Empowerment journeys

Hilaria brings creativity to challenges

22 December 2017

Published previously as a Solar Sister journey Last we spoke in June, Hilaria traveled to New York to accept ENERGIA’s Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award, sharing her wisdom and experience as a clean energy entrepreneur and receiving a EUR 1,000 prize. Since then, Hilaria has been going about business – both solar and her long-time basket-weaving enterprise. She tells us business has been good. “The benefits are still there – I have an income and this makes my husband happy too. I have three children in school now thanks to my businesses. The basket-weaving benefits from the solar business, and I’ve also been able to invest in my farm.” “And, to be honest, being a Solar Sister entrepreneur gives me respect in the community.” Hilaria deliberated how best to use her ENERGIA prize money – she wanted to make sure she put it to the most sustainable use. In the end, she decided to invest a little in her businesses and put the bulk of her cash award towards her daughters’ education. Her 18 year-old daughter Theresia is studying accounting in Singida and 15 year-old Gladness is a secondary school student. For Hilaria, a good education is paramount. “If I had studied I would have had so many opportunities. I went to primary school only. I don’t want my children to be like me.” *** Hilaria lives and works in Madukani, a village at the junction of two roads, a few miles from the border of Tarangire, one of Tanzania’s popular national parks. Reaching…

Hilaria wins ENERGIA’s Women Entrepreneur of 2017 Award!

25 July 2017

Hilaria Paschal is a successful entrepreneur because she never gives up and is not afraid to try new things in her business. In 2016, she kept her Solar Sister business going in spite of caring for her sick child and dipping into her savings for the medical costs. Hilaria truly exemplifies Solar Sister’s values of grit and sisterhood! For this reason, Solar Sister nominated Hilaria for ENERGIA’s Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award. As part of receiving the award, Hilaria travelled to New York City to represent Solar Sister at the 2017 Sustainable Energy for All Forum. While there, she shared her experiences and challenges with sector leaders and innovators and was able to meet other entrepreneurs like herself from around the world. “Hilaria was one of the earliest Solar Sister entrepreneurs in Tanzania, introduced to us by our partners at African Wildlife Foundation. She is a wonderful example of a strong woman who lives Solar Sister’s values. She has not only improved her and her family’s life by being a Solar Sister, but also has been a leader to make sure that other women in her community benefit from the ripple effect of Solar Sister’s green business opportunity.” – Neha Misra, Solar Sister’s Chief Collaboration Officer Hilaria also received 1,000 EURO as part of the ENERGIA award in recognition of her leadership and dedication to empowering women in her community. Hilaria plans to use the funds to take English lessons, add capital to her business and pay for her daughter’s school fees…

Oumy wins ENERGIA Women Entrepreneurship Award

7 June 2017

Oumy Ngom is one of the proud winners of the ENERGIA Women Entrepreneurship Award, getting the chance to share her experience at the SEforALL Forum in New York, 3 – 5 April 2017, and going home with a prize of €1,000 to support her business. ENERGIA rewarded five women from Asia and Africa to recognise their outstanding work and encourage them to perform even better in the future. Oumy is one of those women who, having demonstrated her motivation and desire to develop economic activities within her community, won the opportunity to share her experience as a woman entrepreneur in Eastern Senegal at the 2017 SEforALL Forum in New York, and go home with a cash prize to support the development of her business. A sales agent of solar lanterns and improved cookstoves in the outskirts of Tambacounda, Senegal, she also runs a food processing unit operate by her women’s group. When I started selling solar lights and improved cookstoves, I didn’t realise I could also use these products to increase the production of my agricultural processing unit. The stoves are great for processing jams and others products in a timely, healthy manner. With the prize, I would now like to invest in more renewables such as solar panels to power the unit. All nominees have been actively engaged in the Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme for at least one year and have been continuously running a profitable business for at least three quarters of a year. They have all demonstrated clear and…

Oumy Ngom makes energy available to her community through the sale of solar lamps and improved cookstoves

