About the project

The majority of people living in rural Malawi don't have access to electricity and are forced to burn kerosene for lighting. Kerosene is harmful to health, dangerous and increasingly expensive. Kerosene is also a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change - our calculations show that the average kerosene lamp in Africa spews out a tonne of CO2 over 7-10 years.

This project will introduce simple, locally assembled, affordable LED solar lanterns to the market as a viable alternative to kerosene use. It will provide people with a cheap alternative to kerosene.

The project is designed to provide rural populations in Malawi with a truly viable alternative to kerosene for lighting. The lights will be locally assembled, sold through existing sales networks and, most importantly, the low cost overcomes the usual price barriers to new technology being accepted.

As the lights are assembled locally, value is added to the products in East Africa. Employment is therefore generated though product assembly and sales. This approach enables the products to be repaired locally and provides salesmen with the confidence to provide warranties.

John Keane
SolarAid Head of Programmes