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Solar Lamps Keep the Sun Glowing At Night(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A local organisation has partnered with the Ministry of Education to promote the use of solar lighting by school children in communities without electricity. The organisation, SunnyMoney, is working through teachers and community members to pass on the information to students and parents. "The idea is for the students use the solar light after school for reading and homework. The family then uses it as they sit together to eat their evening meal and once the children have gone to bed, the parents continue using it," said the marketing manager Olivia Otieno. She said they have already conducted school campaigns in Migori, Narok, Makueni, Bomet, Nandi, Kericho, Trans Nzoia and Bungoma Sunnymoney is based in Nairobi but is owned and and funded by the UK non governmental organisation SolarAid. It is now selling an average of 50,000 solar lamps each month across Africa, compared to 1,000 per month when it began in 2010. The solar light costs just Sh850 for one piece, which the organisation says is cheaper than kerosine. One light can last 5 years, the organisation said. "The solar light lasts for a minimum four hours. Thus, students living in households equipped with solar lights to study up to three additional hours a day," Olivia said in a press release. The organisation is one of the many enterprises targeting off-the grid rural areas with solar-powered solutions. According to UNEP, Kenyans would save as much as $896 million (Sh80 billion) every year if the country switched to clean sources of off-grid lighting. "The technology end of the solar business is there--now we have to think of the business model," Nick Hughes, co-founder of M-Kopa, told the Economist magazine recently. The M-Kopa system consists of a base-station with a solar panel, three lamps and a charging kit for phones--an entire electrical system for a small house that would normally cost around Sh18,000. Earlier this year the government exempted solar products from VAT, which makes the products cheaper in Kenya. Says SunnyMoney operations Director in Kenya, Linda Wamune: "Removing VAT on solar products reduces the cost to consumers and aids access to everyone buying solar products. The benefits to Kenyans and the national economy will be substantial." Copyright The Star. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |