Solar is the most distributed energy source we have. The same sun shines down on everyone. And with advances in technology, it is available and affordable. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 5% of the rural population has access to electricity, solar is the perfect energy source as it takes advantage of their most abundant resource, the hot African sun.
The puzzle then becomes: How to provide access to the solar technology in a way that reaches the people with the most need, the women and girls living in remote rural villages? How to create a program that is scalable and sustainable? How to involve the women, not just as passive consumers of technology, but as active participants in the adaptation of that technology? I found the answers to those questions by talking to and really listening to the women living with energy poverty day in and day out.
The answers they gave me were full of pride and dignity. As one woman expressed her desire, “My children need light to study so they can do well in school. That is what I hope for. I want to be able to care for my own family. If I have the opportunity to earn some money, I can give them a better future.”
Light. Hope. Opportunity.
–Katherine Lucey, Founder & CEO, Solar Sister
