Use Solar, Save Lives

Evans Wadongo is the founder of Sustainable Development For All, an organization that has helped lift thousands of mostly rural people out of poverty.

At 19, he designed the first-ever African designed solar lamp, dubbed MwangaBora® made from recycled materials. He is also a partner at Wadson Ventures, an early stage venture builder working with promising African start-ups. He is a Co-founder at GreenWize Energy, which is advancing cutting-edge African-designed renewable energy solutions .  Evans has received several global awards including CNN Hero, Global Goals Goalkeepers, Outstanding Social Entrepreneur in Africa, Pan Commonwealth Youth Award for excellence in Development, and the Mikhail Gorbachev Award for Man Who Changed the World. He has also been listed among top 35 innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review, and named among 20 Men who will shape the next 20 years by UK's Esquire magazine. He has Bsc. (honors) Engineering and Msc. Development Management.

There are over 600 million people in Africa without electricity. Majority of them are women and youths in rural areas, who are unemployed.  The project sets up youth resource centers where youths who dropped out of school are equipped with vocational and business skills and then use the centers to make various items, which they sell to earn a living. In return, they also learn to make Mwangabora solar lamps from old kerosene lamps. The lamps are distributed to women through groups, who are then trained with micro-entrepreneurship skills and they set up income generating ventures from funds saved from no longer needing to purchase kerosene and eventually use the ventures as collateral to access further financing to expand. The project is improving knowledge and skills among youths and women, increasing employment, increasing income, improving education and health, reducing carbon emissions and economically empowering communities.

Over 500 million people in Africa still lack access to energy.  Over 40% of Africa’s population lives under $2 a day and women are the most affected. When women lack economic opportunities, their families continue living in poverty. Over 60% of youths are unemployed or underemployed in Africa, most of whom in rural areas have little or no formal education, and most of the youth started school and at some point dropped out mainly due to poverty.

Also, there is little translation between what is discussed in climate change talks at international and ordinary citizens, especially the low-income people, who prioritize access to basic needs- food, shelter, water, clothing, and education. Climate change is seen as abstract discussion for those who already have basic needs. This is slowing the adaptation and mitigation measures. Various studies show that over 40% of the world population is not aware or do not believe in Climate Change. 

  By working with women and youths, they are able to become story tellers and influencers in their communities. When the whole community sees some of the youths and women adopting climate friendly lives, they often also want to participate.

The  ‘Use solar, save lives’ program involves setting up of rural innovation centers equipped with basic tools and equipment; where youths who dropped out of school due to poverty are equipped with basic vocational and business skills. They use the centers to make various items which they sell and earn income. In return, they also learn to make Mwangabora solar lamps from old kerosene lanterns. The lamps are distributed to women through groups. The rural women undergo training in basic business management and are encouraged to save money they were initially spending to buy kerosene. The program supports the women groups to set up businesses from the money that they would have otherwise spend on kerosene, ensuring that they have more income to improve their lives but also to adopt other renewable energy technologies easily eg biogas. For instance women are able to set up organic bee keeping and crop farming, using the ‘kerosene’ savings. The women and youths become crusaders of climate action, often pressing their local leaders to act more to save the environment.

The project directly improves the lives of youths and women, who are in rural communities in Kenya. They are often unskilled and unemployed and lack capital to set up businesses. Before working in a community, the project will carry out baseline survey and community engagement to understand the needs. The community members including youths, women, men , local government leaders and religious leaders participate in developing specific project activities. The resource/innovation center is equipped based on the needs and activities of each community. The women choose which income generating project they want to start with the money saved from no longer purchasing kerosene. The project will provide technical and business development skills to the youths and women. The youths and women create small sustainable businesses and hence have more income to cater for their family needs.

Other beneficiaries are children who are able to study well at night using solar lamps, instead of kerosene lanterns.

The project has so far directly impacted over 400,000 people.

