Didier Ménard, L’Atelier Bélénos in West France

Joan Arwa Ogwang is using two Lytefire Pro. She started to test her activity in 2021 and since then she grew the Solar Fire Bakery in Kisumu. With several bakers and salesperson, she is able to offer solar baked bread, cookies and buns to regular customers. In 2024, she opened a second shop in the same area. Joan is also working with us as trainer and project manager to help create sustainable bakeries in East Africa. She is, to our knwoledge, the first woman solar entrepreneur in Kenya and we have been happy to support her installation in 2022.

→ Visit the Facebook page

Our partnership with STEM Synergy is in place since 2021 and keeps going. It started with empowering the first entrepreneurs in Ethiopia to run their bakeries not on firewood, but instead on clean, affordable, direct solar energy. This is accomplished with the Lytefire Solar Oven, that is (…)

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After a training organized by Plan International and our team, Prudence Yoo Acel Ladegi, Benedict Bithola and friends were so passionate about baking with the Lytefire that they kept going with learning and marketing their recipes. At Smart Up Solar Bakery, they bake 4 times a week. People like the products and sometimes come from miles away to buy their bread or order occasion’s cakes to Smart Up Solar Bakery Nebbi.

→ Visit the Facebook page

Professional baker, seasoned builder and sustainability enthusiast, Sébastien decided to take the plunge and open his own bakery in the small village of Brusquet, near Digne, France. Supported by a solid network, a crowdfunding campaign led by Hélène, his partner, and an EU-grant, the project was launched successfully very quickly. Au Soleil Levain is located in a magnificent landscap and the bakery building was built using sustainable construction methods. Business start is August 2024.

→ See their Insta account

We are very happy and humbled to announce a new partnership starting with SELF and RHF who are joining forces to empower victims of rape in 2022 and 2023. SELF - Solar Electric Light Fund - is a US based NGO financing this project to support Rape Hurts Foundation, created by Hellen Lunkuse (…)

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We are back in action in Uganda with Plan International Finland and Plan Uganda! We already delivered two of our solar bakery and entrepreneurship trainings at Plan’s SmartUp Factory Hubs in 2018. Now we’re back to do another nine installations and trainings, and two refreshers! We have a bigger (…)

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The 105 women of Lougsi village, situated 30km away from Ouagadougou, have been supported by the local association SOS Energie, our team and Jansen Primesteps Foundation to get a solar oven. After 2 years, 15 of them that have been trained to solar baking and are using their Lytefire in order to produce bread 5 days a week and sell it all around. They no longer buy wood and coal and the solar oven allows them to save 750 to 1000 CFA per day (entre 1 et 2 Euros), which is significant in this tough rural context.

Conserverie Fourmi opened its doors in 2024. Created by Manon Robert and Quentin Feutren near Rennes, France, they use the Lytefire to make their energy mix more sustainable. The company offers workshops for individuals and a solar food conservation processing service for professionals. Their wish? "To explore new ways of preserving plant food to strengthen local organic production chains and empower men and women to preserve seasonal fruits and vegetables in a resource-efficient manner, serving the food resilience of the region."

→ Visit their site

The project with Mwanza’s Montessori school started in 2021 and is a full success because the school is since then not only solar baking 300 buns per day and saving on the energy bill but they also sale their extra baked production. The canteen is equiped with several Lytefire Pro. The (…)

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Since many years, Michel Mouillé started his Idée d’en faire in Vendée to present different solar cooking solutions to a large audience. This structure is a limited liability company with ESUS certification (Entreprise Solidaire d’Utilité Sociale). He also organizes training to spread low technologies. He takes his Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster to many festivals in France and is always ready to share his passion.
→ Visit the site

Tujijenge is a women community group that is producing both dehydrated fish and baked goods. They also engage in roasting peanuts and baked sweet potatoes. Before a project with them, every month they spent about $400 in charcoal expenses, and we were happy to see that the Lytefire has been making a big financial difference. Monica Matcha is the lead person and listening to her team’s experience is enlightening.

In the Pyrenees mountains, in Targasonne (Cerdagne), at 1700m above the sea level, Quentin Mercier and Caroline Penacq created Aurinko (meaning “Sun” in Finnish) with a Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster. To launch their activity, they organized a crowdfunding campaign. Since summer 2023, they specialized in solar roasted seeds that they are selling on local marketplaces and restaurants.
→ Visit the site

After a project with Plan International Uganda and Plan International Finland in 2021-2022, the Tororo District Youth Advocay Network (TDYAN-YOVANU) continued to use their Lytefire Oven and have a few clients. They are a Community Based Organization.

