August 2008 Archives

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