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Gender

Women and girls bear the brunt of energy poverty

Solar-powered initiatives reduce inequality and create opportunity
Three girls in Uganda read books outside under a solar-powered streetlight

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The total number of hours women and girls spend collecting water daily (United Nations)

Economic Empowerment

SELF works to:

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Reduce unpaid labor

Around the world, unpaid labor often falls on women and girls. When water pumping is unavailable, it’s women who gather water on foot. When electric stoves aren’t an option, it’s women who collect firewood and other fuels. These time-intensive tasks leave scant hours for attending school or pursuing a career. By improving local infrastructure with systems like solar-powered water pumps and solar cookstoves, we can give that time back.
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Create economic opportunity

Solar technologies not only reduce unpaid labor but also create new opportunities. SELF’s income generating programs place a special emphasis on creating opportunity for women. And when women have the resources to earn and invest, the entire community benefits. 
two women in benin with baskets on their heads
A mother and child collect produce from a garden in Benin
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Solar Market Garden Program

SELF works with women’s farming cooperatives through our Solar Market Garden program. Equipped with solar-powered drip irrigation systems, women farmers can grow more crops, earn more income, and feed more people.

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A woman in Uganda sells bread baked in a solar-powered Lytefire oven
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Solar Cooking Program

The Solar Cooking Program equips rural women with the resources to open their own solar-powered bakeries and catering enterprises. Through in-depth trainings, participants learn the basics of solar cooking, plus the business skills to match.

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Fighting Sexual Violence

SELF deploys a variety of programs aimed at creating safer, more well-lit public spaces, collaborating closely with experts in the prevention of sexual- and gender-based violence.
woman in uganda stands under a solar streetlight at night

Streetlighting

In unelectrified places, police data show an increase in sexual assaults at night, often occurring outdoors under the dark sky.

Improving lighting creates safer public spaces for women, children, and vulnerable community members.

Hellen Tanyinga, founder of the Rape Hurts Foundation, gives a speech at an event in Uganda

Working with the Rape Hurts Foundation

SELF works with the Rape Hurts Foundation to implement a variety of solar-powered initiatives aimed at reducing instances of sexual violence and supporting survivors in Uganda.

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