Hi Everyone! It’s the Solar Fellows here again with an update from Yapalsi!
With the help of the community, we finished building and painting the solar charging center in Yapalsi. It was really inspirational to see everyone excited about the center and working with us. Each time we left the village for the day, we would return the next day to find that the community had completed yet another section of the center. Their enthusiasm became our source of motivation.
The community helps us add the last cement bricks to the foundation.Lucas and the masons plaster the solar center.Nick paints those hard to reach spots on the solar centerLucas and Linda paint the door of the solar center
Over the past few days, we have been working with Sana, Shetu, and Rahina, the three entrepreneurs who are have been running the water center and now the solar charging center. After we taught them how to connect the solar panels to the microcontroller, battery, and inverter, the women connected the components of the system together and the solar center works!
Rahina connects the wiring of the solar panels.Sana learns to connect the solar panels wires to the microcontroller.
We then explained how to calculate the maximum wattage that they could connect to the center. Prior to teaching them that each cell phone uses 5 Watts while a full battery charger uses 14 Watts, we worried that the women would have trouble with the math, as they had never gone to school before. However, Sana, Shetu, and Rahina completely surpassed our expectations with their exceptional mental math ability.
Linda explains to the women how to connect the batteries and chargers.
During training, many people from Yapalsi were curious about how to connect the system and how the solar center would work. A large crowd gathered outside during training, but after the Friday rain, most Yapalsians began farming, and the final day of training proved to be much quieter and more efficient.
After the solar center construction and training, we went to each and every household to distribute Burro lanterns and explain how to use them. We also explained how they would be able to buy fully charged batteries at the solar center to light their lantern and drop them off when they were out of charge. They were also extremely excited to be able to charge their cell phones for the first time in their village. Previously, they had been travelling to Savelugu a few kilometers away to pay someone to charge their phone. Picking them up usually meant returning to a swapped battery, missing SIM card, or worse a stolen phone. We really hope that the solar center will prove to be a major convenience and improvement for their lives. We finished our last day of distribution today with Linda and Sarah painting CWS’ logo onto the solar center! Tomorrow night is the grand opening of the solar center and we cannot wait! We shall update you soon!
-Linda, Lucas, Nick, and Sarah
Nick demonstrates how to open and close the Burro lanternLucas visits a household to explain the rechargeable lantern program.
Hey! It’s Linda, Lucas, Nick, and Sarah, the CWS Solar Fellows. After arriving to Tamale, we were surprised with a scavenger hunt around the city to get to know the locals, places, and culture on a more intimate level. During the 2 hour time frame, we ran around the market looking for things like dried hibiscus flowers, one calabash, and one piece of fabric with the U.S. flag on it. We then went around the Cultural Center trying to convince locals to dance with us to Pharell’s “Happy” while being recorded on video. Next, we needed to take a picture on the Tamale Football Stadium field. We discovered upon arrival that the Ghana vs. Sierra Leone game was in session and wondered how to cross that off the checklist. After sweet-talking the guard, he allowed us to watch the game from the field.
Team Solar!: Linda, Lucas, Nick, and Linda at the Tamale Soccer Stadium
Yesterday, we headed out to the field for this first time this trip! We visited Sakpalua, where we monitored both the water and solar businesses, which are run by four women, including the two water entrepreneurs Lydia and Damu. Unfortunately, Damu was unable to meet with us because she was in another village attending a funeral. In particular, it was great for Nick to be back in the village that he implemented on his first Fellowship. He played mancala with the children and hung out with his friends Simeon, Zizu, and the Pastor. He also got to take a picture in front of the CWS sign with the children of Sakpalua.
It was the first time that any of us were able to see an implemented solar charging center and it was great to see that everything has been running smoothly. The women seemed to be in good spirits and had been doing a great job of keeping track of sales at the business. When we asked if there had been any problems at the center, they did mention a suspicious “whirring” noise coming from the Genset. After thinking about it for a few seconds, we realized that what they were talking about was the fan that keeps all of the components cool. When we explained this to the women, they were very relieved and let us know that there weren’t any other issues with the center.
