Eradicating Energy Poverty in Haiti

Challenge

In Haiti, 75% of households (7.5 million people) lack access to electricity and many spend 10% of their income on kerosene and candles for lighting and even more for phone charging and charcoal for cooking. In other words, Haiti's poor pay a premium for low-quality energy services which in turn are not only expensive but bad for their health and bad for the environment.

Solution

For nearly five years, EarthSpark has been working in Haiti to develop sustainable businesses, and through our local brand Eneji Pwop, we have built a trusted network of over 100 local entrepreneurs. Our resellers have sold over 10,000 products (solar electricity and improved cookstoves) and served over 50,000 people. We also launched Haiti's first prepay micro-grid and are now expanding that grid with solar power and smart meters to provide town-wide affordable, reliable access to electricity.

Long-Term Impact

EarthSpark has ambitious plans for the next three years to expand its retail and micro-grid activities, first in the southern region, then throughout all of Haiti with an overarching goal to provide energy access to over 3 million people. EarthSpark works with local community organizations and local and national governments to promote clean energy adoption and to ensure that activities are aligned with government objectives and will have long-term sustainability.

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).

Resources