DFID - UK Department for International Development
Elizabeth Mukwimba, M-Power customer, Tanzania, photographed by the light from a solar lantern
Elizabeth Mukwimba is a 62-year-old Tanzanian smallholder farmer who now has solar lighting and a cleaner cookstove in her home, thanks to schemes backed by UK aid.
Elizabeth has had an M-Power solar panel and lights fitted in her home by Off Grid Electric, a private sector company dedicated to providing sustainable, affordable energy to people in developing countries who aren't connected to the electricity grid.
It means that Elizabeth now has lighting at home at night, which means she doesn't have to buy expensive kerosene. The money she's saved already has helped her put a new tin roof on her house. It also means her grandchildren can read and do their homework in the evening.
"I feel much better because of the solar lighting", says Elizabeth.
"Before, I sometimes had to choose between buying vegetables to eat, or buying kerosene to light the lamps with at night. Sometimes we used to have to rely just on matches for lighting in the dark.
"But now I'm not having to buy kerosene, so I'm saving money and not worrying so much about how to provide for my family. It means I can start to save money to hopefully build a new house in the future".
In less than 2 years, Off Grid Electric has installed solar power systems in over 22,000 homes across Tanzania, meaning many more people now have access to cheap, renewable electricity - a vital step forward in a country where less than 14% of the population are connected to the electricity grid.
The Tanzania Improved Cook Stoves programme, implemented by the Dutch NGO SNV, aims to provide improved cooking facilities for 45,000 people in Tanzania's Lake Zone region by 2017. 28,500 people have already benefitted.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development.
Elizabeth Mukwimba, M-Power customer, Tanzania, photographed by the light from a solar lantern
Elizabeth Mukwimba is a 62-year-old Tanzanian smallholder farmer who now has solar lighting and a cleaner cookstove in her home, thanks to schemes backed by UK aid.
Elizabeth has had an M-Power solar panel and lights fitted in her home by Off Grid Electric, a private sector company dedicated to providing sustainable, affordable energy to people in developing countries who aren't connected to the electricity grid.
It means that Elizabeth now has lighting at home at night, which means she doesn't have to buy expensive kerosene. The money she's saved already has helped her put a new tin roof on her house. It also means her grandchildren can read and do their homework in the evening.
"I feel much better because of the solar lighting", says Elizabeth.
"Before, I sometimes had to choose between buying vegetables to eat, or buying kerosene to light the lamps with at night. Sometimes we used to have to rely just on matches for lighting in the dark.
"But now I'm not having to buy kerosene, so I'm saving money and not worrying so much about how to provide for my family. It means I can start to save money to hopefully build a new house in the future".
In less than 2 years, Off Grid Electric has installed solar power systems in over 22,000 homes across Tanzania, meaning many more people now have access to cheap, renewable electricity - a vital step forward in a country where less than 14% of the population are connected to the electricity grid.
The Tanzania Improved Cook Stoves programme, implemented by the Dutch NGO SNV, aims to provide improved cooking facilities for 45,000 people in Tanzania's Lake Zone region by 2017. 28,500 people have already benefitted.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development.