After monitoring households in Sakpalua, we made the short drive to Wambong – another CWS solar village. The entrepreneurs in Wambong had been experiencing good sales as well, and the households we monitored said they enjoyed having easing and affordable access to cell phone charging. As in Sakpalua we monitored the households for water as well and were encouraged to hear so many stories of improved health for families and their children.
After a successful first day in the field, we had the chance to learn how the components of the solar center worked and how everything should be connected. This made us all really excited for tomorrow, as it will be our first day in Yepalsi, where will be spending the next few weeks implementing a new solar charging business.
The solar center in Chani on opening night. Even the sheep were excited!
On Wednesday April 23rd, 2014, the 4th CWS solar center opened for business in Chani! As you may have read on the blog, opening night was pushed back a few days because of a faulty inverter. While the setback was a disappointment, the opening was still a big success. The CWS full time Ghana staff along with my family (who was visiting from the US and Ireland) made it to the big event. Muneera and Salamatu, the CWS solar and water entrepreneurs, were very enthusiastic about the opening. Salamatu (famous for Salamatu’s story) said she was excited for the opportunity to run another business that would improve the lives of Chani community members.
Here are more pictures from the night. Photo credit goes to my aunt Tara Canellas visiting Ghana from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida!
TJ’s taxi got a flat tire en route to Chani but the CWS team worked together and within 15 minutes, we were all back on the road!Wahab showing me around the solar center!Some Chani kiddos!Ailis Kiernan (my mom) entertaining the Chani kids before the center opened for businessCWS Field Representative Wahab helping Salamatu with battery sales inside the center. It was hot in there!CWS Field Rep Eric helps a woman put in “fresh” Burro batteries in to the lanternA woman shines her Burro lantern on her walk home.The center ceiling is so high that even CWS Field Rep Shak can stand inside!Some Chani kids checking out the solar center actionMuneera and Salamatu smile after the opening. Every household came to get batteries! They were so excited to get the business started. We are so proud of them!Me, Muneera, Salamatu, Shak, Eric and Wahab cheesing outside the solar center after the opening!My fam gets in for a pic with Muneera, Salamatu, Shak and Wahab. Success!!!
It has been almost 3 weeks since the solar center opened in Kurugu Vohoyili. The solar center entrepreneurs, Ayi and Fuseina, report that business is going well. Community members say the lanterns are useful for cooking, studying, working at night and make them feel safe from scorpions lurking in dark corners. The entrepreneurs say people have been coming to exchange their dead batteries for “fresh ones” and cell phone charging sales are high, especially at night.
Water and Solar center entrepreneurs Ayi and Fuseina
Last week on April 2, CWS Assistant- Project Manager: Shak, and I had the privilege of visiting the solar center in Kurugu Vohoyili with the Burro team, Burro founder: Whit Alexander, Burro Country Director: Carol Brown and Business Development Manager: Caleb Darko. Burro is a bottom-up social business based out of Koforidua that markets high quality, life-improving products to low-income and rural populations. CWS has partnered with Burro to bring lanterns, gensets and solar panels to the solar center pilots.
Huseini with his Burro lantern newly loaded with “fresh” batteries from the solar center on opening nightBurro headquarters in Koforidua
When we arrived at the center, Fuseina was there open for business! There were 34 batteries charging but no phones just yet. Fuseina said that some people still had charge in their phones but they would come. We checked out the solar panels, which had a layer of dust and some mud splotches. The Burro team was helpful in advising Ayi and Fuseina to clean the panels every morning with a cloth and water to remove all dust in order to get the most sunlight possible. Whit also advised the women to use alcohol to remove any residue build up on the AA batteries to make them more efficient. Burro’s mantra of “Do More” shined throughout the community visit.
Shak and I visited 6 households with the Burro staff. All 6 households still had charged batteries in their lanterns. 4 out of 6 households had charged cell phones at the solar center. The 2 households without charge still had charge remaining from before the solar center opened. These households have been conserving their cell phone battery to keep fuel costs down. They used to travel several miles to Tali to charge. I predict that cell phone charging demand will rise over time as the solar center is conveniently located in the center of Kurugu Vohoyili.
