Malawi has a very low electrification rate estimated at 11% and the lowest in the southern Africa (JICA 2021) and one of the lowest globally. Urban Malawi has only 42% and rural coverage is only 4%. This means most people in the rural Malawi have been deprived of a dignified life and opportunities.

With the help of VBC, the project will seek to electrify rural households in Madisi, Dowa district in Malawi, who have never had lights in their houses before. The target is the children living in these homes whose education has been affected due to lack of light in the evening for them to fulfil their assignments or study. Most children’s day ends at 6pm – 7pm, when the sun sets, hence reducing their productivity. This is so because most households cannot afford candles or kerosene every day when they are struggling to get daily meals, hence most of them would prefer to buy food with the little they have than to buy kerosene or candles.

Therefore, the project seeks to provide solar home lights that can light at least 2 bulbs and charge the phone so that children in these households could benefit. There are many solar home lighting systems or brands out there but the performance, durability and reliability differ. It is therefore imperative to pre-test all the available solar system to determine the best option. The rollout pilot initiative aims at installing four identified solar systems suitable for rural setting for 4 identified homes in Madisi, Dowa District, Malawi. Lessons learnt and experiences derived from these 4 different solar systems for 4 different households will be incorporated in the main project.

After 4 months, we should be able to determine which solar system offer the best performance suitable for rural home lighting. The project coordinator, the local leaders and the selected household members will monitor the project. The project will also focus on strengthening the capacity of local people in order to help them gain a stronger sense of ownership over solar energy activities.