31 May 2017

Born in Tambacounda in 1971, Oumy was one of the few girls of her generation to attend secondary schooling in the region. Widowed for 17 years, she took care of the education and subsistence of her children – which made her want to support other women in difficulty like her. In 2005, Oumy became President of the CESIRI group, which aims to empower women through the processing of forest products, fruits and vegetables – all the while improving nutrition in the region. Today, CESIRI is a network of women including 47 organisations and 1,310 members active in the processing of local agricultural products such as couscous, thiakry, corn, arraw, papaya jam, concentrated syrup of bissap, ginger and fonio. The network also carries out community health activities, including awareness raising against neo-natal mortality, family planning and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. CESIRI also provides literacy classes for its members and anyone wishing to benefit from their services. After years of hard work, Oumy is now working with the women in the network to make clean energy available people in Tambacounda, through the sale of solar lamps and improved cookstoves. I joined the group to bring change, focussing first on malnutrition in the community and then on health and education. Now I want to do something about the energy shortages that we face and change the quality of life for people throughout the region. – Oumy Ngom Hard working, she now hopes to build a fully equipped solar processing unit to avoid regular cuts that occur through the national electricity grid. Solar energy offers a reliable and cost-effective option for companies whose…

Economic crisis in Kédougou hits hard on micro energy businesses

12 May 2017

Due to the economic crisis that hit the region of Kédougou last year, Energy 4 Impact was forced to end its operations in the area. The region’s economy depends mostly on gold mining, but with one of the main mines closing in 2016, the area’s economic stability took a hit, making it a challenge for entrepreneurs to sell clean energy products to customers in their local communities. Fatoumata and the other 50 women entrepreneurs that we supported in the region could no longer sustain their businesses. Very few of them could provide the minimum required up-front capital or collaterals (25%) to enable them to get a loan or repay credit to the suppliers. Energy 4 Impact now concentrates its efforts on neighbouring Tambacounda, supporting 160 women in the sale of energy services and products, as well as productive use of energy through solar refrigeration. Click here to follow the stories of Germaine Dione and Oumy Ngom in Tambacounda.

My dream is to build a house for my cattle.

17 February 2017

Halima Mdee worked very hard in 2016 to grow her business from the ground up and was able to deliver clean energy access to 280 people in her community. Halima’s bestselling product is the d.Light S2, a small, affordable solar lantern that replaces the need for kerosene in rural households. Halima herself uses this light and saves 2,500 TZS a week in lighting costs alone. Halima started off this new year by increasing her stock of the S2 immediately. Halima hopes to earn enough money this year to build a house for her cattle to better protect them from predators. Her main strategy will be to use her bicycle from Solar Sister to find new markets and reach communities that are even farther off the grid. My dream is to build a house for my cattle. I hope that I will sell more products so I can accomplish my dream. – Halima Mdee

A complete house of our own!

30 January 2017

It was an ordinary working day back in 2014, when my husband and I had been working in the field until evening time. We were exhausted after a long day of work so were keen to head straight home afterwards. As we walked down to our house, we could see the sky turning grey and smoke filling up the air. We wondered what was causing this, but could not figure it out. But as we arrived home, we could not believe what we saw: our house was on fire! It was a huge fire and we were so shocked. Our neighbours were panicking and trying to help by pouring water over the house, but it wasn’t much help. We tried to save as many things as we could, but in the end all we could do was stand helplessly and watched our house completely burn down. For us, it was not just a house, it was a traditional house. We built it according to our traditional custom so it was very special. Until today, I still cannot understand how it happened. Did I forget to turn the stove off? Did a cat knock over a lit kerosene lamp? We will never know. So much was taken away, but we have to live with it now. After spending several months in one of our relative’s houses, we gradually started to save money to build a new house of our own. Because the cost to build a traditional house is very expensive,…