Abiba, Huseini and Osman with their household Burro lantern. They use it on the 3rd setting at night so the women can cook and people can chat or study
Burro Founder, Whit, started asking households about what they used to do for energy prior to the solar center. Most households used kerosene, spending 5-6 GHC on kerosene every 3 days. Now they no longer use kerosene, opting for the cleaner, cheaper energy offered at the solar center! KV community member Alimatu brought out her kerosene lamp to show us what she was using before. It was striking to see the kerosene lamp and Burro lantern side by side. Alimatu asked us if she could use the Burro lantern as a night-light to fall asleep, she had been using a kerosene lamp before. We said yes and her face lit up!
Alimatu of Kurugu Vohoyili
It was encouraging to monitor with the Burro team and to see the fruits of our labor after the pilot. A big thank you to Whit, Carol and Caleb for coming all the way to Tamale to check out the solar center and for all of their consulting.
“Calm before the storm” — The solar center in Kurugu Vohoyili on opening night
The solar center is officially open in Kurugu Vohoyili! Last night, Shak, Wahab, Amin, Eric and I all went to KV to celebrate the opening. We pulled up to the solar center and there was already a queue forming next to the shop window with community members lining up, Burro lantern in hand.
Customers line up with their Burro lanterns outside of the solar shop
Ayi and Fuseina met us at the door to the center and opened up the shop for business. It was Wahab, Amin and Eric’s first time seeing the solar business in KV and they were impressed! We immediately got to work unwrapping more power strips and plugging them in to make slots available for people to charge cell phones. There wasn’t much time. The crowd was getting rowdy outside the shop. People were demanding batteries.
Ayi and Fuseina on opening night
Shak and I had a quick pep talk with Ayi and Fuseina. “Ok so who is going to run the window taking battery orders and handling the money? Who is going to load batteries and keep track of sales?” Fuseina took the window and Ayi grabbed the sales book. The shop window was pushed open for Fuseina to take the first customer.
Ayi keeping track of salesFuseina counting change to give to customers out her shop window
Within a few minutes, there was a problem. Everyone had come to the shop with big bills! Customers were holding 5 GHC and 10 GHC notes to purchase 10 pesewas batteries. The women did not have enough small change for these kinds of transactions. Shak and I hadn’t thought of this. We had a quick meeting with the chairman who suggested that those who have small change pay for their batteries tonight and the rest of the households will be held accountable to pay the women tomorrow. I was worried. I wanted to make sure Ayi and Fuseina actually received their money. The chairman reassured us that the women would be paid back the following day and that in the future, people would come to the center with smaller coins. That’s the plus side of doing business in a community network like Kurugu Vohoyili.
Huseini, Fuseina, Ayi, Ibrahim, the chairman and Shak standing with the solar panels on opening night!Fuseina, Huseini, Amin, Ayi, Wahab, Ibrahim, Eric, me and some children from KV standing with the solar panels
We got back to work. Ayi and Fuseina were getting overwhelmed. With the rate of sales, Ayi had too much on her plate: recording sales, handing Fuseina charged batteries and replacing batteries in to the empty slots. Shak helped Ayi with the sales book, Wahab, Eric and I handed Fuseina charged batteries and replaced the empty slots. Opening night will be their busiest night because in the future, community members can come buy batteries or bring their cell phones to charge at their leisure throughout the day. It will take time for the women to get used to the process of counting money, replacing batteries and keeping track of sales. Shak and I will continue our training with the women later this week when we go back to monitor.
Eric helping Ayi load batteries in to the chargers
The women ran out of charged batteries, it would take a couple of hours to charge up more. There are only 15 battery chargers (4 battery slots per charger) at the center. Meaning only 60 batteries can be charged at once, giving 20 households 3 batteries each for their lanterns. This would only be a problem opening night.
Amin had been outside helping customers put batteries in to their lanterns and socializing. He came in to the shop when the women finished sales and said, “Oh, the people are happy. I saw one man just playing with his lantern trying all 4 light settings about 15 times, then he ran home to show his family. Wow!” Indeed, customers had all run home with their new solar charged, battery-powered lanterns. I peaked outside and only the chairman and some small children were left. Ayi and Fuseina let out a sigh of relief. They did it!
Amin with Ayi and Fuseina!