The project works directly with communities to solve their own problems. Youths learn how to assemble solar lamps from old kerosene lanterns collected from their own communities. Rural youths and women, who often lack high level skills are able to start sustainable businesses and have improved income which translates to better lives for their families. By making it simple and practical to understand the benefits of solar energy, the rural communities are able to learn about climate change and easily other renewable energy technologies like biogas and improved cooking stoves.

Evans grew up in a mud house in a village in Kenya with no electricity or running water. In order to study, he had to compete with my siblings for use of kerosene lamps. Eventually, the constant exposure to the fumes of kerosene lamps led to damage to his eyes. He went on to enroll for Engineering degree at Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya. At 19, while in his first year, Evans reflected back on his childhood and while playing with Christmas lights in his dorm room, he designed arguably the first ever African designed solar lamp made from 50% recycled materials. The Mwangabora solar lamps are easily assembled without specialized tools and can be made from scrap metals and old kerosene lanterns. Evans started off by skipping a meal each day and using part of his college student loan. He then founded an initiative, use Solar, Save Lives and later joined up with other young people to found a non profit social enterprise, Sustainable Development For All-Kenya (SDFA-Kenya).

Evans grew up in a mud house in a village in Kenya with no electricity or running water. In order to study, he had to compete with his siblings for use of a single kerosene lamp. Eventually, his constant exposure to the fumes of kerosene lamps led to damage to his eyes. In 8th grade, a lot of his friends dropped out school when they were constantly being punished for not doing their homework, and yet their only mistake was that there parents were so poor to afford kerosene for lighting. One of the reasons their parents could not afford to purchase kerosene everyday was extreme poverty. He therefore wanted to grow up and solve the issues of poverty, lack of access to clean energy and inequality he had witnessed in his community. 

Evans has Masters in Development Management and  Bachelor in Electronic and Computer Engineering. This academic knowledge enables him to have unique skills of simplifying technology for the greater good of humanity. He has strong focus on elevating life in rural communities where he grew up. Evans experienced first hand challenges of lack of access to electricity and the inequalities that exist between children and communities in rural areas and those in urban areas.

Evans has gained exposure and experience interacting with various political and business leaders around the world. He has participated in many forums and participated in policy discussions. He has also interacted extensively with young people from different backgrounds in many countries, learning about the challenges they face to achieve their potential. Evans has volunteered to mentor and advice women and young people, and in return he has gained invaluable feedback in developing and scaling solutions for rural communities.

A few years ago, Evans was physically attacked and assaulted to a near death experience because of his work to empower rural communities. The project, Use Solar, Save Lives transforms communities to be self- reliant. When youths and women and the whole community has better skills and income, they often refuse to make political and leadership decisions based on handouts. He was hospitalized for several months but he decided to keep moving forward with the project. This affected alot of the planning and execution objectives of the project. He received various other threats. To cope with situation, he expended the team and reduced direct interaction in many communities, instead other team members representing the project.

Evans is a mentor for young people involved in social entrepreneurship and development. He has visited schools and colleges talking to students to encourage science, technology and innovation especially among marginalized youth and female students.  He is also very keen on governance and leadership in Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa where he writes blogs and articles highlighting various challenges and ways to tackle them and is also involved in helping shape policy within the continent and beyond by participating in various forums and policy formulation meetings.

  Evans is also supporting a program called Takabank that works with youths from informal settlements to collect plastics that are sold to recycling companies in Kenya. Evans is a mentor to a startup that is helping reduce pollution in the fashion industry. The startup, TungaTunga, produces fashion and home décor items from recycled and upcycled materials and encourages sharing of more expensive fashion products through a lease model, hence reducing over consumption.   

He has also volunteered to advice young entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program, Queen’s Young Leaders program, and Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. He is currently volunteering as a mentor for the Miller Center’s Global Social Business Institute’s social entrepreneurship program.

