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Arise and Shine Bakery, Kenya
YouTube. Link to EcoAgTube coming soon!
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Dear solar friends,
Why hasn’t solar thermal taken off?
This question has been with us every day since we started Lytefire.
I say it hasn’t taken off, because we don’t see solar concentrators everywhere, yet.
Yes, there are many solar cookers, and yes, there are a few very large power plants concentrating sunlight to produce electricity, but… the entrepreneurs and DIYers using Lytefire: We are still very very few.
Where do we go from here?
I once heard that a new technology can only grow if it can work as a luxury product, or a military good. It’s true that it is hard to produce cheaply, when you produce little. But does everything need to be industrialized to reach people?
What would happen, if we had the option to create high-temperature, efficient, powerful energy to power our needs, ourselves?
This was the idea behind the Lytefire design: Something that can be built locally, maintained by the people themselves. Something that creates real energy independence!
This idea of a human-scale tech that, paired with entrepreneurship, could spread differently from other technologies. And not only tackle the innovation issue, but also the social, political, climate and economic issues surrounding energy. This is what we have been working for over the last 14 years. We want to prove that not only renewable energy access can be solved, it can be solved in a way that empowers people.
So, in the background, since a few months, we have been working on a project to capture and bundle all the knowledge and experience around Lytefire for the next generation of entrepreneurs and DIYers.
And these days we are happy to release the very first results of this ongoing work!
Through this newsletter, we are releasing the interview we did with the Arise and Shine Group in Kenya, located in Salgaa town, about halfway between Nairobi and Lake Victoria.
This is one of the groups that we were able to equip, train and incubate thanks to the support of the Jansen PrimeSteps foundation. For us, their persistence and success in this tough climate has meant a lot over the last months! Get to know them for yourself:
Also, I myself had to get in front of the camera 🙂 and we will start to release a few clips from that session in the coming days as well.
The first post is already out on LinkedIn here, and on Instagram, Facebook and Mastodon. More to come in the coming days, so follow us!
We are working on finding the right format for all this knowledge to put it together into a new package. We are planning to crowdfund around that to accelerate things. These days we are also reviewing our DIY construction plans, how we provide support at-distance, as well as how we do our humanitarian work with our NGO clients and partners. Wherever we can do to enable more people with Lytefire, we want to do it!
So it’s a good moment if you have feedback or questions about Lytefire!
In the end, I think that solar thermal hasn’t taken off because nobody has made it known enough, appealing enough, easy enough, powerful enough. The Lytefire is already powerful. We can make it easier. And eventually, we’ll get the word out!
Have a great rest of the day,
Urs
-- Urs Riggebach Co-Founder, Head of Ops & Board Chair Visit our website | Lytefire
You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and YouTube. This newsletter is meant to inform you about our company, the spread of Lytefire solar thermal solutions and the educational programs. If you do not wish to receive it, you can unsubscribe below. Your newsletter data is not used for anything other than receiving this newsletter. See our Privacy Policy and General Terms © 2026 Lytefire, Toimitilat Tampere CT - Pakkahuoneenaukio 2 - 33100 Tampere - Finland.
Arte (Lytefire in Documentary 18:00-23:30)
Bonnes nouvelles de la planète
S’emparer de l’énergie solaire
"L’énergie solaire, qui ne génère pas de gaz à effet de serre, gagne du terrain. Éclairage urbain sur l’île indonésienne de Florès, coopérative fournissant de l’électricité verte en Forêt-Noire, boulangerie solaire en France : zoom sur des projets qui font avancer la transition énergétique."
Until June 14th, you can watch the documentary for free in French and in German. See minutes 18:00-23:30.
Read press article ➚
Dear solar friends,
Since the beginning of the year, we have been more outspoken on social media. Solar baking, solar cooking and what Lytefire does… it is still not well known and we think it’s important to work on that too.
Entrepreneurs like Joan in Kenya, Prudence and Benedict in Uganda, Michel, Denis, Manon et Quentin, Vincent, Romain and many others (and their teams!) are some of the most courageous entrepreneurs out there, and they work with a Lytefire.
