Premier Farnell lights up Tanzania with solar power
PREMIER Farnell has embarked on an innovative initiative to provide solar powered LED lighting to remote villages in Tanzania.
Working in conjunction with Yorkshire environmental charity, the United Bank of Carbon (UBoC), Fauna and Flora International and the Tongwe Trust, the Leeds-based electronics distributor has developed lighting kits which will provide an environmentally friendly, cost saving alternative to kerosene fuel based lighting currently used by the local communities.
Designed by Premier Farnell’s in house technical team, the units have been optimised for ease of assembly, using own brand parts along with components from some of its leading suppliers.
Premier Farnell said it is committed to hiring and training local Tongwe engineers to build, install and maintain the kits enabling the community to deal with technical problems without having to rely on outside help.
Four hundred kits have already been shipped out to the Tongwe community in remote western Tanzania near the Mahale Mountains National Park for use by schools, clinics and forest rangers.
The project supports the company’s commitment to helping these communities to replace the kerosene wick lamps currently used which produce significant black carbon emissions, are detrimental to the health of local people when inhaled, and which also contribute to climate change.
It is also part of a larger initiative by UBoC and its Yorkshire-based partners aimed at reducing deforestation in Tongweland.
“This is an ambitious and important project that Premier Farnell is ideally positioned to support and drive,” said Charles Denham, head of safety, health, environment and quality at Premier Farnell. “Solar powered lighting is the ideal solution for remote village communities and can save them significant cost versus other forms of lighting that use fuels that must be purchased and transported over long distances. We’ve already had a fantastic response from households using the sample kits – the local people have been amazed by how bright the bulb is and have wanted more kits for neighbours and friends.
“The project brings together our technical expertise, product range, drive for innovation and approach to sustainability in a way that delivers benefits to all involved. By helping communities become more self-sufficient and encouraging the use of sustainable sources of energy, there are better prospects for their long-term viability and population migration to cities will be reduced.
“We hope that this project, which is relatively straightforward, will inspire other firms to embark on similar initiatives which not only have a major impact in some of the poorest areas of the world, but also give tangible business benefits.”
