| Solar Lamps, Cookstoves and a 'Bouncy Castle of Excrement'
Kiva Microfunds, which raises about $1. Between May 15 and May 25, 1,034 lenders pitched in almost $50,000 for a single loan to be used on Barefoot Power solar lamps in Tanzania, where five out of six people have no access to electricity and are forced to burn kerosene for heat and light. The loans are typically paid off in three to six months, and money saved on kerosene can go toward school fees, medical expenses and healthy food. "When we think about these larger loans, we think about a larger explanation -- not just of that person and that loan, but of the issue we're trying to solve. "People are worried about the planet, and as we move from 7 billion to 10 billion [people], we need to figure out a way that everybody can have a better quality of life," said Premal Shah, president of Kiva. Kiva loans typically originate in wealthier countries, from a network of lenders that often give just $25 a person. Most people in Tanzania spend between $1 and $2 a week on kerosene and candles, whereas a solar lamp that provides four or five hours of illumination a night costs about $20 and typically lasts two or three years, according to Joyce DeMucci, a spokeswoman for Barefoot Power. That model is expanding. "People have this perception of Kiva as just small loans, but we are looking to change that," Shah said. In this case: abolishing kerosene. |
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Solar Lamps, Cookstoves and a 'Bouncy Castle of Excrement'