Hilaria’s 2017 goal: Taking her business to the next level

18 January 2017

Hilaria Paschal, a Solar Sister entrepreneur in Tanzania since 2013, wants to focus on strengthening and expanding her network of customers and partners in 2017 to take her business to the next level. With the help of her team of Solar Sister entrepreneurs in Babati and her husband, Hilaria’s goal is to earn enough profit this year to repair her house and create capital for her basket weaving business. In 2016, Hilaria focused her efforts on helping her customers climb the energy ladder. She went back to many customers that had already purchased solar lanterns and helped them buy solar mobile chargers, reducing the time they spent and costs they incurred previously by needing to travel into town to pay to charge their phones. Hilaria’s advice to new Solar Sister entrepreneurs this year from her experiences, “Do not give up. Be positive. And work hard!” Hilaria wants to be more proactive this year in overcoming challenges she faces in her business and wants to work together with her Sisterhood team in the Mwada village to do this. The Mwada Sisterhood Group has been working together for over three years and the women also support each other in their basket weaving businesses along with the Solar Sister businesses. Together, the women have fostered love and trust in Mwada. “The community prays for us because we have brought a different lifestyle to their homes,” said Basilisa, a Solar Sister entrepreneur and Sisterhood team member of Hilaria.

Germaine diversifies her sales thanks to a new solar fridge

12 December 2016

Germaine and her women’s group have been operating their banana processing unit for years, but were limited to selling dry and powdered products due to lack of storage. “We started this processing unit to avoid leaving crops to spoil in the sun. But without the appropriate equipment we couldn’t keep the bananas fresh and had to turn them into dry products”, says Germaine. Through a partnership between Energy 4 Impact and solar equipment provider Bonergie, they received their own solar fridge and freezer to help increase productivity and diversify sales. The group has now gone from producing and selling flour, couscous, dried fruits and banana products to fruit juices, milk and fresh water. “The arrival of the fridge, coupled with Energy 4 Impact’s business development support, helped us better understand both our sales and customers’ needs. We are now selling more and have made an increase in profit of 153 euros within the first month,” says Germaine.

Improved Cookstoves: Road to recognition and empowerment

6 December 2016

Ms. Bimala Rai, our empowerment journey candidate from Rampur, Udaypur is actively involved in the promotion of Improved Cookstoves (ICS) with her business partner, Ms. Kalpana Rai. Since our meeting, few months back, Bimala has installed about 200 ICS. “There is growing demand and together with Kalpana we can install six to seven ICS per day in areas where houses are closer. We charge five euro for each installation. To help us meet the demand in time, we have even employed five non-salaried helpers. There is still demand of at least 1,000 ICS in my working area. This is good for us”. The enthusiasm oozing from the duo is infectious. The shy lady of March 2016 is today noticeably confident. One could hardly hear her voice then, but today she is seen voicing her opinion at meetings and in conversations with her clients. Together, the ICS entrepreneur duo has extended their ICS services as active dealers of the metallic components of ICS in neighbouring villages of the district. Besides installation work, they have already sold around 850 ICS metallic components in the area through other stove masters. Ms. Bimala stated ‘We have a joint account in the cooperative; we deposit our overall income from the ICS business in this account. The money is used as an investment fund, mainly to place orders for the ICS metallic components.’ Reiterating this, the Executive Secretary of Shayogi Bachhat Tatha Reen Sahakari Sanstha Ltd, the local financial institution, who states: “We are pleasantly surprised…

The Wonder Woman Song

4 November 2016

My work as a kindergarten teacher has pushed me to be creative. In the class, I have to keep things fun and dynamic for the students. I teach through singing and dancing, and I realised it’s a great way to get everybody in a good mood. So, I decided to make a song for the Wonder Women – to keep them motivated and happy while doing the Wonder Women work! – Ibu Dasri, Lombok

Halima’s growing business

17 October 2016

In Halima’s recent interview in August, she pointed to transport as a key challenge in expanding her business. This month, Halima received a bicycle from Solar Sister! This is part of Solar Sister’s ongoing effort to provide promising entrepreneurs with business boosters to increase their income and help reach more customers in the last mile. The bicycle will help me to go to farther places and I can make more profit because I believe I will make more sales. – Halima Mdee Before, Halima was relying on public transportation to run her businesses. Now, Halima says she will not only use the bicycle to help grow her Solar Sister business but will also use the bicycle to sell more vegetables.