What a whirlwind of a night but overall a success. We are looking forward to monitoring the solar center’s progress and talking to families to see what they think of the center and the lanterns. A big thank you to Next Step Living for funding this solar pilot, Burro for our new partnership in bringing solar gensets and lanterns to rural communities and Mark and Ben who developed the first solar pilot in Wambong. Monitoring and household survey reports to come!
Yesterday, we arrived in Kurugu Vohoyili nice and early to finish training the women and to start approaching households with lanterns. It has been HOT in Tamale, so we wanted to beat the heat. Ayi and Fuseina were ready to start when we got to the center. As we had explained to them yesterday, they would have to wire the solar panels to the battery and set up the genset all on their own. Ayi laughed when I told her this and said, “oh we will try.” They were able to do it!
Ayi on the left and Fuseina on the right attach more cable to the solar panelsShak observes the women as they wire the panelsAyi assembles the genset
We started plugging in power strips and battery chargers in to the genset to ensure that everything was working. Shak and I gave Ayi and Fuseina a few scenarios to see if they were comfortable with all of the information. We pretended to be customers, asking how much it would cost if we charged x amount of phones or x amount of batteries and what that would look like in the sales book. We also tested the entrepreneurs on how many cell phones and batteries could be plugged in at once and had them look to the genset infographic for guidance. They got everything right! We decided to teach them how to use tally marks in groups of 5 to make it easier to keep track of sales. Ayi said they had never gone to school and asked if it was even worth it to try and teach them. Shak and I said yes! And within a few minutes they grasped the concept. Ayi and Fuseina are sharp. We completed training by practicing to insert batteries in to the chargers, opening the battery slots of the lanterns and turning the genset on and off. We decided to let the solar panels charge up all day. This morning, the women will charge the batteries to open for business tonight!
Fuseina explains to Ayi how to count the tally marks on the Burro genset operating guide, this infographic helps the ladies use the battery level to determine how many batteries and cell phones can be plugged in at onceAyi smiles as she holds up the battery charger, it was her first time putting batteries in!Fuseina watches as Ayi marks the sales book
After training, Shak and I visited all 22 households in Kurugu Vohoyili asking families if they would like to participate in the lantern program for 1 GHC. Every single household joined! We briefed each family on the lanterns and the solar center. We told them that they had to pay for the batteries and to charge their cell phones so the women would have money to fix broken parts, to buy more batteries and to earn a profit for their hard work. We also discussed the health benefits of using this lantern instead of kerosene or lead acid battery powered torches. If any household loses a battery, they will have to pay the women 3 GHC to replace it. Everyone seemed excited and receptive to the system. Tonight is opening night. We will head to Kurugu Vohoyili after dark with the rest of the CWS Ghana staff. We can’t wait!
-Brianán
Nina, myself and Ayi, as they hold their new household lanterns!Shak sits with Baba and Ibrahim, checking off their household names after they purchased lanterns for their familiesThe Botonaayili family with their new lantern!
And the solar center entrepreneurs in Kurugu Vohoyili are (drum roll please)… Ayi and Fuseina!
The chairman told Shak and I that Ayi and Fuseina were chosen because they are the most hardworking women in Kurugu Vohoyili. Interestingly enough, Ayi and Fuseina are also the water business entrepreneurs. Now this has pros and cons to it. As we have seen in Wambong, the solar center makes much higher profits compared to the water treatment center. This will allow Ayi and Fuseina to grow their businesses and eventually open a bank account. The entrepreneurs will also be able to market the water business using the solar center. Community behavior change and priorities are different around drinking clean water vs. charging a cell phone. Cell phones are sexy. The immediate reward of being able to call a friend is much more gratifying than drinking a cup of clean water, where the health benefits are only seen over time and are hard to measure. Had the community selected two different women to run the solar center, there would be four women with business opportunities in KV rather than two. Our plan, for now, is to let the communities select the women for the pilots and go from there. Solar power has become a solution for areas that are either not near proper power sources like in modern areas or for economic reasons. No matter the reason, solar power is something that deserves time and money put into it for everyone to use. The grid solar projects like these will bring in massive results for this village and get them utilizing solar power for their needs.
We were pushed back a day again because of a funeral in a nearby village. The dry season is peak funeral season in the Northern Region of Ghana. In the rainy season, the weather is unpredictable, the roads are bad and families are busy farming, which makes travel difficult. Usually when people pass away in the rainy season, they wait until the dry season to have the big family funeral.
