Meet the mothers of Angaradebou.

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:

Saves Lives

Vaccine refrigerators, medical equipment, and water purification systems can’t run without access to electricity.

Feeds Families

Solar-powered pumps ensure clean water delivery and can be combined with drip irrigation for food production.

Improves Education

Lights, computers, and internet connectivity reduce the barriers to students pursuing an education.

Increases Income

Electricity equips entrepreneurs with tools to jumpstart small business operations, creating more robust local economies.

Project Highlights

Learn about these SELF projects that need your support.

Check This Out

Give the Gift of Solar Power this Giving Tuesday

This Giving Tuesday, the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) invites you to join the movement to end energy poverty. For over 30 years, SELF has delivered solar powered solutions to communities who need it most. From landlocked African countries to remote island nations, SELF works around th...

Turning to the Sun to Fight Climate Change and Poverty in Africa

As the climate crisis unfolds before our very eyes, alarming patterns are already emerging in Africa—and elsewhere through the world. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Droughts are increasing in quantity and severity. Floods are bringing water but no relief. And these pattern...

SELF’s 2021 Annual Report

SELF’s mission has long been to deliver solar energy solutions to rural and marginalized communities. What’s more important than the energy itself, however, is what it enables. Your support in 2021 meant that more families were fed, more children were vaccinated, and more women could earn an in...

More like this

Energy poverty by the numbers

It’s about more than turning the lights on. The impacts of energy poverty span nearly every aspect of life.

2

billion people lack safe drinking water1

3.6

billion people live without adequate sanitation1

33

% of people use dangerous cooking systems2

49

% of people don’t have internet access3

Source: The 2021 Sustainable Development Goals Report

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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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2021 L Street NW Suite 101-344
Washington, DC 20036

+1 (202) 234-7265