Poor weather conditions and waning gold industry affect Fatoumata’s solar lamp business

25 August 2016

Fatoumata has been facing challenges most of her life, but has always shown determination to overcome them. So when economic crisis hit her region a few months ago, she fought to find ways to keep her business going and continue spreading the word about the benefits of solar lighting. How has the business been going since you started your activities in spring? Things have been going quite slow. Unfortunately, nobody can predict how the economy will go and the region I live in, Kedougou, has taken quite a big hit. Weather conditions led to poor harvests for farmers over winter, and also affected the gold panning industry, one of the main sources of income in the region. Despite this, I am very happy that I still managed to make some sales! To date, I have managed to sell a third of the lamps I initially ordered and am now working on ways to sell the remaining products. What are your future plans to increase sales? I think support in marketing may well increase my sales; with support from Energy 4 Impact I would like to develop advertisements and posters with information about my location, my contact details and even my picture, so that people can recognise me! Villages are quite far from one another in this area – so this kind of promotional material will help me expand my client base. I am also considering investing in a motorcycle, so I can start delivering products to the most remote areas….

I knew that briquettes were a great idea and I could see it as a viable business

25 August 2016

“I am a mother of 2 grown up boys. I used to work in a curio and artifact shop in Nairobi. Every time I opened the shop I would wish that I had my own business. I was certain that the skills I had been exposed to would make me some money one day. The first time I decided to get in to business, I started with a meat mincer. The income I got from this would supplement my employment salary and in any case I needed to get my boys through school. I had also learnt to knit floor rags, carpets and mats. I would then seek a market to sell these wares. I stopped the meat mincing business because I could not fetch as many customers to run it effectively and continued with the rags and a poultry farming. I kept rabbits and chicken. The weather did not favour my poultry business and at one point I had a total loss – 250 chicks from Newcastle disease. I knew I needed a new less risky business. When I finally quit employment and focused on business, I found a good market for my woolen and polyester rags. I made good money from this but it was not to last. Soon, cheap imports from China and other countries began to flood the market. I found myself begin to struggle. In fact at one point I wanted to quit and seek employment but my father advised me against it. He could…

One day I will distribute stoves on my own

24 August 2016

“When I trained as a Grade1 draper, my drive and passion was towards self-employment. I then met my husband Samuel Kariuki, then a saw miller in the village, and our union was blessed with two boys. I soon realised that my tailoring would not yield the satisfaction I was looking for. At the same time, felt that I went on to tea picking like everybody else did and delivering my produce to the Chinga Tea Factory. Soon I found that I easily built relationships with the management of the tea factory allowing me to volunteer in many of the social activities organized. When Farmer Field Schools were held in my village, I attended them enthusiastically. Here I learnt skills like crop production and tending to tea, keeping livestock and so on. But it was the introduction to the energy efficient stoves as a business that really changed my view of work. WEEK Project staff taught me how to install energy efficient stoves in homes in the region. I got conversant with the types of stoves I could install and even sell to the residents in my locality. The tea factory imposed a rebate to each of its clients who had installed the energy efficient stoves and components of its environment programme thus encouraging members to request for the products. This created an opportunity for us as promoters of the initiative and our commissions made good business sense for me. I envision that one day I will be able to distribute…

Overcoming initial challenges

18 August 2016

It is late June 2016 when we meet Sita again. It has been nine months since she received the business skills training, Training of Starting Entrepreneurs (TOSE). Her spice grinding business has been officially registered at the Cottage and Small Industries Development Board. Sita and her three partners are very excited as they have just received an additional loan of NPR. 100,000 (equivalent to Euro 850) to meet the operational cost of her business, from the same Board. The loan was provided without any collateral and with a low interest rate, which makes the financial burden manageable. However, the first challenges already have presented themselves. External factors play a role Back in May 2016, when the team visited her, Sita had to adjust her initially high expectations of her spice grinding business. “Unfortunately, we are not yet able to put our enterprise into action yet” she told us. “The machine arrived a few weeks ago, but we had to send it back to the shop to get the right one. Now, monsoon is coming near, the roads will be bad and we will not be able to transport the machine. It will be difficult to reach our village.” She further emphasised “This will delay our work. I am worried with the delay; however, I am still motivated to launch my enterprise.” Another change in plans was the decision to move the grinding mill from its initial location to Sita’s home, where she also runs a small grocery shop. This location…

