Hi Katherine, thanks for your entry. I love your holistic approach, especially the distribution and training models. 3 quick questions - how did you select the solar distributor? Where are you in the pilot phase? And finally, have you heard of URDT: Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme? Best of luck with your entry!!
Hi Sarah, thanks for your comments. I am delighted to get feedback and begin a dialogue about Solar Sister. To answer your questions let me first give a bit of background. In just the last couple of years there have been tremendous advances in solar lantern technology. Where just a few years ago, we would install a small fixed panel system (10watt) to a village home to provide light and a charging station, costing $250, it is now possible to provide the same level of illumination and even charging options with a solar lantern that costs $20. This is huge! Completely game changing! Now the possibility of a truly commercial, sustainable solution for lighting rural homes exists. That is, if there is investment in the marketing and distribution so this technology does not languish on the shelf. We have investigated the several solar lanterns available and have chosen to work with d.light for our pilot program. They have an excellent product and an affordable price point.
Which brings me to your questions:
1-we chose our distributor because he is the only distributor of the d.light product in Uganda. He also sells a full line of solar PV equipment and we have worked with him in the past with good results. The description of the store where the lanterns are sold is for real. Marketing is not his strength to say the least. And I am not singling him out for criticism. His store is typical of electronics stores in Uganda. Finding the store, and then braving the guy-ness of the atmosphere is a complete barrier for women who might purchase the lanterns. It's worse than the plumbing section of Home Depot!
2-We are in the initial stages of our pilot program. We have identified the villages and a girl's school, with the guidance of our partner, Mother's Union. We have identified our product and distributor and established our working partnership. This is a new program, but is based on my experience bringing solar to Uganda with an organization that has been installing solar in Africa for over 10 years. Solar Sister builds on the relationships and expertise gained from that experience to focus on women's needs. So in some ways the pilot is a replication of prior installations, but this time with women running the show, from start to finish.
3-I do not know URDT, but would like to know more - are you involved with them?
Thanks so much for your interest and encouragement,
Katherine
Congratulations! Solar Sister is one of the two Early Entry Prize winners for the Women | Tools | Technology challenge. The selection process was not easy, as this challenge continues to attract the most innovative organizations that are using technology to catalyze the economic advancement of women. Again, congratulations and best of luck with Solar Sister as the organization continues to grow!
Dear Sarah and everyone at the Changemakers Team,
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to highlight Solar Sister's program of empowering women with solar technology. I am delighted to receive the Early Entry prize. I am encouraged by your support.
Thank you,
Katherine Lucey
Founder & Executive Director
Solar Sister www.solarsister.org
We all wish you all the best and hope you will win this price for your work. May the Solar Light spread all over the dark world soon. At the rate the Prices are coming down we expect even utility scale solar Power will become feasible even without any subsidy.
Please see
Photovoltaic Cells on the Verge of Explosive Growth http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/HONSHI/20100326/181377/?P=1
We wish you and your solar family a very Happy Easter full of hope. May all your days be blessed with love, happiness and good health. http://www.123greetings.com/events/easter/happy_easter/easter69.html
Thank you so much for your kind support of Solar Sister. It is indeed wonderful to see the advances in solar technology that are changing the way we think about renewable power. These advances mean that clean, safe, and most especially, affordable power can be available to the 1.6 billion people who live without access to electricity today.
The challenge then becomes distribution of that technology to the people who need it most: the women and girls of rural Africa. Solar Sister's goal is to create a distribution network that meets the needs of the women and girls living in even the most remote rural village and delivers the technology right to their doorstep. The encouraging support of people like you will help us achieve that goal. Thank you.
In peace and light,
Katherine
Hi Solar Sister, just a note of appreciation and looking forward to a day when the Slum-midia collaboration with your innovation will be working on helping women acquire energy to view our video based business programming for their convenient time views with or without electricity in marginalized areas. Looking forward to work together in the near future.
Dear Albert,
Thank you for your kind words of appreciation. Collaboration and partnership are at the heart of Solar Sister. It is our hope to use our particular expertise in technology and distribution to give women the tools they need to help them help themselves. We are most effective when we team with others who have already established deep relationships in communities that can provide a foundation for the Solar Sister program of training and investment in women solar-entrepreneurs. I look forward to learning more about your program.
In peace and light,
Katherine Lucey
Dear Michael - ha ha! That song by the Posies always shows up in my Google Alerts! There is another song by Train that gets stuck in my head too: "Hey Solar Sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight." http://ow.ly/1yVIu . And the classic "Lady Marmalade" by Patti Labelle has the line "Hey sista solar sista" in it -- perhaps they are saying soul sista...but it gets stuck in my head anyway :-)
I read your article the empowering women about solar power technology. I think it is useful information about solar power . If this solar power will continue to rise, all women will have a happy life with this technology.
Thank you for your kind support of the Solar Sister model of empowering women through enterprise. Women are the primary household caretakers, and are therefore most affected by the indoor air pollution caused by burning candles and kerosene. Replacing these toxic and unsafe forms of light with solar powered light is an improvement that benefits their health as they no longer have to breathe in the smoky fumes.
I appreciate your support and hope you will remember to vote for Solar Sister in the competition that begins next week.
