From my point of view, interviewing the franchisee candidates was another vivid reminder of the daily grind that most people here face just to survive, and of why we set up SolarAid as a response to this. All the candidates have experience of running their own small businesses (mainly vegetable stalls), but face serious challenges such as intense competition, poor quality produce and lack of working capital, which is why the Sunny Money programme is so interesting to them.

All in all, a successful week. There is still more to do of course, but it's encouraging to know we're certainly heading in the right direction.
Nick.

The Ravi is SunnyMoney branded and an upgraded version of previous micro-solar products such as the Kadzuwa. Its primary aim is to work as a portable device that uses energy from the Sun as power for light.

From left to right: staff members, Stephen Chimallo, Dave Fryer and Claire Pedersen stand exhausted after ravis are stockpiled in their office.

A diverse piece of kit, the Ravi can be used as a hand held torch, desk lamp or even to charge mobile phones. Improvements include a new 1.5 watt solar panel with a life expectancy of 10 years and an 18 LED light bulb capable of lighting a 4 x 4 metre room with clean and bright light. Each bulb can last 10,000 hours (that's four years!) if left on for seven hours a day.

In order to make the device more efficient we have also included a light which signals to the user when batteries are fully charged and also when they are low. This system is a fantasic innovation which should increase battery life for up to two years.

The Ravi complet with bulb, solar panel and mobile phone charger.

It is a very cost effective product for consumers because within three months of purchasing a Ravi, a household's kerosene costs previously used to light the home will be reduced from up to 20% of family income to near zero. This has a tremendous impact on the everyday lives of rural people.

It has taken months of planning for the Ravi to reach Tanzania in such bulk; now we have them in place we can begin to implement their distribution throughout our programmes and eliminate the use of harmful and polluting kerosene lamps for many more of the world's poorest communities.

Three 3800 metre passes in 24 hours begins to take its toll.

Having crossed France, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, the Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and the US, the solar cyclists' new improved leg muscles are at last going to be rested.

The route has taken them through the Sahara desert, over 4000m mountain passes, sandstorms, blizzards and gale force winds. Often cycling 100 miles a day, they have been blown off the road, chased by dogs, struck by frostbite, stung by bees and even encountered the plague.


Cycling sideways: high winds hinder the cyclists journey.

Their route has taken them past several solar projects such as the Kuraymat Concentrating Solar Station (Egpyt) and the Suntech photovoltaic facility (China) as well as through many of the world's deserts.

For details of their journey, blog and daily 'Tweets', please visit: www.thesolarcyclediaries.com

You can also support them and SolarAid as they complete their amazing journey here

Macrosolar installed on the roof of Ojom Health Centre.

The new system is lighting the entire building and powering a fridge used to store vaccines at a fraction of the cost of gas. On top of this, the centre is to be used as a mobile phone charging station for the entire community.

the new fridge now stores vaccines at a fraction of the cost of the old gas system.

The US rock band Maroon 5 also made a donation of £10,000 towards the project.

Please read the full article in The Guardian here

SolarAid's Executive Director, Dr Nicolas Sireau, said: "This is an exciting time for SolarAid as we plan to recruit and train many more microfranchisees over the next 12 months. On top of this we hope to import and sell 30,000 solar products and install 50 large macrosolar systems on African schools, health clinics and community centres."

With each Ravi sold, CO2 emissions are cut by one tonne over 10 years. The Ravi achieves this by powering lights and charging mobile phones in a simpler and more efficient way than previous solar products. Traditionally a family spends 20% of its income on kerosene, candles and mobile phone charging. With the purchase of a Ravi their expenditure is drastically reduced.

Consequently standards in health are improving by removing the threat of kerosene's toxic and harmful fumes. This means there is less lung disease, eyesight problems and fewer fires from spilt lamps and candles. Education and income is also improving as children now study after dark and parents work into the evening using our solar products.

To ensure SolarAid's work is effective, a franchisee from a particular area is chosen by their community to work with us and help integrate the Sunnymoney brand. Once chosen a candidate has a five day intensive sales course to learn how to best market the product.

