SolarAid, with funding assistance from Traid, is implementing a project in the poor communities of Malawi to introduce clean, affordable solar lighting and electricity into rural homes.
The majority of people living in rural Malawi currently do not have access to modern electricity and burn kerosene for lighting. Kerosene is harmful to health, dangerous, and increasingly expensive. It is also a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. SolarAid reports the average kerosene lamp in Africa spews out a ton of CO2 in less than 10 years.
The SolarAid & Traid project will introduce simple, locally assembled, affordable LED solar lanterns to the poorest communities, providing residents with a cheap alternative to kerosene while also generating employment opportunities for the underprivileged and ill. The partners will train 120 young people, orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS, in northern Malawi to build these solar lanterns.
In addition, working with the Center for Appropriate Technology, a Malawian organization in Mzuzu, SolarAid will provide technical training (solar panel and LED light assembly) and help source and import solar and LED materials to Malawi. Business development support, including marketing assistance and the development of its financial management system, will also be provided.