Ayowecca: Solar Lanterns for Women

The Solar Foundation is on a mission to ensure that women and their families in underserved communities benefit from solar power. We know that the Solar Lantern, a portable light powered through a photovoltaic (PV) panel, is considered a "gateway product" for people taking their first step onto the clean energy staircase, and has been shown to have a profound impact on the quality of life of families living in energy poverty.

We worked with our partner, Ayowecca Uganda, to identify 50 women in the community who had no access to electricity and utilized unhealthy kerosene lamps for lighting as shown in the photo below of children studying during the evening:

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In January 2024, our co-founder Jon Ruth, visited Ayowecca to meet with the executive director, Jonathan Olwenyi, and to learn more about the community and distribute solar lanterns in a workshop for the women participants. Jon distributed Sun King Pro 200 Solar Lanterns to 110 women who signed up for the workshop, surpassing expected attendance by 50%. He helped Jonathan show the participants how to use the lanterns which provide light for up to three days with their durable, long-lasting battery. In June 2024, at the request of the team at Ayowecca, we followed up and funded an additional 76 solar lanterns plus solar home systems and smart phones for the Ayowecca team, including the 3 women chairpersons for our pilot, to help support these dedicated volunteers, provide a means to document and share impact and ensure they are personally experiencing the benefits and utility of solar.

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September 2024: Additional 100 Lanterns Distributed

Ayowecca Uganda's executive director, Jonathan Olwenyi, contacted us to request an additional 50 lanterns for women who live in a nearby community explaining that the women: "admired the lanterns that we have given out and they see how they are helping their friends...The women requested to join us but managing a larger number at this point would be too heavy for us."

Having learned to send more lanterns than requested because there is always more of a need in rural, off-grid communities, we worked with Jonathan to procure 100 Sun King Pro 300 Solar Lanterns for this community. We appreciate working with Jonathan and Ayowecca because he was able to pick up the lanterns from Kampala and save the freight costs, and more importantly, we trust that he distributes the lanterns to the women and families who need them the most.

We are happy that Ayowecca's community is serving as a role model for the benefits and utility of solar power starting with small home solar systems and solar lanterns. Our vision is to help them build a community center for solar-powered business initiatives and digital skills training for long term energy independence, financial sovereignty & climate resilience.

Women as Agents of Change

Research increasingly shows that climate solutions have the best chance of success when women are engaged at every level. This pilot will help build women's agency and confidence by starting them on the first step of the clean energy staircase. Solar Lanterns have been found to be "small but mighty" solar solutions that offer a myriad of benefits for women and their family members. These benefits include: 

• Lower energy costs because they no longer have to pay for kerosene
• Decreased pollution and GHG emissions
• Increased health of the entire family
• Improved sense of safety and security
• Extended evening activities because the lights are bright and good for work and study
• Increased economic development because lights facilitate work after dark and because they are portable, so they can be used at markets, etc., as shown in the photo below:

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