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Joyce, aged 12, a Tanzanian schoolgirl who is now able to study at home at night, thanks to a solar lighting scheme backed by UK aid.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development.
The lookout is made up of about 80% metal and sits upon an exposed ridge top.
Lake of the Woods Lookout. Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon.
Keeper gets comfortable at Lake of the Woods Lookout. A U.S. Forest Service rental in Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon.
Lake of the Woods Lookout. Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon. The Moon Complex forest fire smolders in the distance on the left.
... when you meet someone you instinctively know they're going to be a sound person?
Meet Fi - the last few years of our friendship with her and husband Dave have proved our instincts were correct.
D-day minus 21 - Den gets a crash course in tile cutting and takes on the task of completing the kitchen skirting tiles
Shepard’s hut at Labost, on the island of Lewis, Western Isles Scotland.
This off grid residence metres from the Atlantic Ocean directly north of Stornaway can be booked on Airbnb
The Harris hills can be seen in the distance and Labost stretches along the round the island road in the mid ground.
The solar panels are connected to the same system so in the summer the solar heats the water.
Explication et photos de notre système pour chauffer l'eau en français :
Hussein D'Oto, an artisan potter making a 'clean cookstove' in Tanzania.
Hussein has been making clay pots for 18 years, but has recently received training in how to also make 'clean cookstoves', as part of a UK-supported programme being implemented by the Dutch NGO SNV.
The clean cookstoves can use wood or charcoal for fuel, but use less of either, and produce less smoke, than traditional open fire cooking - meaning they're more fuel efficient, and less harmful in terms of the fumes they emit. This in turn means that people have to spend less money on buying charcoal, less time collecting firewood, and are less exposed to smoke and fumes that affect their health.
Hussein is already using one of the cookstoves in his own home, and can already produce up to 50 clay stoves per day. He's now looking to partner with a local metal worker, so that they can be clad and then sold in larger towns where there is lots of demand for them.
The SNV project ensures consistent quality of cookstoves through training and the introduction of standardised production methods. since the start of the project in 2012, about 28,500 people have benefitted from clean cookstoves across Tanzania's Lake Zone.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development
We live somewhere down the road from the middle of nowhere, but every once in a while, the traffic just starts to pile up. Our neighbor came over to drop off a DVD she edited for us, and while we were talking, up comes FedEx with an overnight letter. While she is talking with the FedEx guy, up comes UPS with some boxes for easter...
About the only other time we have this many vehicles in close proximity to our house is the couple of times we've invited folks over for parties. Taken from the roof.
-/\/
Please don't use this photo on websites, blogs or other media without my written permission. (c) Yago Veith www.yago1.com - Flickr Interesting
The entertainment center of Rillway Cabin. A U.S. Forest Service rental in Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana.
AFTER 24 HOURS OFFGRID - THANKS ENEL! ( WE HAD NO ELECTRICITY FOR A BLACKOUT DUE TO HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS)
Rice paper butterfly, taken in Thailand - June '08 -
© Angela M. Lobefaro
Thanks to flickr.com/photos/mrclean/ for the correct identification of this butterfly
Elias, aged 70, has been a tailor all his life, since he turned 18. He's had his business working from his home in the hills outside Arusha, Tanzania since 1979.
But in the last 2 years, he's been able to dramatically grow his income and business, after buying into a Mobisol solar power kit.
This means he now has enough solar electricity to power an electric overlocker sewing machine, as well as light several rooms in his home, run a TV and provide a mobile-phone charging service in his village.
"As soon as I saw the Mobisol system, I knew it would make a big difference to my life - so I saved up some more money until I could afford it", he says.
"I bought the 200 Watt system as I wanted to have as much power as possible - not just for lighting but so that I could improve my business as well.
"The electric overlocker makes sewing much easier on my 70 year old legs - as it means I don't have to operate a foot pedal anymore!"
"But to be honest, I now make more money from charging people a small amount each time they need to charge their mobile phone than I do from tailoring.
"We also used to have to pay for kerosene to provide light in the evening, but now the solar electricity is much cheaper and it means we can work later into the evening".
"The money I've saved on kerosene, and the extra income from charging mobile phones, has helped me improve my house and build an extra room which I plan to rent out now as well".
The solar power system Elias has installed is designed more for small businesses and costs the equivalent of about £80 from Mobisol to fit. They also provide 80 Watt and 120 Watt kits which are proportionally cheaper. Customers then pay a monthly fee of between £14 and £23 over a period of 3 years, after which the equipment becomes theirs to keep.
"I make around £36 a month from the mobile phone charging", says Elias
"The market rate for making a pair of trousers is about 1000 schillings (£0.30), and I can only make a few pairs per day. But I can charge up around 20 mobile phones a day, and make about the same amount of money (approximately £1), so it's doubled my income."
Mobisol is one of 10 solar energy companies that are receiving 'results-based finance', as part of a scheme supported by UK aid, being implemented in Tanzania by the German development agency GIZ and the Dutch NGO SNV.
The companies receive financial incentives depending on meeting set targets for increasing the numbers of people who have access to solar energy. Less than 14% of Tanzania's 41 million people have access to the electricity grid - and of the three quarters of the population living in rural areas, only 2-3% have access to electricity - making Tanzania one of the most 'energy poor' countries in the world.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development
Tara lives off grid with her family here in Dumfries and Galloway. Here she is with one of their Polecats.
The dogs enjoyed chasing the butterflies when we arrived. They were everywhere this time of year.