Since 2019, Arnaud Crétot has been using Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster and then Lytefire Deluxe Big Oven + Roaster to bake nutritious sourdough bread, and to roast seeds and nuts to create fake coffee, muësli and energy bars. To start his activity, he has done a crowdfunding campaign. Based in Normandy, with NeoLoco, Arnaud is the first solar bakery in Europe and has a lot of sales points. The team is also organizing workshops and training.

Read more about Arnaud.

This group is based in Kampala, Uganda. They use the best ingredients and a Lytefire solar oven to bake cookies, party cakes, donuts, cupcake and more!

→ Visit the Instagram page

Since 2021, Lydiane et Manu are running Du Soleil et des Graines, their local activity in Bourg Argental. They have been among the very first to follow NeoLoco’s model in France. With their Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster, they are offering a great set of sweet and salted roasted seeds products. They also organize training days at their place.
→ Visit the site

Michel Mouillé is using Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster to create a “fake” coffee based on local grains and beans in Vendée, West France. LUG, his micro-company, refers to the Celtic sun deity and it started in 2022.
→ Visit the Facebook page

We are happy to share that good news: we won our first tender and we’re starting soon in Sudan. This projected is implemented in Alagaya refugee camp in the White Nile region with Plan International and it is funded by the Islamic Development Bank. It is meant to install a community Solar (…)

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Tora de Caux is a small French association based in Normandy, France. It is active since years in Burkina-Faso, in the Bam region. In particular, the team supports rural life in Nasséré through various actions managed by a project manager based in Ouagadougou.

→ Read more about this project

After the successful implementation of 3 solar ovens in Embu’s vocational school during Spring 2022, the project is replicated in a northern region impacted by the refugee’s crisis. With Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit we have found a new project partner dedicated to empowering youths. (…)

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We are very happy to start a new cooperation with the Don Bosco salesian institution and their local group in Kenya for the implementation of several Lytefire units during 2021. Don Bosco has a wide reach, with over 100 institutions worldwide. Our first cooperation is starting in Embu. Embu (…)

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Their full name is "Change Lead Agency for Social Support". And this very dynamic group of young bakers has been part of the solar baking and bakery setting up training given with Plan International and Smart Up Factory in Uganda in 2021-2022. Since then, thanks to their hard work and their Lytefire Oven the solar bakers sell delicious doughnuts, cookies and cakes to clients in different markets on Mondays and Thursdays. The sales range goes from 12000ugsh to 60000ugsh. They are based in Alebtong.

→ Visit the site

Wärtsilä’s sponsorship is a great opportunity for us to approach one of the biggest refugee’s camp in East Africa. Our project managers have been able to organize a demo and we believe the the solar oven is very well adapted to the specific constraints of the location. This is the first time (…)

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Sponsored by Wärtsilä corporation, in partnership with Autodesk Foundation and in cooperation with World Vision Finland (Weconomy program) and World Vision Kenya, this project enabled solar entrepreneurship in high-impact areas where people are in dire need of a clean and affordable energy (…)

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It was an exciting moment when David pulled out the first batch of freshly baked muffins from his Lytefire Oven in 2016, for a project with World Vision in Kenya. After that, David used the oven daily for years before moving on to new adventures. When we met, David was baking with an electric oven but the grid was so bad that he couldn’t develop the business properly. When the power was out he couldn’t bake, and with charcoal his product would be low-quality and his profit margins would be slim. With the launch of his solar bakery, David has been able to reduce his fuel costs and increase his output! The shiny Lytefire also attracted many visitors to the rural bakery, and so he decided to open up a small cafe to sell snacks and beverages to the interested crowd. With a clean energy source adapted to his needs, David had the opportunity to be a creative and productive baker as long as he wanted to. His enthusiasm has been such a great inspiration for the team!

