Maasai, TANZANIA

Working with the Ilaramatak Lolkonerei Integrated Pastoralist Survival Program (OIPSP), a rural Maasai pastoralist organization, SELF introduced many families to the benefit of solar lighting, trained additional Maasai technicians, and provided a solar powered HF radio for internal communications throughout Maasailand.

The OIPSP was formed by Maasai pastoralists in 1991 to catalyze rural development initiatives. The group seeks to allow Maasai families to thrive in the modern world while preserving their traditional lifestyle and culture. After experiencing problems with poaching and cattle rustling throughout the far-flung Maasailand, and lacking suitable lighting for evening work and study, OIPSP realized that electricity for lighting and communications was essential to preserving their livelihood. With the electric grid almost 100 miles away, and with kerosene and dry cell batteries providing limited utility, the OIPSP searched for other electricity options. They approached Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) to request assistance in the development of an ambitious strategy to obtain solar photovoltaics (PV) for lighting and communications.

SELF helped the OIPSP to undertake a solar electrification program by helping to upgrade existing solar installations, training local Maasai men and women in PV installation, and seeding a revolving credit fund for the purchase of solar home systems (SHS) and solar lanterns. SELF also helped establish a tribally owned solar enterprise to market SHS and solar lanterns throughout Maasailand.

SELF has continued to support the OIPSP solar program. A grant from the Compton Foundation in 1995 allowed SELF to continue its solar program with the Maasai. In October, 1995, SELF helped purchase a PV lighting system for a OIPSP Community and Resource Training Center, and financed the purchase of six SHS and 32 solar lanterns which were sold on credit by Maasai entrepreneurs and installed by local technicians. Families and shop owners financed their systems through monthly payments into a revolving credit fund, which were used to pay for continued construction on the Community Resource Training Center. In addition, SELF helped the OIPSP purchase a high frequency radio telephone, allowing internal communications with two other existing HF radios in Maasailand, as well as allowing email capabilities through connection to the outside data networks in East Africa.

SELF has helped begin to bring electricity to Maasailand. While the Maasai pastoralists are interested in keeping their traditional culture, they also have a great desire to gain the benefits of modern lighting and communications. Under the direction of the OIPSP, they have "seen the light" and actively support the use of solar photovoltaics.

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A study for the U.S. government calculated that the gasoline equivalent of the energy saved over the lifetime of one 24-watt compact fluorescent bulb is sufficient to drive a Prius from New York to San Francisco.