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Building a Micro-Enterprise Around a Solar Product
Photo: IRG Ltd.
A USAID program’s
solar powered torch
is not only providing
light to the community
of Monrovia, but also a
means for income.
Charity Prayer Band is not a musical group but a
group of about 40 women and a few men on the
outskirts of Monrovia’s largest market district who
banded together for spiritual and social self–help
which includes a “susu” or a pooled savings and
loan fund.
A USAID program designed to assist Liberia with
energy issues raised the spirits and savings of
the Charity Prayer Band by introducing them to a
powerful and cost–effective solar–powered three
LED combination torch encased in a recycled
plastic water bottle that can be easily assembled
by members of the group and then sold for profit
to their community members.
The solar torch was originally developed and
donated to micro–enterprises in Tanzania that
have since become self–sufficient businesses.
The successful Tanzania model was introduced in
Liberia through a USAID–supported pilot project.
The first start-up assembly tool kit is provided
by the program and includes 25 light kits valued
at $15 each. A person can assemble four or
fi ve of the lights in a day. Once all the initial kits
are assembled and sold, additional kits may be
purchased to continue the business. Each light,
once assembled, is sold for $20–$25 and includes a small solar
panel for recharging batteries.
In Liberia, people who rely on kerosene and candles spend up to
$15 a month on supplies, making the price of the solar lamp very
reasonable. The solar flashlight operates for up to 130 hours on
one charge, batteries last up to three years, and the LED bulbs
last a life-time.
Yatta Hoff Mabande, a widow with six grown children and a
member of the Charity Prayer Band learned to assemble the
torches by watching the first group of trained assemblers. She
has high hopes for the group enterprise, “It means a lot to me.
I now have a way to sustain myself even if I’m alone, and I can
train others. The more people we train, the more business can
go out!”
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