LIGHTING, A PRIMORDIAL FACTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT
In Sahelian Africa, the majority of the population lives in rural areas. Less than 10% of these people have access to electricity, whereas lighting is a primordial factor in development. A child that can have light in the evening will be able to read her lessons and do her homework. A mother or father can keep a business open after sundown. A family can save quite a bit of money by using modern lighting. This is also true for health and access to healthcare…
In many areas of the world, the night lasts about 12 hours all year long. Access to light means being able to improve living conditions. At a time where energy dependency and the costs incurred by this dependency are skyrocketing, solar lamps are an innovative response to the issue of reducing poverty and to the development of a country.
The solution: solidarity-based solar lighting
Africa is one of the continents with the greatest exposure to sunlight. How is it, then, that this source of energy is so poorly exploited? Today the primary energy needs are covered by firewood, petrol, candles, battery-operated devices … These sources of energy are costly and bad for health and the environment. Using firewood for light, for example, aggravates the desertification of entire regions.
The sun, present all year long in Africa, offers unlimited potential for the development of a country and for companies committed to that development. For LAGAZEL, it seemed inconceivable not to use solar energy to provide light for a needy population that wants it.
The solar lamp is an environmentally-friendly and solidarity-based lighting solution which holds one of the keys to Africa’s economic development.
