Swiss Partners
Solafrica.ch, c/o Greenpeace, Bern,
www.solafrica.ch,
Kuno Roth, Joshiah Ramogi
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Documentation
Swiss Contribution
The Swiss partnership is composed of Greenpeace and the solar company Megasol which both have extensive experience in the solar energy field. The planned and common Social Solar Enterprise will support the project with expertise as well as with the Swiss market build-up for the Kenyan solar products.
Description
Over 70 percent of Kenya’s population is not connected to the grid and relies mainly on biomass, kerosene and disposable batteries for light. There are already some solar lamps available, but most of the products are too expensive, of poor quality or not adapted to the Kenyan needs.
Therefore, the project partners designed a solar lamp which can be used as a flashlight (for outdoor toilets, guards) or to light rooms if suspended. The lamp with LED, integrated solar panel and rechargeable batteries is simple and easy to repair. In a first phase of the project, the lamp shall pass through an in-depth market test where technical, social and economical aspects will be evaluated. The lamp has previously been tested in several countries.
The Kenyan project partner, Kibera Community Youth Programme, produces the lamp locally and will first sell it in Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa. A part of the production shall be sold as an educational kit in Switzerland.