Feasibility Study on Solar lighting for Poverty Alleviation in Rural Communities in Southern

Abstract

This study was commissioned to assess the practicality of disseminating solar home lighting systems to remote rural villages in southern Tanzania, to identify specific barriers that may hinder adopting of such systems by wider communities in rural areas and recommend practical counteractive measures. The analysis used facts collected from key informants, focus group discussions and primary household-level data from 200 households in remote rural villages of Lindi and Mtwara regions. The study explored technical requirements, economic viability, and the policy and planning issues which may contribute to success or failure of an intervention. It was observed that the majority of respondents (80%) were enthusiastic towards acquiring solar kits for lighting their homes, especially those who happen to know these systems and were willing to pay between TAS 5000.00 ($3.3) and 10,000.00 ($ 6.6) as initial deposit to acquire a solar system,. In addition they were willing to pay TAS 5000 ($ 3.3) every month until the cost of the system is recovered. The payment is slightly lower than the cost they incur to buy kerosene and torch batteries for lighting. Despite, the willingness to acquire the lighting systems, it was observed that, success of such an intervention to large extent rely on availability of secure after sale services. The study could not identify any intentional government or other stakeholders’ strategies or policy measure to ensure sustainability of such interventions. Investigation on similar projects implemented in other parts of the country revealed that, conventional methods of providing aftersales services have had little success especially when applied to remote rural areas. Therefore the study recommends training of local people especially women who are deep rooted in the village and are unlikely to migrate from their villages to urban areas. The training should cover installation, repair, maintenance and spare parts procurement.

Keywords: Solar home lighting kits, feasibility, Barefoot Approach, Tanzania

Rwanda Journal, Volume 23 Series C, 2011