Hopefully we can get all of them more known. ARTE, the French/German TV channel, has released a documentary talking about innovation and the energy transition globally, and Lytefire is part of it. Until June 14th, you can watch the documentary for free in French and in German. See minutes 18:00-23:30.
Beyond that, the global news is depressing. Energy costs are rising, the climate is heating, and geopolitically much damage is done.
But for us this is all the more reason to push for local, sovereign, regenerative energy as the basis of dignified, sustainable jobs and livelihoods. On one hand we get to do this with our humanitarian clients and partners, on the other hand, since the beginning we have been empowering DIYers to build Lytefire wherever they are.
In this global context we think that DIY is, more than ever, an important strategy to disseminate Lytefire to new places. It’s all about empowering individuals directly with the knowledge they need to build their energy access.
One thing we have learned from the DIYers is that people are creative and always interested in exploring new possibilities. Many have asked if they can build both the oven and the cooker, not just one or the other. This is why we have decided to repackage our construction guides in a different way. One is the starter package, aimed at those starting out in the simplest way, only interested in the cooker. And the other one, the builder package, is for those more ambitious who want to build either the cooker, the oven or both. This package comes with dedicated support hours (via phone, whatsapp, email) to help you succeed your local build providing real, human advice tailored to you.
We are also working on improving the DIY experience in other ways. We’ll tell you more about it in our next newsletter (you will probably receive 2 or 3 before Summer).
One more thing: Some of you have known us for 14 years now and you know that we are a team of doers, not very inclined to marketing. For years, people have sent us nice comments, pictures, messages and now we have decided to bring light on all the successes. The result is a new website reflecting the growing number of Lytefire users. Check it, and share it!
We need you: Contact us for a project, put us in touch with motivated people and connect us to the media. Thank you!
Looking back on the last 24 Lytefires installed
In the rest of this newsletter we want to recap our successful and less successful projects in the humanitarian sector globally over the last months.
The humanitarian sector is at stake everywhere. Still, 24 Lytefire PRO have been installed in Kenya, Uganda, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Angola with our humanitarian partners and clients.
We are grateful to all our NGOs clients and users, our investors, our team and board members, and to Metco, our Kenyan manufacturer.
In East Africa, we have continued to work in Kenya and Uganda thanks to the support of PrimeSteps Foundation. The Foundation is focused on poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship. Joan Arwa delivered great trainings to allow the creation of 6 solar baking activities powered by Lytefire. The groups have been identified with the help of World Vision Kenya. In order to facilitate appropriation, each community had to invest in the project by preparing a kitchen, work environments and a flat and steady ground. The baking activities have started in Sego, Funuyla and Salgaa. Some groups are only women entrepreneurs and we were really happy to see that they were able to install the Lytefire by themselves. The Arise & Shine group is one of the most promising ones. We have captured their experience and we’ll soon share it with you.
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In Ethiopia, Stem Synergy has produced and deployed 7 Lytefire units. They have been very courageous in doing so because of the local conflicts, the rise of material prices and the discontinuation of government programs meant to support youth entrepreneurship through microloans.
In Angola, we have been very pleased to see that each solar oven has been properly installed by the local teams with minimal support from us. What happened with the UNDP is exactly what we wish to encourage in the future! We love to see people being autonomous. It gets the local people involved directly, rooting the knowledge locally. That is also why we want to reinforce our DIY approach this year.
The 3 ovens have been installed for the UNDP in Benguela, Lua Norte and Uige.
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In West Africa, things have been more challenging, especially in Senegal. ADSCAL Association contacted us a long time ago to equip 3 small bakeries in the village of Agnam. Another oven has been installed for a group of women baking biscuits and cakes. The women’s oven is in use, but the switch to solar baking operations for the other ones has been very challenging. For once, we have experienced a long series of blockages: from delays in the delivery to issues during installation. Add to this bad weather conditions, with hazy weather that is not allowing full performance. We’re still working on it to find a solution. In Guinea-Bissau, 3 solar ovens have also been installed in Bafata, Cacheu and Oio with SWISSAID.
In Haiti. For those of you who have supported Mackenson in 2024 with us to create Pain Soleil, here is an update.