By working closely with our franchisees we are continually developing our range of solar products to meet demand and carry out large scale marketing campaigns.

To learn more about Sunnymoney please click here.

To make a donation and support SolarAid please click here.

Ashoka was set up in 1981 and brings together 2,000 leading social entrepreneurs from around the world, providing them with access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries. Ashoka develops models for collaboration to advance the field of social entrepreneurship and the citizen sector.

Nick was elected following a stringent selection process involving several stages of meetings, interviews, references and information gathering. He is one of only two fellows elected by Ashoka UK this year.

'I'm extremely pleased to be elected an Ashoka fellow,' Nick said. 'Ashoka is an amazing network that will hugely benefit SolarAid as we seek to scale up our work.'

To read the Ashoka summary profile of Nick Sireau, click here.

For more information on Ashoka, go to: www.ashoka.org

Hosted in London's Natural History Museum, the event taking place February 25 recognises charities that have made an outstanding contribution to the renewable energy sector over the past 12 months.

The ceremony celebrates small renewable-energy businesses that create a buzz in the market. Judged on innovation, potential and influence on government policy it rewards ambition and vision.

SolarAid has had an award winning twelve months. In September 2009 we were presented with the Corporate Social Responsibility of the Year award and in November our very own Campaigner and Volunteer, Gwyn Roberts was rewarded for all his hard work by receiving the Archant Environmentalist of the Year award.

With the success of The Times Christmas Charity Appeal and recent approval for Gold Standard credits in Sub Saharan Africa, 2010 is set to be an even better year.

From Europe to the Middle East, Susie Wheeldon, Iain Henderson and Jamie Vining have certainly built up their leg muscles and raised plenty of money as well. Currently in the USA the team have been topping speeds of over 60 kph in their quest to conquer the huge land mass. Now in Louisiana, the adventurers are experiencing treacherous roads, torrential rain and tornado warnings.

Braving the elements in St. Louis: The team are nearing the finish line of their US leg.

This is in stark contrast to conditions experienced in the relentless heat of the Sahara desert last summer. Highlighting the energy available to Africa in the form of the Sun, the trip, though exhausting continues to raise awareness about renewable energy and its potential in Africa.

The expedition is raising awareness of solar as a solution to climate change, world energy needs and the fight against poverty.

To catch up with the team please visit their blog for tales of adventure and cramp!

You can also support them and SolarAid as they continue the last leg of their amazing journey.

We have been told that this is the first time the Gold Standard has approved carbon credits anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa - so we are pioneering the way ahead, even though it's a small number at the moment.

The Gold Standard is the most stringent approval process existing for the approval of carbon credits. Run by a coalition of more than 60 NGOs, it assesses carbon credits on the basis of CO2 reduction and grassroots development criteria.

The Gold Standard website is www.cdmgoldstandard.org.

Our project in Malawi involves scaling up a network of solar entrepreneurs who sell solar lamps in order to replace kerosene lamps. Our research shows that the average household in Malawi produces one tonne of CO2 every 14 years from the kerosene they consume for lighting. Hence replacing kerosene usage leads to reductions in CO2, which we monitor and verify in order to generate the carbon credits.

Please help SolarAid support Malawian entrepreneurs by making a donation here.

The Landcruiser receives plenty of solar energy in the Sudan.

In October, Gywn accompanied by Ryan Sanderson-Smith and Shaun Lane began their journey. With 300 watts of electricity-producing solar photovoltaic's, this electricity charges batteries that power the assisted steering and cooling fan. It also powers a kettle (all drinking water in Africa needs to be boiled), laptops, mobile phones, stereo, lights and a small fridge.

The Landcruiser is holding firm but as Gywn's latest blog suggests, it's been anything but a smooth journey:

"In Port Sudan the cooling fan seamed to be staying on for ages - whats the problem? Turned out that it fell off its mounts; I say mounts, it was actually mounted with B&Q zip ties..."