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Only a few farmer huts (tukuls) in rural Ethiopia are connected to the power grid. Paraffin lamps are the usual source of lighting in the countryside. This produces a lot of carbon dioxide and the poor light and soot emissions are health hazards.
In view of this, the Solar Energy Foundation has successfully implemented model villages for solar lighting and built up a professional school for solar energy technicians. Now, a countrywide network of small solar centers shall be built up, which are connected to the Ethiopian Solar Energy Foundation in a sort of franchising system. The solar centers sell solar home systems partly for cash, partly by installments. All solar centers shall get start-up financing for the first six months, afterwards they shall be self-supporting. The REPIC co-funded project supports five such solar centers. | 