Meet Halima Mdee from Tanzania

15 August 2016

Halima Mdee is a new entrepreneur who joined Solar Sister in Tanzania in late 2015. Before she became a Solar Sister, Halima mainly sold vegetables from her home farm as a source of income. Halima is a bold and determined woman who is excited to have the opportunity to bring light to her community, and to build her own business. Many Solar Sister entrepreneurs start small, just selling one or two lamps at a time. So did Halima, but she’s growing her business steadily. We can’t wait to see what this year holds for Halima and her clean-energy business! Below is our interview with Halima, where we learn more about why she decided to join Solar Sister and what her hopes and dreams are for her business. Why did you decide to become a Solar Sister entrepreneur? I decided to be a Solar Sister entrepreneur because I like to work with community, especially women. Also [I wanted] to bring positive changes in my community. What are your goals for your business? My aim is to help community and to become a good entrepreneur. Who helped you in getting the business going and keeping it running? Where do you go for help? It’s through Victoria [the Solar Sister staff for Halima’s area that provides business training and support] who give me some training. Also I learn from other entrepreneurs in different area. What were the most difficult issues you had to overcome and what did you do about it? I can’t control perception of the customers toward price of product, but…

1 August 2016

“A Technology fair or ‘Tech Fair’ is a showcase event to introduce the technologies to community members. During the tech fair, people are able to test and try out the products themselves and choose which ones they want. It’s a great way to sell the technologies! I managed to make a lot of sales tonight, as the solar lights shone brightly and attracted a lot of people.” — Mama Emi Tech Fairs, organised by Kopernik and/or by the Wonder Woman independently. Since joining Kopernik, Mama Emi has done about 15 Tech Fairs both for her own community and neighbouring communities. This is the first time she had a Tech Fair at night and she sold more than 10 technologies, where usually she sells 4-5 technologies during a day-time Tech Fair.

Seeing things positively is the best way to overcome challenges

26 July 2016

Hilaria has many years of experience with the ups and downs of business and how to overcome challenges. This year, her biggest challenge has been caring for a sick child, which took up a lot of time and caused her to dip into her savings and business capitol. In July, the Solar Sister team supported her by bringing “movie night” to her town, and showing the movie where Hilaria was featured as a Solar Sister entrepreneur as part of Solar Sister’s Women+Energy:WESHINE campaign. That night, Hilaria was able to kickstart her business with new sales. You can watch the video on the YouTube channel and see the full WESHINE campaign. Read Hilaria’s first interview, here, to see how she became a Solar Sister and her advice for other women entrepreneurs. Read her new interview, below, to learn about her advice for overcoming business challenges. You have been an entrepreneur for several years now, and you know that there are some times that are good and some times that are hard. Can you tell me what some of the most challenging parts of running your own business are? Or a recent example? Challenges include low capital compared to customer’s demand, diseases that lead to the use of capital, and business being seasonal. During farming most customers invest in farming and can’t buy products in large quantity. Also customers sometimes want products on credit. You’ve managed to stick with it for many years despite those challenges. What have you learned are the best ways to overcome challenges? Being proactive, also…

