Exciting news – we’ve now got our final sales figures from our small-scale Solar Schools Campaign in Senegal. You may recall our last Senegal update in which we outlined our plans to test the effectiveness of our Light Library Projects in creating demand for solar lights.
Well, the Light Library Project has proven a really effective model at raising awareness and exposure to this new energy source. We found that there was a 35% uptake rate of solar lights in the Light Library schools compared to 15% in the non-Light Library areas.
We sold 966 solar lights (S2s and SunKing Mobiles) in the 58 non-Light Library schools and over double that in the 58 Light Library schools (2,138 lights in just one headteacher meeting and delivery). Both of these sales figures are hugely positive but it goes to show how much higher the uptake is in areas where there has been some exposure to this new technology.
Our Director of Research & Impact, Kat Harrison, took an international team from the World Bank (who funded the initial project) to visit two of the Light Library schools. They discussed the success of the project with the headteacher, the parents and some of the students from the schools. Kabe Mbengue School in Kaffrine region told us that they use the small funds from the Library to pay for food for their pupils.
We’re now just finishing up our evaluation on the Light Library’s project so we can share our learning with other players in the sector. We’ve seen how the project can help seed an immature market and are now keen to offer materials, tools and guidance for other organisations wishing to create demand for solar products.
Watch this space for more information.