The Best Way? - 

There are many ways of using DIY Solar but for helping truly poor people, where any money needs spreading as thinly as possible, the message below illustrates a sensible approach!

 Dear Graham,

 I received the small kit with the led light....it works fine...and the kids we educate were fascinated. Thank you.

 We were recently donated 26 solar garden lamps, so after the lecture the kids installed the lamps around our camp and very proud and happy when we saw them working.

I would like to get the kids to make LED lights exactly the same as the sample you provided, which they can sell for Daktari, or take home.

We fitted yours to a pull string switch, extended the twin flex to the solar panel (which is now on the roof) and mounted the single LED in the apex of the thtached roof. It is amazing....even the single LED gives enough light at night to see where we walk.

This is exactly what we need - no bigger or better.

 Do we need a resistor on the sets?

I, and the under-privileged children, thank you very much for your help.

Ian Merrifield (Director)

DAKTARI WILDLIFE ORPHANAGE

P.O. Box 1599

Hoedspruit 1380

SOUTH AFRICA

Telephone: (+27) (0) 82 656 2969

Cell: (+27) (0) 82 600 5971

Web page: www.africanorphanage.com

e-mail : daktari.sa@mweb.co.za

In Haiti such is the demand for pv panels that the AMURT people felt obliged to make extra large ones for charging car batteries before dealing with small ones for the poorest people!

We are unable to find any Western organisation to help with our work though a few do support projects when approached by a local NGO in a developing country!

You have to decide what is the best approach for each new situation!

This is a description of how the AMURT NGO people in Haiti started their DIY Solar project.

It seemed the ideal approach for most outsiders in an unknown place but, in fact, was taken over by local bosses

for their own needs!

We started with a preliminary investigation.

We went around in the villages talking about the opportunities this technology gives, and approx. prices.

And then we listened to their reactions, which were very  enthusiastic as you can imagine. 

So, we presented some possibilities like charging mobile phones and powering radios... we bought an used

mobile phone adapter on the street in Gonaives that suited our cell phone battery and a small radio... and a motorbike battery...

and we played with those things.... with the help of local electricians  .

People started to think fast and make their own calculations.... so we got a number of questions....

can that do this can it do that...... many houses already have car batteries and small inverter, so they wanted a panel to be able to charge 6V/12V.

A guy thought of those little machines used to cut hair... for hair dressers.... others had personal CD player or small things like that.

Then there is an entire fat market for bigger panels... there isn't one single person in Haiti not interested in solar....

each time I was presented as the one working with solar, people wanted to know if they could buy from me..

 So for example, to power refrigerators out in the villages, people would be more than happy to invest some money.

Now they do with car batteries and they send them to be charged to Gonaives (for one village we visited it's 5 hours drive).

The idea though was not to produce a finished product.... these things mostly have to be produced on demand,

so they fit the exact purpose of the purchaser... you see, first of all there isn't any protection resistance so if the panel

is not of the right size you can burn the machine, furthermore, the support, the connections,

everything are not industrially produced so it can break, disconnect etc.