With better equipment we will be able to increase production

30 June 2016

Ibu Dasri: From a sanitarian to a Wonder Woman

14 June 2016

In East Lombok where I live, knowledge of good hygiene and sanitation is very minimal, nearing nothing at all. A lot of people do not have a toilet in their house and open defecation still happens in many areas. Additionally, many people still drink and cook with unclean water from various water sources. Health is my biggest concern for the community and health problems in this area mainly result from poor hygiene practices. That’s when I decided to join local NGO Yayasan Masyarakat Peduli (YMP) and my my work educating my community about hygiene and sanitation began. I went from one village to another to introducing this new idea to people. I guess I had an advantage because I had already been working in the local health center. People knew me but it was not always an easy process. Thankfully, slowly people became aware that a healthy life only starts with hygiene and good sanitation. YMP later partnered up with Kopernik to raise awareness about the importance of drinking clean and safe water. And that was when I first saw one of Kopernik technologies, the Nazava Water Filter. This water filter really helps people in the community to access clean and safe drinking water, as there is no hassle in boiling water. Many people used to drink directly from the well. Of course, this is not safe but they did not want to waste their time and energy to boil the water first. Thanks to Nazava Water Filter, people can…

Mama Emi: My very first training

14 June 2016

After my first (and believe me, surprising) sales of two cookstoves, I asked Widi to sign me up in the Wonder Women program. Not long after, Widi came to my house carrying a couple of books and papers. He explained to me that if I were to join the program, I should receive some training about all the technology available and how to manage the sales. As I am naturally curious, I couldn’t wait to see what other wonders these technologies could do. Widi then took out several other technologies and demonstrated their use and benefits one-by-one. It was as I had expected. These other technologies presented the same kinds of benefits as the cookstove; saving a lot of energy, time and costs. Of course after hearing the explanation, I bought some solar lights and a water filter for my own personal use. The water filter really saves my time and energy, now I don’t have to boil water, I just have to put water into the filter, and it’s ready to drink! I bought some small solar lights because the electricity in my village isn’t that all reliable, and I can save the cost of electricity bill. Widi showed me how to do simple bookkeeping, to track sales and the repayment money. This was the most important part, as now I can ensure I have the record of who has paid and who hasn’t. He also explained how to fill in the sales receipts, so both the buyer and…

The story of Sita Gurung

25 April 2016

“I am Sita Gurung, 33 years of age and a resident of Dumredharapani village, Khotang district, one of the most remote districts of Nepal. I am educated upto 10th standard. Married at the age of 24, I kept myself engaged in my own cultural/traditional business of weaving. I was always concerned about the wastage of the locally produced high value crops like ginger due to lack of knowledge on different uses as well as absence of local market for the crop. A much sought opportunity came by with the Training of Starting Entrepreneurs (TOSE) offered by Community Rural Electrification Entity (CREE) and WEE-Nepal Project. I applied for the TOSE Training to garner knowledge on entrepreneurship. The 5-days training, helped build up my confidence and boosted up my determination to run a spice grinding enterprise. Having analyzed the market situation, I was convinced that an enterprise based on ginger was appropriate for the women of my community and I was more determined to set the enterprise as an example for other women as well. To commence my entrepreneurial journey, I got together a group of friends, with myself taking the lead for running the enterprise. The timely business mentoring support from the Business Development Coordinator of the Project and the skilled training on the use of different locally available crops and fruit has further fueled my determination. Presently I have officially registered the enterprise in the Office of Cottage and Small Industry, Khotang district and acquired the Permanent Account Number (PAN…

Meet Fatoumata Keita, a solar lighting entrepreneur

25 April 2016

Ms. Bimala Rai, ICS Entrepreneur

29 March 2016

I am Bimala Rai, 32 years of age and living in Maina Maini village, Udayapur district of Nepal. I am a single parent of two children: a daughter and a son. I have been separated from my husband since last five years. To sustain my children I started operating a small shop in the street selling ‘chatpate’ – a spicy fast food. Fortunately, I came to know about improved cookstoves and the training being organized by WEE-Nepal Project in July 2015. I was selected in the training which provided me a new skill and also a key to boost my confidence. I looked upon this skill as a prime source of income for my children’s upbringing. Today I work together with Kalpana Rai another WEE-Nepal trainee and I am so encouraged to move ahead with this work. To start with the installation myself and Kalpana Rai have jointly borrowed a loan of NPR 150,000 from Sahayougi Saving and Credit Cooperative, a Local Financial Institute. We have invested this amount into place orders for the metallic components for the stove so as to expedite selling and installation of the stoves. I am very excited and hopeful in this endeavor. However the challenge is on demand collection and encouraging behavior change; “Now I understand what the importance of improved cookstoves in our kitchen is. But do I have to pay for the cookstoves?” these are common questions asked by the village community when we interact with them. I need to motivate them…

