Nov 20 2021
Even though it looks like the main national grid might soon reach some of the villages we’ve been working with, both in Tanzania and Uganda, it is surprising how many of them are still keen for us to continue installing solar power despite the fact that this will be significantly more expensive for them. Having …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/unreliable-grid-power/
Oct 31 2021
With the team out in Tanzania for Halloween this year, we decided to try and show our partners what Halloween is like for us back home. Rather than carve pumpkins as they are less common here, we went for Watermelon carving with a twist on the traditional style. I think our partners were rather bemused …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/happy-halloween-watermelon-carving-and-singing/
Jul 01 2021
Aim: Utilise technology to support maths teaching and learning in rural secondary schools in Tanzania. Outcome: Maths learning app successfully developed and tested with student cohort, demonstrating between 10-21% increase in maths ability after only 6 weeks. Future: Develop more content to support more of the maths curriculum, trial in other countries, and do a …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/sustainable-offgrid-ed-tech-for-the-developing-world-completed/
Jun 13 2021
Before we installed a microwave relay WiFi booster at Kiruru village, phone signal could only be found by climbing up on top of a termite hill, midway between the powerhouse and the school! When installing equipment, we’d periodically have to pop back to the termite hill to call our team back in the UK for …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/find-me-phone-signal/
Jun 13 2021
On one of our recent community visits to run focus groups in Central Uganda, we were surprised by some of the signs plastered around the primary school building, where the focus groups were held. The first signs outside the building were innocent, with messages like “DO NOT LITTER”, “ALWAYS BRUSH YOUR TEETH”, “WASH YOUR HANDS …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/primary-school-messaging-on-early-pregnancy/
Jun 12 2021
The weather in the Maasai plains of Northern Tanzania is much cooler this time than any other time I’ve been. The landscape is also much greener (apparently I’ve come just at the end of the rainy season), and for once I can see crops and loads and loads of white flowers growing, rather than the …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/tanzania-in-bloom/
Mar 11 2021
This report summarises the key findings from the first two remote telehealth consultation trials, held in Loswaki village in Jan/Feb 2021, including detail on the health trial set-up, the sequence of activities for each, the number of patients that attended, and how the requirement for medicines to be transported to the patients was fulfilled. Patients …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/remote-telehealth-consultation-trial-report/
Feb 13 2021
A short video showing some highlights from our most recent work visit to Africa to give you a flavour of our everyday lives out on the field: fixing milling machines, inspecting and diagnosing solar equipment, running telehealth trials, joining our project partners in cooking food, running focus groups, visiting schools, helping build cold-stores, travelling to …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/jan-feb-2021-trip-video-tanzania-uganda/
Dec 04 2020
This report describes the results of tests conducted to assess the viability of an electric 3-phase 2.2kW Agsol hammer mill, imported from Kenya, for use in rural Maasai communities in Simanjiro, Tanzania. The objectives of the tests were to assess the viability of powering the mill from offgrid (solar) energy technology, and (for different mill …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/solar-milling-machine-evaluation/
Oct 07 2020
On our most recent trip to Tanzania, the number of half-fallen trees was quite noticeable. I thought nothing of it at first, even though several of them were lying across the roads. They could have been damaged in storms? That was until we realised that they were all under newly erected grid electricity lines. The …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/grid-extension-in-tanzania/
Oct 06 2020
Although our first solar installation in rural Tanzania has been having overwhelmingly positive reviews by the local community (powering the local water borehole, the first fridge in the local shop, and a small, efficient, electric milling-machine) we still have a hard time explaining the concept of solar power to some of our other target communities. …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/rural-perceptions-of-solar-power/
Oct 01 2020
This project is funded by InnovateUK, the UK’s Innovation Agency. In the communities in which SVRG works, improving education is a high priority. Rural schools are often overcrowded, difficult to reach, and poorly resourced. Teachers are poorly paid, resulting in high rates of absenteeism among teachers at government schools. Existing educational material (for example free …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/sustainable-offgrid-edtech-for-education-continuity-and-outcomes-in-the-developing-world/
Oct 01 2020
STI4D, a sister company to SVRG, is carrying this project out jointly with our NGO partners in Tanzania, Orkonerei Maasai Social Initiatives (OMASI). This project is funded by InnovateUK, the UK’s Innovation Agency. Access to good healthcare is often challenging in the developing world, but this is greatly compounded for people living in remote off-grid …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/innovative-access-to-healthcare-for-impact-in-remote-communities/
Sep 23 2020
This post was written new SVRG team member Natasha, on her first day on site in the communities in Tanzania: We arrived at the Ormoti site, to scenes of Maasai men sat around, wrapped in their traditional cloth. The solar array installed by Bernie, Anna and Arran previously was way bigger than I’d imagined, with …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/first-impressions-at-ormoti-and-a-maasai-welcome/
Dec 13 2019
We were delighted to find that one of the many amazing things about working in the Maasai Plains of Simanjiro District, south of Arusha, is the indigenous baobab trees. The baobab, Adansonia digitata, is native to Africa, and classes as one of the biggest trees in the world. Whilst they “only” reach 25-30m in height, …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/welcome-to-big-tree-country/
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/interview-suleiman-mzungu-suja/
Aug 31 2017
[:en] Maarten Strengers, Founder, Greenlink Location: De Bildt, Netherlands / Tanzania “We’re building a company, we’re not rescuing Africa.” As an electrical, mechanical and ICT engineer, Maarten Strengers flies to Africa when his technical know-how is needed; when there is a problem with installation capacity, or to advise on a solar community centre. “After a …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/greenlink-building-company-not-rescuing-africa/
Jul 08 2017
Interview with Mohamedrafik Parpia Founder, Zara Solar Location: Mwanza, Tanzania “I didn’t know anything about solar” A Dutch woman walks into an electronics store in north-western Tanzania. It sounds like an improbable beginning. Karlijn Arkesteijn is one of the people Mohamedrafik Parpia credits for going from running a family business on the shores of Port …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/mohamedrafik-parpia-founder-zara-solar/
Apr 27 2017
The third annual East Africa Energy Innovation Challenge took place in summer 2017. With the application and screening process fully handed over the CDI for a sustainable continuation of the programme, the Cambridge Development Initiative (https://cambridgedevelopment.wordpress.com/) (CDI) selected 11 individuals out of over 200 applicants for the programme. The eleven aspiring entrepreneurs developed ideas for …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/energy-innovation-challenge-2017/
Mar 22 2017
Interview with Daniel Becker Managing Director, E.ON Off Grid Solutions and Founder, Rafiki Power Location: Tanzania Daniel Becker is the Managing Director of E.ON Off Grid Solutions and founder of its Tanzanian brand, Rafiki Power, which focuses on mini-grids for productive uses of energy. For a look at how Rafiki Power operates, watch their short …
Permanent link to this article: https://e4sv.org/rafiki-power-e-mini-grids-improved-livelihoods-tanzania/