February 2008 Archives

Just to add to what John just wrote, we are working to put three different sales strategies into place. Most of the Neema Craft Cafe Gift Shop customers are tourists and expatriates to whom micro-solar offers little beyond novelty. Our first sales strategy is a simple principle of improving visibility to Tanzanians by setting up a sales table outside of the Neema Craft Cafe on a busy pedestrian road.

Three members of the solar team, Joely, Mateso, and Khsimu, work at the sales table assembling solar panels and answering questions for customers and passers-by. This high profile location puts our solar products where our potential customers can see them and ask questions in a non-intimidating environment. In only a few weeks we have seen a steady rise in sales.

Our second sales strategy is to move the points of sale into the surrounding villages using existing contacts in the Anglican Church diocese to identify experienced sellers in thirteen villages among the ten districts of the Iringa Region.

Products and accessories will be sold through existing village shops, and employees of the shops will be trained by Neema Crafts on both the operation and benefits of the products and proper sales techniques. We hope to move forward with this strategy as funding becomes available. This plan will place our solar products within a public minibus ride of everyone in the Iringa Region.

Our third sales strategy is to hire and train travelling sales people to sell our products in Iringa town and outlaying villages within cycling distance. Because these sales people can easily return to Neema Craft as needed to replenish their stock they will not need to carry a large inventory. This will allow us to give them inventory on commission with no start-up cost. A specially designed mobile kiosk will allow sales people who use hand powered tricycles to sell effectively.

We hope that by providing high quality printed sales support materials and training we can boost solar sales while providing additional employment to the disabled. Mateso, who is deaf, plans to begin selling solar in the large deaf community in the village of Mtwivila. Even moderate sales of 13 panels per month with assorted accessories would earn a sales person a standard wage of about 62,000 Tsh (£1 = 2,350 Tanzanian shillings).

We are confident that the implementation of these three strategies, which should be completed in the first quarter of 2008, will dramatically increase our sales well into profitability while providing affordable solar power to hundreds of households.

Annie Hostetter and Chris Hartley, volunteers in Tanzania

Hello SolarAiders!

SolarAid London office here. I thought I'd pass on information we've just received from Neema Crafts in Tanzania. Neema has just submitted its report for 2007, so following is a quick run-down of the progress:

Last year saw the birth of the Neema Craft Solar project from nothing and its growth into successful manufacturing business with five employees. Joely, Johaly, Khasimu and Steven were the original members who have now been joined by Mateso and Emmy in the workshop, while Steven now sells on commission from the market stall.

Since March 2007, Neema has sold 308 microsolar panels, hooray! That's 308 households who now have access to free (after initial costs) and clean energy; 308 households who are now lowering their carbon emissions.

In order to break even Neema need to sell a further 310 panels and Neema are now working on a three tiered strategy to boost their sales:

1) Improving visibility: Neema have put a sales table outside their shop, manned by Joely, Mateso, and Khsimu who assemble products and answer any questions from passers by. This seems to be working as Neema have already seen a rise in sales since they started this : awesome!
2) Identifying retailers: Neema hope to identify experienced sales people in other villages who will sell solar products in their shops. Neema will train them fully in solar benefits and know how. This would put Neema Solar products within short minibus ride of anywhere in all of Iringa.
3) Commissioning Sales: Neema plan to hire and train travelling sales people who could carry products further afield.

Neema Craft Solar has introduced low cost small scale solar to hundreds of households in southern Tanzania. At the same time our six disabled workers have been able to show their community that physical disability is not a barrier to a productive life.

Please donate to our work here in Tanzania so that we can expand it to other areas.

John Keane
Programmes Manager

We visited Tanzania recently to check out our pilot project there, which is taking place in Iringa, in the South of the country. It was a tremendous experience. We're working with Neema Crafts, a local NGO that works with the deaf and disabled. We trained four of their staff to build and sell solar chargers for lanterns, radios and mobiles. They then go out in the local communities to sell them.

The amazing thing is that this directly deals with a serious problem that most rural households face: how to get a reliable, safe and affordable supply of energy. Our research shows that the average household in rural areas spends between 10-20% of its income on kerosene for their kerosene lamp, single use batteries for their radio, and, if they have one, charging their mobile phone. When you're living on a dollar a day, that's a lot of money.

Fortunately, they can save up for a few months and buy one of the solar chargers built by our local solar entrepreneurs at Neema Crafts. This solar charger can then power a kerosene lamp converted into a solar lantern using LEDs, a radio, and charge a mobile - so they then start saving all the money they would previously have spent on energy. Meanwhile, the solar entrepreneurs also make money - so it's a win-win situation!

Nick Sireau
SolarAid Director