Today, we arrived in KV and the center was looking great, fully plastered and beautiful in the hot sun! We brought the steel poles and solar panels to mount outside the solar charging hub. Community members helped mount the panels. We faced the panels due south at 81 degrees to get the most sunlight possible throughout the year, using this Solar Angle Calculator recommended by staff at Burro. Shak was resourceful and found a protractor to bring to the welder for the poles. He got the angle just right. I was impressed! We used a compass to get the panels perfectly due south!
Once the panels were mounted, Ayi and Fuseina came to start their first day of training. They showed up with big smiles, saying “Nawuni ni dey suhugu”, which means God answer your prayers (also used for thank you) in Dagbani. From past experience monitoring and working in Kurugu Vohoyili, I can vouch for these women and confidently say they are “on their game”. Since implementation in January 2012, their water business has flourished. There has not been one occasion where CWS field staff showed up to KV and found an empty polytank. You rock ladies!
For the solar training, we started with the basics, going over how the solar panels use light energy from the sun to generate Direct Current (DC) electricity, which is stored in the battery and then converted to Alternating Current (AC) electricity through the inverter. AC electricity or “mains” as it is referred to in Ghana is what we use to charge our appliances at home. We explained to the women how to wire the 2- 100 W panels together in a “series” connecting the positive cable of one panel to the negative cable of another panel, which builds the voltage. Then connected the negative cable of one panel to the negative charge of the battery and the positive cable of the other panel to the positive charge of the battery. The women did all the wiring and electrical taping themselves! When it was wired, we turned on the genset and voila! There was power! We plugged in a cell phone and a battery charger to make sure the equipment was working. There were oohs and ahhs from the surrounding crowd.
Ayi connects the negative cable of one panel to the positive cable of the otherAyi’s hands up close, taping the cables together!Fuseina attaches some more cable to the positive cable of one panel to be attached to the positive charge of the battery.Huseini plugs in his cell phone to the power strip. Electricity!
We discussed how to calculate watt/hours and how many devices can be plugged in based on the battery level. Burro put together some useful infographics: Genset Operating Guide that helped us explain this to the women. To start, the solar center will be charging cell phones and Burro AA batteries for the lanterns. We went over using the sales book to keep track of daily cell phone and lantern sales. We gave the women two containers – one for daily earnings and the other for long term savings. We also went over prices with the chairman and the entrepreneurs and agreed upon 10 pesewas (~$.04) per battery rental and 20 pesewas (~$.08) per cell phone charge. This money will go to Ayi and Fuseina, who can use their profits to invest in their families and to replace batteries or broken parts at the solar center.
Fuseina, the chairman and Ayi stand surrounded by children at their new community solar center!
Tomorrow, Shak and I are going to continue training day 2 with the entrepreneurs, further discussing battery charging, watt/hours calculations and keeping track of sales. We are also going to have the women completely rewire and put together the genset on their own without our verbal guidance. We are confident they will do great! Tomorrow, we will also be approaching households with lanterns to see if they want to invest 1 GHC in a lantern to be able to rent batteries at the center. More updates to come!
Children in Kurugu Vohoyili standing around Shak’s jeep and the newly built solar center charging shop!
It has been a productive week of building in Kurugu Vohoyili. Our efforts were pushed back a day because of car trouble and a funeral in the community on Wednesday. On Thursday, Shak and I arrived around 7:30 am to get an early start on the roof. The carpenters unfortunately were not as punctual as we would have liked. Maybe I could have looked for local roofing professionals (similar to roofers Roanoke) who could have started working on the roof before the carpenters arrived. That said, the morning was spent sitting and chatting with the elders and some of the children.
From left to right: Saimu, Abukari, Deen, Mohammed, Ibrahim, Afizu, Arafiki and Issaka. The young, helpful boys we have gotten to know throughout the building process!These girls were laughing because Shak was asking them to show him their teeth so he could count how many they’ve lost. It didn’t help that I was the silly salaminga saying “lama”, which means smile in Dagbani. From left to right: Arashia, Serena, Nabari, Bamu, Najatu, Pana, Badila and Nasiba.
