Project: Solar for children

It was Saturday night in Iringa. I had Sunday off and was skimming through my Lonely Planet book to see what to do.

Then I got an interesting invitation from Destory, one of the managers from Neema Crafts, a SolarAid partner organization... "Would you like to go to the village market with me to sell solar panels?"

I've heard much about the Tanzanian village markets, where villagers from some of the remote regions of the country would come to buy and sell goods. It was too good of an offer to turn down and I immediately said, "Of course!" without really knowing what I was getting myself into.

The trip to the Madibira village market started at 5am. We had to squeeze into a packed dala-dala (the African minibus) and then jumped into a lorie, an open-backed farm truck. I was a bit surprised when I was asked to jump on the lorie, as I thought that the three hour transfer would involve an air-conditioned bus. But no, the air conditioning comes from the African breeze, and the lorie is a frequently used transport vehicle for merchants where I shared space with used clothing salesman, fruit vendors... and a rooster.

My first lorie ride.

When I arrived in the village market, we set up our solar shop on the busiest part of the market. The villagers were amazed at the accessible power of the sun. It was a joy to watch their eyes widen when they saw a radio play without the use of batteries. Most radios here are run by batteries with cost the villagers money and harm their environment. Sunlight provided a clean and limitless alternative to those batteries.

We sold nearly Tsh260,000 (£140) worth of solar panels that day, at an average of Tsh20,000 each (about £12). Not bad in a country where the average income is only a few pounds a day.

The happy customers told me that there were three reasons why they buy the panel: To provide lighting so their children can study at night, to power their radios and to recharge their mobile phone.

A very happy first-time buyer.

I realised from this experience that a solar system that can do all three is essential in Tanzania, as these villagers can only afford one set of products.

I also realised that the education tool is powerful, as for every person who bought a panel, I know at least four more are trying to save money to buy them, or are waiting to get input from the first set of buyers before buying one for themselves. Thus the market is there and it is hot!

Masai Warriers and I. Iringa.

John and I went to the village of Manzese yesterday. It's one of the poorest areas greater Dar es Salaam, with one of the highest densities of HIV infection in the country. Here, one can hire a teenage prostitute for about Tsh1000, that's less than one US dollar.

Amidst the bustle of the village, SolarAid conducted training on how to assemble solar panels using basic ingredients where the heavy components such as the wooden frames are sourced in Africa.

There were Tanzanians from all walks of life, from a young mattress entrepreneur with two children to a bachelor farmer who came all the way from the village to learn about solar energy.

The group was super-excited about solar and its potential in Africa.

One visionary attendee noted, "I want to know how to make the panel, use the panel, and then sell the panel." I think, in that short statement, he summarised the way many Tanzanians (especially the visionary ones) like to work. They want to understand how something works from inside out, as if wanting to understand the system as a whole, before fully embracing its parts. It can be a frustrating quality for some who want others to embrace their ideas immediately. But I was proud of this guy for wanting to know how parts fit into the whole, before jumping into a new initiative. Phrases like that reminded me of the hope that remains alive in this country.

Have a look at the picture below of the group testing their panel in the sun. It was a delight watching their eyes glow with amazement as they watched how the sun can cause the radio to blare music from Madonna (yes, Madonna was on the radio at that very moment!).

Testing the panel with a radio

Here's the group showing off their panel and screaming "Umeme Rahisi!" which means "cheap, easy power!". As you can see, the joy and pride was genuine.

"Umeme Rahisi!" ('Cheap, easy power')

More from me soon!

Irna

Mason and I visited a village yesterday and talked to several local shop owners about whether they would buy a solar lantern.

There was a sweet woman entrepreneur/shop owner in a tiny village who said that she had to use her kerosene lamp frequently as her shop closes at 10pm and it starts getting dark at 6pm. That's 4 hours of sitting next to a kerosene lamp in a tiny shop. She said she'd be willing to pay up to $30 for a solid solar lamp.

Quality or a "solid lamp" is important here because they expect these purchases to last forever, as the traditional kerosene lamp tends to last a very long time. When I asked her when she bought her existing kerosene lamp, she said she didn't remember because it was such a long time ago.

Irna

Mason Huffine, who helped SolarAid set up it's new office in Dar es Salaam

Hi,
I'm Irna and I'm here in Tanzania working for SolarAid, with MBAs Without Borders.

I just wanted to write an update from Dar Es Salaam. I arrived here exactly two weeks ago. Mason, who was supposed to pick me up, told me to look for a 'tall Caucasian guy with a beard'. But when I got out, I saw two tall Caucasian guys with beards, and wasn't sure who to approach. It turned out that either of them would have been a viable option as the other bearded guy was John Keane.

Me outside my appartment in Dar

Anyway, Mason, John and I had our first SolarAid meeting at a bench surrounded by the African night. It was quick meeting, but enough for me to catch a glimpse of everyone's excitement in ramping up this project. And yes, a project to distribute microsolar products to the most rural parts of Tanzania is an exciting one and I am glad I got to enter at the ground up.

The past week has been very busy. Mason and I have been running around town getting the office setup. It was a great way to get oriented with the layout of the city as well as get a feel of the work culture in this country. I met with a lawyer, the internet setup guys and building management. Mason also helped to get me settled by showing me where to buy food and how to get internet access.

The new SolarAid office in Dar

As this picture shows, our office reflects a true startup in the making. It's completely empty except for a large wooden desk that will be returned to their rightful owner (another NGO) next week. At the very least, we have internet setup (which is a big deal here!) and furniture will arrive within one day of placing the order.