Hilaria brings light, hope, oportunity

8 March 2016

How did you get the idea to start your business? Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur? There is no electricity in this area or in neighboring villages. I learned about Solar Sister and then received training from them. With solar light I can weave my baskets even at night. Who helped you in getting the business going and keeping it running? Where do you go for help? I started myself with capital support from my husband What were the most difficult issues you had to overcome and what did you do about it? What problem are you trying to solve currently? Competition, which I am tackling by building trust in the community. I am now popular in this business and in so many villages surrounding this area. Also, our products have replacement warranty, which is not provided by our competitors. Were you ever at a stage where you wanted to give up and close down your business? Never What should other (women) entrepreneurs try to avoid? They should remain active and not stay idle at home waiting for their husband to bring everything. This is not good for the future. I also suggest that they avoid credit sales since it has high risks with delays in customer payments. What were the best three things you ever did for growing your business? (1) Participated in business skills development and sales practices training organized by Solar Sister; (2) participated in the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair & Exhibition; (3)…

Meet Germaine Dione and her women’s group

29 February 2016

18 February 2016

Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep track of all sales, installments, and payments. So, I always record all of Kopernik’s technology sales history in this book – that way not a single Rupiah will go missing.

How it all started

18 February 2016

It started out just like any other day: I opened the small shop in my house and spent the afternoon weaving traditional Flores ikat. My house is located on the main road of Bena Traditional Village. People who are passing through or visiting the ancient village often stop to buy snacks, drinks, or even ikat from my shop. Little did I know, that sunny day in June turned out to be the start of a new venture. It was a little after midday, when a friendly man on a motorbike stopped in front of my house. I could tell that he was resting from a long journey. He was carrying some sort of stove on the back of his bike. I was curious so I asked him, “Hey, what is that?” It was a biomass cookstove and according to the man – his name is Widi, Kopernik’s Senior Program Officer – it’s much safer and more efficient compared to our traditional three stone fire. As a mother who spend a lot of time in the kitchen, of course I was interested! Widi then introduced me to Kopernik and their Wonder Women program. He told me I could sell the cookstoves, and other technologies such as solar lamps and water filters. I would earn a margin from every sale. I got even more interested. I actually have no sales experience, but since I need no capital to start, I might as well give it a try! I decided to by one…

A teachers’s influence reaches far beyond the classroom

17 February 2016

Ibu Dasri is an enthusiastic 45-year old wife and mother of three. As a teacher at the Early Childhood Education and Development Centre (PAUD), she is on a mission to ensure all children in her village have access to proper education. She also strives to give the people in her village access to clean energy technologies. Over the past year, Kopernik have seen how Ibu Dasri’s influence has spread from her neighbours and friends, to the whole community. IBU DASRI AS AN EDUCATOR Each morning, the Early Childhood Education and Development Centre (PAUD) comes alive with fun activities, as around 20 enthusiastic children take part in the morning exercise made up of dancing and singing together in circles. Ibu Dasri leads this activity every morning. She loves to spread cheerful and positive vibes around. As the heat from the morning sun intensifies, they e into the classroom, where Ibu Dasri will teach them basic writing and reading skills, drawing and colouring, and check their homework. Ibu Dasri teaches them about the importance of hygiene too. “Some kids have long nails, and you know what long nails do? They spread bacteria” says Ibu Dasri. She also ensures the students eat healthy food by encouraging them to bring their own food from home. “Homemade foods are healthier, and their mother knows what’s best to eat for them too, rather than buying food from hawkers with a risk of getting diseases because of the low hygiene quality”, says Ibu Dasri. At break time,…