A lengthy dry season makes growing food in northern Benin incredibly difficult. SELF's Solar Market Garden combines solar-powered pumps with drip irrigation to enable year-round food production.
Access to energy:
Vaccine refrigerators, medical equipment, and water purification systems can’t run without access to electricity.
Solar-powered pumps ensure clean water delivery and can be combined with drip irrigation for food production.
Lights, computers, and internet connectivity reduce the barriers to students pursuing an education.
Electricity equips entrepreneurs with tools to jumpstart small business operations, creating more robust local economies.
Learn about these SELF projects that need your support.
Solar-powered water pumps provide communities in Benin with clean drinking water, eliminating waterborne illness and the need to walk miles each day for water collection, a burden that typically falls on women and girls.
SELF works with its Ugandan partner, the Rape Hurts Foundation, to reduce instances of sexual violence and support survivors through improved access to lighting and other resources.
In 2015, the United Nations released the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—a set of 17 environmental and humanitarian priorities to be achieved by 2030. These include objectives such as ending hunger (SDG 1), achieving universal education (SDG 4), and fighting climate change (SDG 13). ...
Decentralized Solar Can Help End Water and Food Insecurity By Robert A. Freling Two billion people lack access to safe drinking water today. The impacts are dire — on human health, on food security, on gender equality, and more. When we look at who lacks clean water, the alignment wi...
In 2023, SELF developed new technologies and programs that expand our global understanding of energy. It’s not just the lights overhead; it’s health, safety, opportunity, and prosperity. A new microgrid connects rural people to legal aid. A solar cooking program creates income op...
SELF is a global leader in the fight against energy poverty. Since 1990, we’ve pioneered unique applications for solar energy, powering progress on food security, health care, education, gender equity, and more.
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EIN: 52-1701564