Project Malawi

Extracts from SolarAid DIY Solar Project in Malawi 2006

Vision

Our vision is of a world where everyone has access to affordable, clean, renewable power.

Mission

Our mission is to grow rapidly into an international charity working with existing NGOs and local partner organisations to provide clean renewable power for the world's poorest people.

We believe that the provision of affordable and accessible power will, by facilitating education, access to information and communication, help relieve poverty by enabling poor communities to transform their lives, reclaim their rights and make their voices heard. Renewable power can also help to promote health, safety and general wellbeing.

As we grow, we will seek to educate and influence the public and policy makers on the issues related to renewable energy and climate change and their impacts on the world's poorest people.

We plan to become the charity of choice for the solar industry worldwide as it seeks to fight global poverty and climate change. Set up initially by solarcentury, we seek to involve the solar industry in SolarAid as early as possible.

Overall goal of the project

To provide training in small scale solar skills to young people orphaned or affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic so that they can go on to generate income for themselves by building products that they can sell.

The main group being trained: the Kaliya Community Youth Club

This SolarAid project is designed to assist the Kaliya Community Youth Club, which offers support, training and education to the increasing number of young people orphaned or affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic

The youth group is building a vocational training centre that will be used to train the young people in traditional skills such as tinsmithing, mechanics, and sewing.

As part of this, SolarAid volunteers from the UK will train the group to manufacture rudimentary solar equipment. Christian Aid has donated to SolarAid to fund the establishment of this SolarAid Academy. Training in a few simple solar skills enables the participants to build small solar devices and generate income by selling them, which helps alleviate poverty by providing sustainable employment. They are also then able to train others. By adopting a relatively low-tech, open-source, approach to the technology, participants will be encouraged to develop their own solutions, appropriate to their local needs.