Deep in the valleys of Oldonyo Orok located in Bissil, Kajiado, Moses Ole Koisabar switches on his house lights at night and the whole boma is lit.
The light, powered by a solar panel mounted on his mud-walled and mabati roofed house is used in three other manyattas and also lights his boma, providing enhanced security to his prized animals hence keeping away predator.
“Since I installed the solar systems my livestock have not been attacked by hyenas and leopards, which roam the whole of this valley,” Ole Koisabar says. “And my children now can study at night with proper lights,” he adds as a matter of fact.
The evolution in the clean energy space has seen a rapid uptake of various solutions that have been deployed to provide lighting and clean cooking.
To meet the emerging needs and financial abilities of most rural households, some providers are offering pay-as-you-use solutions.
This has enabled majority of people to purchase power tokens which then activates their solar systems. The model adopted here is similar to the mobile telephony airtime top-up.
Globally, it’s reported that slightly over three billion people cook over an open fire or traditional cooking stoves that burn heavy polluting fuels like charcoal, kerosene, wood, animal dungs among others.
