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Sustainable solar powered lantern for rural women
Localização
The project aims at providing rural impoverished women with an alternative source of energy for lighting homes to replace the traditionally used small tin kerosene lamps which are expensive and hazardous to these women. Therefore, the technology shall help break the vicious cycle of poverty by enabling local women to save due to availability of solar. The technology shall also help in reducing occ
Sobre Você
Seção 1: Sobre Você
Nome
Agnettah
Sobrenome
Akungwi
Website
Country
Seção 2: Sobre a Sua Organização
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Sim
Nome da Organização
Sisari Women Initiative Group
Página da organização na internet
Telefone da organização
+254 710110348
Endereço da organização
PO.BOX 1027-50102 MUMIAS
País da organização
Quênia
Sua organização é
OSCIP/ONG
How long has this organization been operating?
Mais de 5 anos
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Sua ideia
Dê um nome ao seu projeto
Sustainable solar powered lantern for rural women
Describe Your Idea
The project aims at providing rural impoverished women with an alternative source of energy for lighting homes to replace the traditionally used small tin kerosene lamps which are expensive and hazardous to these women. Therefore, the technology shall help break the vicious cycle of poverty by enabling local women to save due to availability of solar. The technology shall also help in reducing occ
Country your work focuses on
Quênia
INOVAÇÃO
What makes your idea unique?
The K-Light will last for years with no pollution and no added cost for fuel. The product is unique because it is LED Lantern or Flashlight, 100% Solar-powered, no Batteries Required, Highly Water-resistant, Small, Rugged & Lightweight, 120 Lumens and 20-Hour Runtime. It is from this background that we came up with this technology that aims to empower local communities on alternative source of energy from solar in the form of K-light. The solar energy harvested shall be used for lighting and mobile phone charging. Therefore, the technology shall help break the vicious cycle of poverty by enabling local women to save as solar energy is readily available free of charge. The technology shall also help in reducing occurrences of diseases associated with smoke emission from kerosene tin lamps. At SWIG, we are dedicated to adopting energy-efficient, renewable technology, and using this technology to improve the living conditions of rural women.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Não
Impacto
Temas relacionados à inscrição
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
The main impact of this technology is the adoption of the solar powered lantern lamps for domestic use by rural women. This was achieved by creating awareness and empowering vulnerable community members such as isolated and impoverished women on the availability of alternative renewable sources of energy in the form of K-Light solar lamps that are now used for domestic lighting purposes with an aim of replacing the traditional kerosene tin lamps which are becoming hazardous to many families as a result of dangerous and poisonous smoke emitted during lighting. With this technology we have so far reached more 500 families with the technology. We have encouraged women to organize themselves in groups so that they purchase the products at a reduced cost and re-sell them at retail prices to others thus making a profit for their livelihood. So far the technology has been successful and improved the socio-economic status of rural women. One of the beneficiaries said ‘ This K-light lamp has really changed my life, I can now save the money I was spending on kerosene and use to for myself what I want and am now able to sent my children who were out due to school fees. I can no longer suffer from the effects of smoke from my tin lamp which was dangerous to my health’. With time, we intend to develop a permanent K-Light community centre to be assembling the lamps and distributing them the community targeting a population of more than 20,000 families across Western province. This will help in eliminating kerosene lamps and replacing them with solar lamps which are essentially simple to use with numerous functions, environmentally friendly, reliable, economical and durable.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
As already indicated, the technology emphasizes the “triple bottom line”–economic viability, environmental accountability and social responsibility. The K-light products are designed to work as promised and built to last, as well as to reduce the environmental footprint and improve the lives of others in rural areas. The technology replaces dangerous kerosene lanterns with a healthy, safe, economical alternative. The K-Light will last for years with no pollution and no added cost for fuel thus alleviating suffering among rural women.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. What might prevent that success?
Women in rural areas of western province are organized in groups of 5 women and receive business training to begin their small businesses of selling K-light products. Each group of women then receives a grant of 20-30 solar-powered LED lanterns, known as K-Lights, with which to begin their business. They can grow their business by purchasing additional K-Lights at a reduced cost, as well as by selling additional products. As the number of women in the cooperative grows, the women work together to help those less skilled to begin and operate their businesses. When the sells increase, it means a success of the technology and more women are empowered both economically and socially. The challenge to this technology is the costs of the product which makes it hard for local women to make the purchase of K-light a priority. Not many women in rural areas can afford the cost of the K-light products making the purchasing power low.
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
In the next three years we intend to reach more than 15,000 women with knowledge, usage of K-light technology and distribution in rural areas of western Kenya and beyond.
During the first year, we need to train 1,000 women in entrepreneurial and business skills, distribute more than 4,000 products and create awareness on the need to adopt K-light products as an alternative to kerosene tin lamps.
During the second year, we intend to distribute more than 10,000 products to rural village and also train more women in entrepreneurial and business skills thus eliminating the use of kerosene.
