Solarenergie für Afrika

Konferenz in Düsseldorf vom 4.-6. September 2003

Appeal of the Network

A you aware of that the desert extends about half a million hectares per month? Climatic changes are dept to it, among others initiated through the cutting of the woods. Wood is required as feed. In this context the question "Can the usage of solar energy improve the standart of living of the Africans?" merely theoretical.

Why Solar energy?

We believe the following basic necessities have to be addressed first, before the African civil society could play any vital role in Africa's development process.

Cooking

Firewood is the main energy source for cooking in many African households.
Due to deforestation by man and nature, firewood is nowadays very expensive. Many families especially in the urban areas, whose incomes are weak, are in serious financial troubles. When I was in the village we used to gather firewood just some few hundred meters outside the village. Today children and women have to walk several kilometres to gather firewood. So for the rural population too, getting firewood is time- consuming.
So the time and money we invest on collecting or buying firewood, could be used for something else e.g. education.

Lighting and electricity

The vast majority of the rural population have no access to electricity. They therefore depend on candles and kerosene lamps for lighting. Even most of them couldn't afford this regularly. Therefore, their usage of electrical equipments is limited. As there is no demand for it, their inventory capacity remains unexploited. So with solar lamps and solar current, our people will be able to learn and work in the night, make inventions and boost up our productivity.

Industrialisation

With the usage of solar energy, Africa could now take up research on the sterling engine, develop it and use it in the industrialisation process. When the efficiency of the sterling engine matches that of the burn-engine, then Africa could be quickly industrialised.
Imagine a mechanised farming in Africa, imagine we can process and conserve food, then, Africa will have food self-sufficiency, to get to that level is Africa's immediate task.

Health

Imagine our hospitals and clinics would have hot water constantly for disinfection purposes, would have refrigerators and cool rooms for proper storage of medicines, how healthy our women will be, if saved from the hazardous smoke of firewood.

Economic

Any of the points mentioned above, when achieved, would have a great impact on the income of the people.
Why buy expensive organic stuff when we can meet our energy demands through renewable energy?

Problems like these could all be solved with the appropriate solar technology. And don't forget, renewable energy forms will bring peace to us.
For Africa to be able to make use of these potentials, a sensitisation process has to be started.
Therefore, the organisers of this conference hope to mark the start of a sensitisation campaign to strengthen the efforts of those already on the ground.

We expect the participants to this conference to come from the following groups, communities or initiatives:

Think about it, with this technology we can save the lives of our people and not only but to give them a fair chance to be able to contribute their quota to Africa's progress.

Think about it.

For more information contact us at NAVGD, Karolingerstr.4 40223.
Tel:++49 211-7356075 or -7356034
Email: info@solarenergie-fuer-afrika.de