Commentaires
Hi Katherine, thanks for your entry. I love your holistic approach, especially the distribution and training models. 3 quick questions - how did you select the solar distributor? Where are you in the pilot phase? And finally, have you heard of URDT: Uganda Rural Development and Training Programme? Best of luck with your entry!!
Hi Sarah, thanks for your comments. I am delighted to get feedback and begin a dialogue about Solar Sister. To answer your questions let me first give a bit of background. In just the last couple of years there have been tremendous advances in solar lantern technology. Where just a few years ago, we would install a small fixed panel system (10watt) to a village home to provide light and a charging station, costing $250, it is now possible to provide the same level of illumination and even charging options with a solar lantern that costs $20. This is huge! Completely game changing! Now the possibility of a truly commercial, sustainable solution for lighting rural homes exists. That is, if there is investment in the marketing and distribution so this technology does not languish on the shelf. We have investigated the several solar lanterns available and have chosen to work with d.light for our pilot program. They have an excellent product and an affordable price point.
Which brings me to your questions:
1-we chose our distributor because he is the only distributor of the d.light product in Uganda. He also sells a full line of solar PV equipment and we have worked with him in the past with good results. The description of the store where the lanterns are sold is for real. Marketing is not his strength to say the least. And I am not singling him out for criticism. His store is typical of electronics stores in Uganda. Finding the store, and then braving the guy-ness of the atmosphere is a complete barrier for women who might purchase the lanterns. It's worse than the plumbing section of Home Depot!
2-We are in the initial stages of our pilot program. We have identified the villages and a girl's school, with the guidance of our partner, Mother's Union. We have identified our product and distributor and established our working partnership. This is a new program, but is based on my experience bringing solar to Uganda with an organization that has been installing solar in Africa for over 10 years. Solar Sister builds on the relationships and expertise gained from that experience to focus on women's needs. So in some ways the pilot is a replication of prior installations, but this time with women running the show, from start to finish.
3-I do not know URDT, but would like to know more - are you involved with them?
Thanks so much for your interest and encouragement,
Katherine
Dear Katherine,
Congratulations! Solar Sister is one of the two Early Entry Prize winners for the Women | Tools | Technology challenge. The selection process was not easy, as this challenge continues to attract the most innovative organizations that are using technology to catalyze the economic advancement of women. Again, congratulations and best of luck with Solar Sister as the organization continues to grow!
All the best,
The Changemakers Team
Dear Sarah and everyone at the Changemakers Team,
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to highlight Solar Sister's program of empowering women with solar technology. I am delighted to receive the Early Entry prize. I am encouraged by your support.
Thank you,
Katherine Lucey
Founder & Executive Director
Solar Sister
www.solarsister.org
We all wish you all the best and hope you will win this price for your work. May the Solar Light spread all over the dark world soon. At the rate the Prices are coming down we expect even utility scale solar Power will become feasible even without any subsidy.
Please see
Photovoltaic Cells on the Verge of Explosive Growth
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/HONSHI/20100326/181377/?P=1
We wish you and your solar family a very Happy Easter full of hope. May all your days be blessed with love, happiness and good health.
http://www.123greetings.com/events/easter/happy_easter/easter69.html
Thank you so much for your kind support of Solar Sister. It is indeed wonderful to see the advances in solar technology that are changing the way we think about renewable power. These advances mean that clean, safe, and most especially, affordable power can be available to the 1.6 billion people who live without access to electricity today.
The challenge then becomes distribution of that technology to the people who need it most: the women and girls of rural Africa. Solar Sister's goal is to create a distribution network that meets the needs of the women and girls living in even the most remote rural village and delivers the technology right to their doorstep. The encouraging support of people like you will help us achieve that goal. Thank you.
In peace and light,
Katherine
Hi Solar Sister, just a note of appreciation and looking forward to a day when the Slum-midia collaboration with your innovation will be working on helping women acquire energy to view our video based business programming for their convenient time views with or without electricity in marginalized areas. Looking forward to work together in the near future.
Yours
Albert Nashon
Founder
THE SLUMCODE GROUP.
Dear Albert,
Thank you for your kind words of appreciation. Collaboration and partnership are at the heart of Solar Sister. It is our hope to use our particular expertise in technology and distribution to give women the tools they need to help them help themselves. We are most effective when we team with others who have already established deep relationships in communities that can provide a foundation for the Solar Sister program of training and investment in women solar-entrepreneurs. I look forward to learning more about your program.
In peace and light,
Katherine Lucey
Dear Michael - ha ha! That song by the Posies always shows up in my Google Alerts! There is another song by Train that gets stuck in my head too: "Hey Solar Sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight." http://ow.ly/1yVIu . And the classic "Lady Marmalade" by Patti Labelle has the line "Hey sista solar sista" in it -- perhaps they are saying soul sista...but it gets stuck in my head anyway :-)
I read your article the empowering women about solar power technology. I think it is useful information about solar power . If this solar power will continue to rise, all women will have a happy life with this technology.
Thank you for your kind support of the Solar Sister model of empowering women through enterprise. Women are the primary household caretakers, and are therefore most affected by the indoor air pollution caused by burning candles and kerosene. Replacing these toxic and unsafe forms of light with solar powered light is an improvement that benefits their health as they no longer have to breathe in the smoky fumes.
I appreciate your support and hope you will remember to vote for Solar Sister in the competition that begins next week.
Best regards,
Katherine Lucey
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