2 years on...solar light built by Nigerian women still shines bright

It's been 8 months since Solar Jooce last saw Mr. Hassan, the micro business owner. Happy to note that his kiosk is still lit up by his phone charging solar lantern. The lantern appears well worn but still fully functional. This is remarkable considering his lamp was built almost 2 years ago by rural women in Oyo State. No parts changed, all LEDs burning bright and hand soldered parts still intact. Truly rugged piece of equipment.

Word of Mr. Hassan's solar powered lamp crossed the border to the republic of Niger. A herdsman visiting Lagos from Niger republic stopped by Mr. Hassan's to enquire about a larger solar powered unit with more lighting points and a table fan. Solar Jooce was contacted and was able to find a perfect fit for the herdsman. A more powerful yet portable solar home system (SHS), which includes a 12volt, 20Ah unit, with 2 separate LED lamps and a 20 watt panel was supplied. This SHS has the additional capability of running a laptop for field crews and weighs less than 10 Kilograms making it easy to travel with.

 

Oyo rural women make solar powered lamps

Semi literate rural women from Oyo State master a skill in four short weeks. Women trainees from four different local government areas (Iseyin, Oyo west, Itesiwaju and Kajola) came together to learn to build solar powered phone charging  lanterns.This empowerment program was a collaborative effort between Solar Jooce and British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF). Hertz rental (C&I leasing) provided crucial logistical support. The Solar Jooce/ACREST lantern was entirely designed and built in Nigeria in June 2012. The training was a Pan African effort, with participants from Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroun.

The idea behind empowering rural women through vocational skills training was threefold. Firstly to provide them with a substitute for expensive and unclean fossil fuelled lamps which they commonly use. Secondly to empower them to produce the technology they utilise. Thirdly to encourage rural women to start micro businesses that would form the building blocks of an energy corridor spanning from Ibadan in Oyo State, Nigeria to Abijan in Côte d'Ivoire.

Seun Alawode from Kajola, Oyo State crafting her Solar Jooce/ACREST lantern from a PVC pipe section

 Mr Hassan, a micro business owner in Lagos (approximately 350km from the Oyo women) uses a Solar Jooce/ACREST lantern to illuminate his kiosk and charge his phone.

Mr Hassan showing off his solar powered phone charging lantern in his kiosk.

Scaling up

Have not run a fossil fuelled generator in a year. Saved an estimated N30,000 a month and a whopping N360,000 (approx $2,250) over the past year in fuel costs. Will scale up with more panels and bigger battery bank for more Jooce.

Improvisation

 

Fabricating aluminium mounts for solar panels in June 2012. Panels were oriented northward with the aid of a compass.

Anniversary - 1 year without a generator!

 

Got rid of fossil fuelled generator one year ago. Utilised a solar home system (SHS) fed by 300 Watts (150 Watts x 2) in solar panels. Solar home system (SHS) supplies AC & DC power and still going strong. 

Renewable energy at the grass root

 

Solar Jooce/ACREST lamp & phone charger versus wick lamp at local fish market in Lagos




Mr. Hassan a micro business owner in Lagos State gets introduced to Solar Jooce/ ACREST phone charging lamps made by rural women in Oyo State (about 4.5 hours away by road).

 

 

Solar Jooce/ ACREST lamps made entirely from locally available components, except for the solar panels. The larger grey lamp has phone charging capabilities in addition to lighting, while the smaller design provides just lighting

 

 

 

Mr. Hassan (with lamp overhead) acquired a Solar Jooce/ACREST lamp and sold some units to his friends on behalf of the rural women in Oyo State. Mr Hassan insists that the phone charging capability of the lamp is an absolute "life saver"

London - UKTI Green-Tech road show (11th -15th Feb, 2013)

Relief!...recovered couple shots from UKTI Green Tech Road Show (London, Nottingham, Manchester)

L - R: Segun Adaju (President/CEO BlueOcean), J. Japheth Omojuwa (Chief strategist Alpha Reach), Hon. Patricia Kenneth-Divine (U.K trade & Investment), Dr. Mohamed Ali Ekhlat (Deputy Minister of Electricity & Renewable Energy - Libya), Dave Agbakoba (CEO Solar Jooce), Ibrahim Salau (MD Environmental accord)

 

L - R: Dave Agbakoba (Solar Jooce), Reza Shaybani (Chairman, British Photovoltaic Association)