When Makenson reached out to us in late 2023 with a half-built Lytefire we were honestly really touched. We decided to support him like we did so many times with other entrepreneurs. Our community pulled through and within a few weeks we had the money together and sent it. Even before that we sent him our latest construction guide to support his work.
After the campaign Mackenson managed to build the Lytefire and he created the terrasse for it, we have received these images below after we transferred the funds. But sadly he was not able to continue. He must have used a part of the money to support his family instead of investing it in the bakery because there have been several raids in Port-au-Prince, with lots of violence. The government left in January 2024, right when our crowdfunding campaign for him was over. Since then gangs have been ruling the country because of political instability. Now, there’s a businessman who’s served as the acting prime minister since 2024, who became the country’s sole leader a few weeks ago. Later in 2024 we received that update and he mentioned he is using the oven for his family and for the neighbors. Then we didn’t hear anything more about the bakery. Of course the situation in Haiti is terrible. Maybe he will be able to restart activities, we don’t know.
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Europe: France
Yes, this newsletter is already long, but wait.
3 women have decided to start their solar bakeries. They are inspired by the examples of NeoLoco in Normandy and Barasol in Brittany. Mathilde et Tiphaine, are starting the solar bakery Facettes, in West France. This Summer, Naig will launch Pamie, the first solar bakery on the island of Belle-Île, in Brittany. Both got their Lytefire built by Grégoire, in Grenoble.
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☀️
Have a great Sunday,
Eva
-- Eva Wissenz Founder & Managing Director Visit our website | Lytefire
You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and YouTube. This newsletter is meant to inform you about our company, the spread of Lytefire solar thermal solutions and the educational programs. If you do not wish to receive it, you can unsubscribe below. Your newsletter data is not used for anything other than receiving this newsletter. See our Privacy Policy and General Terms © 2026 Lytefire, Toimitilat Tampere CT - Pakkahuoneenaukio 2 - 33100 Tampere - Finland.
On DIY building in wood
I was a small kid when I built my first DIY project. Back then, our winters still had real snow.
Every year.
Back then, I already knew how to ski, but we didn’t own skis.
So I decided to make them myself. I was like 8 years old.
Skis are normally made out of "composite materials", a fancy way of saying: impossible to recycle and impossible to build yourself. But I had seen, in a rustic restaurant, hanging on a wall, a pair of skis, made in all wood…
I was a lucky kid. I grew up on an organic farm, with a big workshop, all sorts of tools and parents who encouraged making things. I loved working with wood. It’s intuitive, beautiful, and really a friendly substance.
I think that was the start of my love for working with wood.
And it’s fast: I was done with my skis the next day, and got to test them in the same snow that inspired the action! Awesome.
I think building in wood could also be a good idea for Lytefire. Making it easier to build, simpler to start.
Last year I visited the university of Sofia Antipolis in the south of France. It was a program from Ecole des Mines. I was called there to be a solar instructor, and support the students, some of whom had 0 building experience... I instructed them to build simple mirror holders with wood. The students succeeded right away and we needed nothing but hand-tools. Bamboo has also been tried by Lytefire’s team members a while ago.
And even before this, in 2020, I instructed a group of students at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and their wood‑engineering department. 24 students explored ways to build Lytefire structures in wood. This was the height of COVID, now six years ago already! Everything was happening online, and there was no time to build. I was left with at least 6 different approaches to build Lytefire with wood… On top of my own ideas of how it could be done…
The lockdown started. At that time, I lived in Heuberge, a rustic Swiss mountain hotel. Surrounded by melting snow, and lots of sun. I proposed to the hotel to build a Lytefire oven… A way to attract more clients in the summer, to offer pizza, baked with the sun… With the global warming welcoming structure need new ideas.
I started building… And this time in wood.
And that brings me to the point:
We’re considering adding a wood‑based construction option to the Lytefire guides. It could make building easier, reduce the need for metal works, and open the door for more people to start.
If you have thoughts about wood‑building or feedback on our DIY guide, let’s talk about it! I think wood could open the way for more people to build their own solar access.
