Meaningful Making: Eco-Innovations in Africa

We are excited to announce that three High School girls from Kenya developed a Solar Project and visited Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June!

In rural areas, only 5% of people have access to electricity. Even in urban areas, only 50% of people have access to electricity and they face challenges such as frequent blackouts and light rationing. In order to bring more affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly energy solutions to rural households, Sharon Muthoni (17), Ann Karime (17), and Emmah Karanja (18) from Mary Leakey Girls High School in Kenya have decided to look into solar thin film technology and infuse them onto the iron sheet roof of off-grid households. They hope that this will improve lighting, cooking and charging phones.

In June, the three girls travelled to USA for the first time in their lives to attend the Lemelson-MIT Program's 2015 EurekaFest. The girls were exposed to life-changing mentors from MIT Photovoltaic Research Laboratory and MIT Media Lab, and had the opportunity to showcase their Thin Film Solar Project alongside the ‎InvenTeams from Lemelson-MIT Program. It was a fantastic cross-cultural experience for students from both sides of the country.

After returning to Nairobi, the girls furthered their prototype and presented their project at the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)'s ‎ISHOW where they got to witness some great social entrepreneurs working in Kenya while at the same time showcasing their very own invention in front of them.

The three girls are set to pilot their project in Siaya County (located in the South West part of Kenya) where the county is heavily exposed to sunlight.