When the carpenters finally did show, they got right to work. The round zinc roof (similar to the Metal roofing from 99Roofers that is usually installed in the US) was too complicated for me, Shak or community members in Kurugu Vohoyili to construct. So the chairman called his carpenter friends in the nearby community of Tolon. The people of the community have extensive experience in the village roofing industry. Moreover, it seemed that the residents had vast roofing knowledge like a professional from a roofing company Winston Salem might have.
That is why they must be praised! After all, not everybody can be as talented as they are! However, the most praise-worthy thing is that not only do they appear to have skills to carry out complex roofing tasks like Roof Replacement, installation or repair, but they also seem to be in sync with the growing trends in the roofing industry. This surely is praise-worthy as not many people possess this kind of skill set or knowledge base!
Most community members live in round village huts like the one we are building but they use straw to roof the house. We decided to use a zinc roof for the solar center to keep the battery, inverter, cell phones and appliances safe and dry in case of a heavy rainstorm. Straw roofs have more seasonal maintenance compared to zinc roofs, so it made sense economically to go with zinc.
Carpenters Asma and Wumbina of Tolon get right to work!
To construct the roof, the carpenters started by adding supportive beams to hold up other pieces of wood in the nailing in process. They went around in circles several times adding wood, nailing it in, taking measurements, cutting more wood, adding supportive pieces to nail in the zinc. At one point the carpenters ran out of wood, so Shak and I headed to Tolon to get more. When we got back to KV, one of the carpenters said they had just run out of nails and that we had to turn around and go back out to get more. It took us a few minutes to realize he was kidding. Shak replied, “That it a very hard joke to make Carpenter”, which ended in roars of laughter amongst the chairman, elders and even some of the small kids. The carpenters completed the wooden roof structure in 4 hours, then took another hour to nail in the zinc. It was a long day but overall a success. We left Kurugu Vohoyili with an almost complete, locally sourced and community made solar center charging shop!
The chairman and Mr. Iddrisu help the carpenters.
Today, we returned to Kurugu Vohoyili to finish some of the wood work for the door frame, window and faceboards. We started plastering the outside of the hut with cement to make it durable in the rainy season like families do to their own houses in the community. The center is looking great! Tomorrow we will return with the solar panels, inverter, battery, cable, Burro AA batteries and Burro battery chargers to start training the women! We can’t wait to meet them! Check below for pictures detailing the building process.
-Brianán
Taking a break in the hut!Clean water from Ayi and Fuseina’s water business was brought to the work site. Huseini fills up his cup!
The wooden roof structure — bottom view.Nailing on the face boards.Measuring the distance for the face boards.Shak and I cheesing out the window of the new solar center charging shop!
When Shak and I arrived in Kurugu Vohoyili this morning, the location for the solar center had been selected and there were bricks laid out to show the structure outline. The community chose a great spot for their charging hub – nicely secure in the center of the community with plenty of sunlight!
We went to the chairman’s house and he said they were ready to get to work! Before we knew it, there was gravel (clay-like substance from the ground used to build all the huts in the community) being mixed with water and small boys carrying out gravel bricks to construct the center.
In planning for the pilot, we decided that building a village hut would be perfect to house the solar charging hub – it blends in with the community and is made from local materials. The community agreed. Families donated gravel bricks already cut and dry and about 30 men came out to help build the structure.
It was a fantastic day. Within only a few hours we had the basic structure built. Shak joked (although somewhat serious) that he would use this technique to build a chicken coop; he had never built a village hut before and neither had I! Below are some pictures that show the progress of our day. Tomorrow we will be building the doors, window and securing the zinc roof.
-Brianán
Chairman (on the right) stands with an elder on the left in the outline of the solar center structure!
Shak holds up his muddy hands! The building is getting underway.
Getting up close and personal with gravel.Shak piles on muddy gravel to secure the bricks
Taking a break with some kiddos.
Elders and young men came to help out!The chairman oversees the window outline. They used a tree branch to secure the window frame!Young boys get in on the action!An elder with an awesome hat uses his machete to flatten the gravel as it begins to harden in the sun.Day 2 solar charging hub building structure complete! The community members who helped gather for a picture.Standing in the doorway, thanks Baba for the picture!Kurugu Vohoyili community members who were central in the building process!
