news
SOLAR MAKERS
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Solar technologies especially solar lamps are gaining ground as an alternative to kerosene in many households in Africa. That being said the products and parts are generally imported from China. We asked ourselves, what could help shift the production of solar technologies to the hands of users in Africa.
To take our research a step further we came up with a workshop and toolkit.
In 4 live sessions held at Maker Faire Africa, 90 young people with
little or no technical background were taught the basics in solar tech
and circuitry, and then went on to make their own solar lamps and
furnish them with lamp shades from recycled materials. The enthusiasm
was palpable.
With the feedback from the participants
we are now exploring how to further harness this potential. Making the
lamps yourself is a whole lot cheaper than buying finished products and
many people saw possible BOP business models on the horizon.
