Hamad is one of dozens of “solar mamas” trained in Zanzibar by Barefoot College International, a global nonprofit, through a program that brings light to rural communities and provides jobs for local women. So far in Zanzibar, it has lit 1,845 homes.
The program selects middle-aged women, most with little or no formal education, from villages without electricity and trains them over six months to become solar power technicians. It is one of a small number of programs in Africa including Solar Sister.
The women return to their communities with at least 50 sets of household solar panel kits as well as the skills and equipment to set them up and keep them running.
Barefoot College International focuses on middle-aged women because they tend to have the strongest links to their communities while not often involved in intensive child care.
“We want to train women who become change makers,” said Brenda Geofrey, the director of Barefoot College International Zanzibar.