In April 2012, the Scottish Government announced IRRI's most recent partnership project, 'Rural Off-Grid Energy Kiosks', to be one of the winning projects funded by the Scottish Government Malawi Development Programme 2012/ 2013.
IRRI is thrilled to be lead partner in such an innovative project, and looks forward to working with Scottish partner, David Livingstone Centre for Sustainability, and Malawian partners Renew'N'Able, Concern Universal Malawi, Eqnon, Leadership for Environment and Development Southern and Eastern Africa (LEAD SEA), WASHted, and Airtel Malawi. Drawing on the experience and strengths of the different partner organisations, the project promises to make a real positive impact on the lives of many communities living in rural Malawi.
At present, only 8% of the population in Malawi has access to electricity, mainly in urban centres. In rural Malawi, where the majority of the Malawian population lives, less than 1% of the population has access to electricity. Non-electrified communities rely on paraffin, which aside from being damaging to health, is becoming scarcer in rural areas and prices are ever increasing. The main aim of the Rural Off-Grid Energy Kiosks project is to contribute an innovative and viable off-grid community electrification solution which has real potential to increase rural Malawian's socio-economic opportunities.
The Rural Off-Grid Energy Kiosk project will install solar powered energy kiosks in rural Malawi, allowing households to buy and charge up batteries for their domestic use, therefore reducing their dependency on increasingly expensive paraffin and improving their access to efficient lighting, communication, and information. Since project kick-off in April, the first steps have been taken and we hope to be lighting up the homes of many communities living in rural Malawi over the coming months!
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