Hirz Mountain Lookout. A U.S. Forest Service rental in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California.
Paper: Hexagon cutted from A3 Elephant Hide
Grid: 48 triangles
Model: Eric Gjerde
Book: Origami Tessellations
I gave away my first fold of this model, partly to motivate me to fold it a second time. Worked. Hated the offgrid precreasing, loved the collapse. The EH is treated with oil pastels, but that's almost not to see when back lit.
Gave this one away too as a Christmas present to my mum, who decorated it like this. I really do like the framing! Photo curtsey to my partner.
Joseph and Neema, a local manager and sales agent for Mobisol, a solar energy company that's receiving support to grow their business from UK aid - in return for helping provide solar electricity to some of Tanzania's poorest people.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development
Elizabeth Mukwimba is a 62-year-old Tanzanian woman 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.
She also has a 'clean cookstove', as seen in this picture. These cookstoves provide a safer, more durable and energy efficient means of cooking as opposed to traditional open fire cooking. The ceramic, metal-encased design means that much smaller amounts of wood or charcoal are needed, thus reducing the amount of time and money people need to spend on procuring fuel. The design is therefore also much healthier, producing much less smoke or carbon monoxide.
"I feel much better because of the solar lighting and the cookstove", 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 and the cookstove uses much less fuel, 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.
Savings cooperatives like this one in Bariadi, Tanzania are helping many people to access solar technology who might not otherwise be able to afford it.
The cooperative is working in partnership with solar company Ensol. Ensol provides solar lighting kits to the co-op at a discounted price. The co-op then sells the kits to its members and earns a commission on each one it sells - which is reinvested in the co-op for them to buy more solar kits.
For a small deposit, local people can join the cooperative, and then save whatever they can. Being a member means that they can borrow credit against the cooperative at microloan rates. If they can afford it, members can buy a solar lighting kit outright. But if they can't afford to pay the whole cost up-front, they can pay a percentage and then pay off the balance in small monthly instalments.
The scheme is one of a number of ways that the UK-supported EnDev (Energising Development) programme in Tanzania is helping to encourage and provide solar energy to many of the >35 million people in the country who aren't connected to the electricity grid. The EnDev programme is an international partnership in Tanzania which is being implemented by the Dutch NGO SNV.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development
Sanderson is a farmer from Kenya who's now managing a large farm outside Arusha in Tanzania. The farm he runs has 300 cattle producing milk, as well as a coffee plantation and other crops.
His farm had a biogas system installed last year, so now all the manure waste from the cows goes into producing bio-gas, which provides all the fuel they need for cooking meals for all of the farm workers. The slurry by-product of the biogas is used for fertilising their crops as well, which has led to better quality soil and increased harvests.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development
Elias, aged 70, has been a tailor all his life, since he turned 18. He's had his business working from his home in the hills outside Arusha, Tanzania since 1979.
But in the last 2 years, he's been able to dramatically grow his income and business, after buying into a Mobisol solar power kit. This means he now has enough solar electricity to power an electric overlocker sewing machine, as well as light several rooms in his home, run a TV and provide a mobile-phone charging service in his village.
"As soon as I saw the Mobisol system, I knew it would make a big difference to my life - so I saved up some more money until I could afford it", he says.
"I bought the 200 Watt system as I wanted to have as much power as possible - not just for lighting but so that I could improve my business as well.
"The electric overlocker makes sewing much easier on my 70 year old legs - as it means I don't have to operate a foot pedal anymore!"
"But to be honest, I now make more money from charging people a small amount each time they need to charge their mobile phone than I do from tailoring.
"We also used to have to pay for kerosene to provide light in the evening, but now the solar electricity is much cheaper and it means we can work later into the evening".
"The money I've saved on kerosene, and the extra income from charging mobile phones, has helped me improve my house and build an extra room which I plan to rent out now as well".
The solar power system Elias has installed is designed more for small businesses and costs the equivalent of about £80 from Mobisol to fit. They also provide 80 Watt and 120 Watt kits which are proportionally cheaper. Customers then pay a monthly fee of between £14 and £23 over a period of 3 years, after which the equipment becomes theirs to keep.
"I make around £36 a month from the mobile phone charging", says Elias
"The market rate for making a pair of trousers is about 1000 schillings (£0.30), and I can only make a few pairs per day. But I can charge up around 20 mobile phones a day, and make about the same amount of money (approximately £1), so it's doubled my income."
Mobisol is one of 10 solar energy companies that are receiving 'results-based finance', as part of a scheme supported by UK aid, being implemented in Tanzania by the German development agency GIZ and the Dutch NGO SNV.
The companies receive financial incentives depending on meeting set targets for increasing the numbers of people who have access to solar energy. Less than 14% of Tanzania's 41 million people have access to the electricity grid - and of the three quarters of the population living in rural areas, only 2-3% have access to electricity - making Tanzania one of the most 'energy poor' countries in the world.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development
Mecktilda and Stefano became local agents for Global Cycle Solutions, a solar energy provider, in their village near Mwanza, Tanzania, last year. They bought one sample solar lighting kit for 100,000 Tanzanian schillings (about £30). They then persuaded others in their community to buy the kits, and with each sale they make a small commission. They've now sold over 200 solar kits, and are earning enough money to cover their children's school fees. They now plan to build a separate building next door to their house to use as a shop to sell the solar kits from.
Picture: Russell Watkins/Department for International Development