Girls.

Power up the Planet will be released in the USA on October 24 - The International Day of Climate Action, part of the 350.org project.. It will also be available in the UK. Exact release date to be confirmed so watch this space!

You can watch the trailer for the album here:

We're thrilled to announce that last night SolarAid was awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility Project of the Year at the Charity Times Awards for its partnership with Solarcentury.

This is a huge honour, not least because of the extremely high calibre of the fellow nominees. These were: Action against Hunger / Carluccio's, British Forces Foundation / British Airways and CAN / Panasonic Europe.

It was thanks to funding from Solarcentury three years ago that SolarAid was launched. The Executive Chairman of Solarcentury, Jeremy Leggett, saw a great need for the use of solar energy as a means of poverty alleviation and carbon reduction worldwide. It is because of Jeremy's vision that SolarAid is here. And since then, our partnership with Solarcentury has thrived.

We're enormously grateful to the whole team at Solarcentury for their ongoing pro bono support, which includes volunteering, consultancy, advice and graphic and product design.

Thanks too to the Charity Times for recognising this partnership as a being worthwhile, and one that really makes a difference. The judging panel described the partnership as one of excellence and one 'whose mutual benefits were obvious'.

Onwards and upwards as we strive together towards a solar future.

SolarAid's Steve Woodward and Anna Wells were at the ceremony to receive the award.

Last September the law firm Covington and Burling, who provide pro-bono legal support to SolarAid, took part at the annual Dragon Boat Regatta on Bewl Water in Kent.

The Covington and Burling and Solarcentury Team at last year's Dragon Boat Race.

Despite capsizing the boat and having to swim to safety, the team had a great time and raised a very impressive £2,064. All of us at SolarAid were very grateful for such heroic efforts.

We're delighted to announce that the team from Covington and Burling, known as 'The Covington Comets' - which also includes staff from Solarcentury and SolarAid - will be taking on the challenge again this year. The event takes place on Saturday 12 September, at Bewl Water.

Please support the team and help SolarAid bring solar energy solutions to more rural communities in need. Sponsor the Covington Comets here:
www.justgiving.com/CovingtonComets/

If you would like to go along and cheer the team on, you can purchase tickets from: www.bewl.co.uk/kent. It's sure to be a fun day out for all the family.

In the last 11 years, a total of £1.4m has been raised for more than 175 charities at the Dragon Boat Regatta. For more information go to: http://www.funraisers.org.uk