In short we say- SDFA can ‘turn kerosene into honey’. Our model is the only one that equips rural women with business skills and enables them to set up businesses from the money that they would have otherwise spend on kerosene, ensuring that they have more income to improve their lives but also to adopt other green technologies easily. The women set up a agribusinesses, trading stores, village microfinances, among others. For instance, some of the women we work with have used savings made for not using kerosene, after getting the Mwangabora solar lamps made by youths, to set up bee keeping business and are now packaging and selling their honey.

Mwangabora solar lamps are simple, require non-technical skills to make, and are made using simple tools and equipment. The lamps are made from old recycled kerosene lamps which only enables the communities learn about recycling but also helps in cleaning the environment.

We are particularly concerned about youth and women because they are the most disadvantaged in Africa. By working with local youths and women, we improve their capacity to be self reliant without relying on unsustainable loans, but rather encouraging them to save and create small businesses.

With improved income and knowledge on renewable energy, the youths and women easily learn to develop and adopt improved cookstoves and biogas, which helps create an energy sustainable model that, changes livelihoods forever.

The project has several key activities which result in improved lives for communities and long term change.

• Community Engagement- this helps raise awareness about the benefits of the program.The project ensures that communities choose and participate in designing the specific activities of the project hence they feel ownership of the project.
• Setting up of youth resource/Incubation centers, training of youths and enabling them to apply skills to be self employed.The tools and equipment in the center depend on what the youths want. The project targets marginalized youths who dropped out of school They gain skills and can make various products and sell to gain income. They also learn to assemble Mwangabora solar lamps which are distributed to women.
• Enabling women to set up micro-enterprises - Distribute the solar lamps to women, train women on micro enterprise development and help them set up the small businesses. The save money initially used for kerosene through groups.The women gain skills in business development and set up sustainable income generating projects. They earn income from the projects and cal also use them as collateral to access loans to expand. The group model ensures more accountability.
•  Data collection, Monitoring and Evaluation – information on the successes and challenges of the program is documented and shared with stakeholders, partners, and government agencies.

Before we embark on a project in a location, we usually carry out baseline survey to determine household income levels and specifically among women and youths, school performance among children, basic skills levels, and level of employment.  After working with the community to implement the project, we carry out impact assessment after 12 months and after 24 months and after 36 months.  We have found out that generally, we are able to increase income levels for women and youths by 30% in 1 year, by 100% in 2 years and by 200% in 3 years. These women and youths have increased technical and business skills to carry out micro-enterprises.  Employment levels also increase as well as performance among the same set of school going children who are able to study using the lamps.

Currently the project serves over 400,000 people. These includes youths, women and children.

In the next one year, the project will serve over 600,000 people.

In 5 years, the target is to serve 2 million people. These will be youths who benefit from the innovation centers, women who create small sustainable businesses, children who benefit from clean energy.

The project and organization relies on varied income streams and we are continually growing the revenue we generate from our own sources in order to be more sustainable.Key source of income if donations and grants.

To ensure more financial sustainability, other sources of funding include:

  Sale of products – community women groups who receive our solar lamps pay for them after they set up businesses, even though this takes about 6 months. We also help in branding and marketing of various products produced by youths and women where we earn royalties. We plan to expand this to cover at least 30% of our budget.

  Consultancy – We want to share our expertise in working with communities with other organizations or governments at a fee. We target that this will cover at least 10% of our budget.

  Design exhibitions/auctions – We will continue to exhibit and sell limited editions of special green inspired products such as lamps, jewelry, bags and lightings, at a premium in major cities around the world. Previously, we partnered with Friedman Benda, an art gallery in New York, and a fashion designer, Reed Krakoff for a sale of our Mwangabora lamps at a premium. We plan to continue collaborating with designers and expand so that this can cover at least 30% of our budget.

We require more unrestricted funding to enable innovation when scaling and replication. We also require capacity building within the organization to enable us grow effectively at a faster rate and improve efficiency in our operations.