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Tanzania, Juania Island

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How did the project start?

​The Idea was born when Karsten stayed on Mafia Island and visited Juani Island together with Hassan Bakkari who runs an NGO on Mafia Island. Meanwhile we have formed a small Solar Project Team and developed a project plan. With the “Juani Solar Project” (JSP) we will establish an independently working structure which helps the residents of Juani and potentially later the whole Marine Park area to substitute kerosene lamps with solar lamps and charge mobile phones with solar energy. The mission is to implement a sustainable concept that will enable to offer solar devices (such as solar lamps to every household) at affordable costs. Furthermore, Solar Lanterns or small Solar Home Systems, that spend light, allow to charge phones or run other small electrical devices can be purchased by private households, the school, restaurants, shops or other facilities. The devices can either be bought or leased until they are fully paid off from a trained Solar Master. The project is financially independent, and the generated revenues will be utilized to cover expense allowance for the Solar Master and cost for administration, operation & maintenance, buying new devices and proper disposal.

How did the project start?

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In October Lenja will fly to the Junai island to introduce the first solar lamps and home systems. She will explain the costal, health and ecological advantages of solar lights over from kerosene lamps and set up a system to supply the island with solar lamps and later maybe bigger solar systems. Lenja will train a local solar master-woman (already known) from the island, who will provide the people of Juani, First goal will be to give light in form of lamps and a plug-in-system (to get electricity) to public places like the school. 

 

​The main phases of the project are:
The project team will train a locally responsible person (Solar Master) about the use of solar energy in general, the solar devices and agree how to implement a stable process for a long-term functioning supply on solar devices to the population in the Marine Park.
Lenja will bring an initial inventory of Solar Lamps and Solar Lanterns in October 2018, stay for about three months on Mafia Island and establish the operations together with the Solar Master in coordination with the local community. The initial inventory will be sponsored by private finance from Europe.
Members of the project team and the Solar Master will distribute the devices against a purchase price or a lease fee. The purchase price and lease fee will be calculated in a way that the cost for lighting and phone-charging go down for the users and the revenue is sufficient to purchase new devices and generate a small expense allowance for the Solar Master.
After having sold/leased most of the devices, the Solar Master orders new devices which are paid from the generated revenues. The project team will establish a supply chain for affordable reliable products.

The project can grow in two segments.

• After supplying basic devices, bigger Solar Systems can be included in the project, e.g. Solar Home Systems, Solar Street Light, efficient cooker/stoves…

• The region of the project can be expanded.

• The project will bring empowerment to the community, the benefits are:

• Lighting cost for the inhabitants of the park will be reduced

• Inhabitants get better opportunities to charge mobile phones

• Solar energy will reduce environmental and health damages from kerosene lamps

• The revenues have the potential to generate an income stream and locally stable employment in the long run.

• A successfully growing project can bring additional benefits in wealth and business infrastructure as cooling (food, medicine), use of computers, TV, electrical machines, pumps, tools…

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The project is sustainable in terms of social, economic and ecological aspects and will finally be run by trained locals living in the Marine Park. It will be financially supported from Europe, no profit will be generated. There is interest of more European parties to support the project in the long run and follow up visits and investments in expansion of the project are planned.
The Solar Project Team consists of Hassan Bakari from Mafia Island, Lenja (Germany) who will be on Mafia Island during the implementation period and Karsten (Germany). The Mafia Island Marine Park is also supporting this project. Hassan Bakari runs a NGO and has already implemented several social and environmental projects on Mafia Island. Karsten is working in the field of photovoltaics for more than 25 years and is currently active in East Africa. He can be around from time to time to support the project.
Lenja has finished High School, travelled through Tanzania before and lived five months in the USA. Beside her Solar activities in the Marine Park she will also co-teach English lessons in a school on Mafia Island or in the Park.

 

Projekt is invented and guided by Lenja and Karsten 

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