By the end of the 3rd year, we need to have distributed more than 15,000 products within villages for use in rural areas. At this time, we shall be looking for the possibility of establishing an assembling company in Kenya and get the patent right for the products.
How many people will your project serve annually?
1.001‐10.000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$50 - 100
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
Sim
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
The innovation seeks to have an impact on public policy about energy and in particular renewable energy. We are going to advocate for the adoption of renewable sources of energy to cut costs on the amount spent on oil and electricity which are not environmentally friendly and also expensive. Therefore if the government can support and increase funding to innovation that promote the use of sustainable renewable sources of energy, then the living conditions of many rural dwellers in particular women and children will improve.
SUSTENTABILIDADE
Em que estágio está seu projeto?
Implementado há menos de um ano
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Sim
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Sim
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Sim
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
Sim
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your innovation
Partnership is very important for the development and sustainability of any project especially initiatives in developing countries. For our case, partnership is critical through capacity building and technical know-how, increase in the distribution of the products, funding to local women to enable them purchase the products and general socio-economic empowerment of local women.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
The organization has entered into partnership with micro-financial institutions in the area that provides small loaning facilities to women for them to purchase the products directly. Where this is not popular, some institutions purchase them in bulk at a reduced price on behalf of women and distribute/ rent them to women for them to pay in installments. This increases the sales thus earning the organization small revenue to continue operating by purchasing more from the distributor who gives them to us untaxed making it possible for us to also distribute them at a very low prices. We have also initiated small groups of women of whom we train and rent the products to start the business, after selling, they return the amount agreed upon and remain with the profit since our organization a non-profit making. This model has helped in the sustainability of the project.
A História
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
32. What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation? (250 words or fewer)
Access to sustainable renewable energy is a big challenge not only to local women in rural areas but also globally. As an organization we felt that women in rural areas still suffer from finding reliable sources of energy for domestic lighting purposes as an alternative to wood (trees) and oil (kerosene) which over the years have been the major and in particular the only sources of energy in rural areas. As the tree cutting is increasing, environment is being destroyed leading to desertification hence the area turning into arid due to lack of enough rainfall. On the other hand poisonous smoke emitted from kerosene lamps have caused much suffering in terms of ill-health such blindness, lung/breathing difficulties and sometimes death through smoke chocking among children. In Kenya the price of kerosene is also increasing day after day making it difficult for these women to afford the commodity thus initiating this project that would see end to their suffering.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
The idea was introduced to the community by the project coordinator madam Agnettah Akungwi who was very much touched by the predicaments local women went through due to continued use of kerosene and wood. In order for her to find solution to this problem, she engaged in research and through the internet and other sources where she came across the K-light products being manufactured by Pisat company in the USA. It is from this discovery that Agnettah engaged into communications with Pisat and introduced the products to the community which now changing lives.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Personal contact at Changemakers
If through another source, please provide the information
Kopernik
ICRW
Does your project address any of the following barriers to women’s technology access and use?
Women’s time poverty, Social norms, Economic or institutional constraints, Women’s lack of involvement in the technology development process.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how.
The project addresses the problem of women’s time and poverty by reducing time women spent going to buy kerosene and enhance the women’s income through saving and profits earned from the sell of products.
The project addresses the social norms that marginalizing women and prohibition for economic empowerment and independency.
Since the project is run and managed by women, it enhances their economic and institutional capacity through the ability to own property.
Having been initiated and run by women, it addresses the problem of lack of women’s involvement in the technology development process.
Does your project involve women in one or more of the following stages of the technology lifecycle? Identification of the problem the technology will solve:
Technology design, Market research, Technology introduction, Technology training, Technology supply and distribution, Creation and maintenance of market linkages for women's economic outputs, Assessment and evaluation.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how you will ensure women’s involvement in each relevant phase of the technology lifecycle.
The project is designed, implemented and managed by women thus involving women in all the stages of the technology lifecycle as indicated above. It is a women run project.
If women are a focus of your project, how did this focus evolve?
The project focused on women from its conception..
Which type of women will your project reach directly?
Rural, Low income.
In what ways does your project team/leadership involve women?
It is led by a woman/women., It is led by a woman/women from a developing country., The core project team includes women..
Has your organization formed any new partnerships in response to this challenge? If so, with what type/s of organization/s?
Non-profit/NGO/community-based organization.
Has your project leadership had prior experience with the following?
Working with women, Working with technologies, Working to increase women's economic empowerment through technology, Working on innovation.
 | mauriciocps said: Dear Agnettah Akungwi, I enjoyed very much reading your entry. I had the opportunity to be in Kenya last ear and I know your initiative ... about this Competition Entry. - 689 dias atrás leia mais > |
| Sisari updated this Competition Entry. - 694 dias atrás |
| Sisari enviou esta idéia. - 694 dias atrás |