First impressions of Tanzania... hmmm... beaches with sparkling blue water where you can watch fisherman return home at sunset. Yes, I mentioned the beach because that's where I am staying, right by the water, next to an Irish Pub. It's a social place where in one visit, you can meet people who work for different NGO's. One of my early goals here is to get an understanding of what different NGO's do, in order to identify areas of synergy. As a startup, we don't want to reinvent the wheel, and we want to gather as many lessons learned as possible from those who have done something similar in the past. Although our product is microsolar, we also need to look at existing distribution processes for medical products, food supplies, and small electronic equipment. Thus, staying next to the Irish Pub is somewhat conducive to this mission.

The view from my appartment here in Dar

I am very excited about meeting potential female entrepreneurs here in the city. I'll be holding my first focus group on Friday to ask several local women about what they think of microsolar products. We also plan to meet up with several NGO's next week.

Until next time!!

Irna

Irna is our new volunteer from MBAs Without Borders, an organisation that empowers entrepreneurs in developing countries by matching them with experienced MBAs and together developing market-based solutions. Check out their website: www.mbaswithoutborders.org/.

Irna comes with bags of experience. 'I've worked for years for corporate America, as well as setting up a start-up and country offices,' she says. 'I'm really excited about this work with SolarAid in Tanzania and putting to good use the skills I've learnt.'

Irna arrived in Dar Es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, yesterday evening after spending a two day induction in the SolarAid office in London, where we went through all our strategies and plans. She was greeted in Dar by John Keane, our Head of Programmes, who was just on his way back from a trip to visit our team in Zambia. Irna has now settled into her new home in Dar and is already hitting the ground running!

I've just come off a skype video call with Alfred and Mason in Tanzania who were sat in our new office in Dar es Salaam. That's right - SolarAid now have an office in Tanzania!

I'm not sure if they were sitting on the floor, on some boxes, or if they managed to get hold of some chairs, but the next step is definitely getting hold of some furniture! The team is also busy preparing for the arrival of our new volunteer Irna who has been recruited through MBAs Without Borders. Irna has plenty of experience in business development - something which is key to ensuring successful microsolar projects.

Meanwhile, seven hours away in Iringa, Destory at Neema Crafts is busy organising a shipment of amorphous silicon glass into the country to replenish the solar group's supplies for future production. So lots of hard work going on all round!

We now have the human resources, but of course we also rely on donations from people like you, so please help this project to grow by donating today.

Thank you,
John

Hi everyone,

The latest from our solar manager Destory in Tanzania is that sales of microsolar products are going up following the recent sales and marketing training. They are now placing a new order to import solar PV glass into Tanzania that will enable them to continue production. This is great news!

Carl, one of our volunteers based in Malawi, also recently visited Neema Crafts and was very impressed with the operations there. So, it's full steam ahead in Tanzania!

This is Carl, one of our volunteers in Africa

Good news. We're now setting up an office in Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, the capital city, thanks to the volunteer support of Alfred Wise, former CEO of Community Wealth Ventures, a US organisation that helps charities become more self-sustaining.

Alfred has found potential office space for us and is registering SolarAid in Tanzania as an organisation, which will help us loads with imports of materials, placing volunteers and recruiting local staff. Alfred is also working with Mason Huffine, a committed environmentalist who has extensive experience of working in developing countries. Mason is helping us set up too on a volunteer basis, which is fantastic.

This is very good news for us. We're already working hard with our existing partners in Tanzania, and this will help us scale up our work. However, as you can imagine, it's pretty bureaucratic and long-winded.

Fred Migai, a solar entrepreneur from Nairobi, has carried out a successful marketing and sales training in Iringa in a bid to help our partner Neema Crafts develop an effective (mainly able bodied) sales team. Neema is confident that this will lead to rise in sales. All production is still being carried out by Neema's deaf and disabled staff.

This is me training the Neema Crafts microsolar group.

Neema has provided us with a summary of production and sales figures for the Feb - April period which is reproduced below.

Number of products made and sold for the months of Feb - April

• 0.5 watt panels: 43 made. Only 1 sold.


• 1 watt panels: 239 made; 53 sold.


• 2 watt panels: 297 made; 49 sold.


• LED lamps: 200 made; 63 sold.

As you'll see, Neema Crafts has been producing more than they are selling. This is because the organisation helps the disabled, who are much more effective at building panels in the workshop than at going around the villages to sell them. That's why we've helped them train an able-bodied sales force that can take the buses and travel to the villages to sell the panels that their disabled colleagues produce. So watch this space as sales are expected to rise dramatically!

John Keane, Head of Programmes

We've developed with USAID, the US government's development agency, a programme to provide solar power to 20 health clinics in Tanzania. USAID will provide £100,000 towards it if we can raise a further £100,000. The solar systems would power vaccine fridges, small surgery theatres, medical labs, etc - all crucially important for health care among the poorest communities, particularly for children.

Can you help us raise the remaining amount of money? You're probably aware that health services in rural area in Africa are severely lacking and that affordable and reliable access to energy is vital to ensure that clinics run effectively.

Here's an extract from the project document:

NEED: One key barrier to the provision of medical services is the lack of adequate and reliable energy. Energy is needed to run diagnostic equipment, power refrigerators, pump clean water, and power computers, faxes, phones, or other electronic devices. Energy is also vital in linking patients to higher levels of services, to community-based services, and helps with the timeliness and accuracy of monitoring services.

ACTIVITIES: This activity will target approximately 20 small health facilities. The focus is on health systems with low energy requirements of five to ten kWh/day that are located in remote settings with limited services and small staff, with 0-60 beds. Electronic power is usually required for lighting facilities during evening hours; to support limited minor surgical procedures; to maintain cold storage for vaccines, blood, and other medical supplies; and to use basic lab equipment.

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