World Vision Finland has a program named Weconomy, created to facilitate the synergy between impact business and field constraints. In 2016, we have decided to work with that program and we started with two GoSol Lytefire5 units built locally and installed at local communities in Kisumu, near (…)

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Daphnée is setting up Au Pain Solaire, a solar bakery business at the Galaxi farm in Loroux Bottereau (Loire-Atlantique, France). The small solar bakery will complement the production of flour and goat cheese at the farm and in different farmer’s markets all around. The adventure starts in September 2024.

→ See their Facebook account

Florence and Michel own L’Epi Nature, their bakery in Epuisay (West France). They will start to use it from time to time and to promote low-tech and resilience in the region. Then progressively, they’ll work more and more from home, using their Lytefire and a wood oven to make yummy sourdough bread and brioches.

→ See their Facebook account

With Solarstart, Muriel wants to make young and old aware of the incredible potential of solar thermal energy in baking and cooking in Switzerland. The association first used an experimental Lytefire with a wooden structure and in 2024 they got a Lytefire DIY oven from France. Muriel organizes events to raise awareness about solar baking. She’d like to lend her Lytefire so that entrepreneurs in Switzerland can also test sun-baked bread and roasted nuts!
→ Visit the site

Didier Ménard runs l’Atelier Bélénos in France, near Rennes. He is roasting seeds and creates energy bars wiht his Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster. His innovative spirit was awarded in 2023 with a local “Eco-Défis” (Eco-Challenges) from the Chambre des Métiers et de l’Artisanat.
→ Visit the site

The Low-tech Lab Grenoble association offers training cycles for the self-construction of Lytefire DIY with a stove and Lytefire DIY oven. The goal is to support bakers, restaurateurs, brewers, individuals or any other organizations wishing to make their own Lytefire. The level of support is flexible so do not hesitate to contact them directly if you are interested!
→ Contact: gregpourcelot@hotmail.fr and grenoble@lowtechlab.org

Sylvain Barbot and volunteers are running this dynamic association based on the island of La Réunion. Their goal is to spread low-tech and solutions supporting sustainability and solar bakery with the BouSol project (Boulangerie Solaire). Together, they built a nice Lytefire DIY stove with a low-tech oven.
→ Visit Ekopratik’s site
→ Visit BouSol’s Facebook page

Biscuits, roasted seeds and “bean to bar” chocolate, this was Bruzhun (meaning “crumbs’’ in the Breton language) project with the Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster in 2023. For their chocolate, the team has been mastering the process in house from A to Z with no sugar added. They terminated in 2024 and resold their solar oven to Ekopratik.

Founded by Arnaud Crétot and Robin Deloof in 2009, Les Vagabonds de l’énergie is non-profit association based in Normandy. They are pioneers in the field of education on climate change. Nowadays, Clément Bresciani and the volunteers are informing kids in schools and enthusiastic perople during festivals. In 2020, the Vagabonds raised funds to start educational solar baking projects in the region. We have been lending them a Lytefire DIY oven in 2020-2023. They are focused on spreading awareness about degrowth and renewable energies.
→ Visit the site

Brittany in France being a rainy region, the choice may seem surprising but it is in the lovely Faouët village that Denis has decided to continue baking with solar. After 30 years working as a professional baker in Lyon, he created Barasol in 2023 ("Bar" means "bread" in the Breton language). He bakes with wood when the weather is bad and with solar every day of good weather (around 3-4 months / year). He sells breads and biscuits in his village and in two large markets, in Paimpol and Binic. He doesn’t bring his Lytefire Deluxe on trailer to the market yet, but it’s an option for the future. He also makes pizzas once a week. Denis works with ancient wheat flours and is passionate about developing new doughs that are more tolerant to temperature changes.
→ No site, no social media

We have started a cooperation with Heuberge Resort family resort based in the Swiss Alps in 2020. We have been building for them a Lytefire DIY Oven (all in wood!) as well as several high tech solar saunas using Lytefire solar concentration system. We hope they will be an inspirational example for the other mountain resorts suffering more and more from global warming.
→ Visit the site

As a rural baker in the Drôme region since 2021, Vincent Reynaud bakes organic sourdough bread using a long fermentation at room temperature for Brin de Levain. A light manual kneading guarantees more digestible gluten, and above all great preservation, for a minimum of 7 days. Rich in aroma, less salty, with low glycemic index, there is everything here to keep you healthy while enjoying yourself! Vincent got his Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster in 2023 and he bakes 3-4 batches of 12 loaves per week, 2 days / week. His bread being delicious, he has now too many orders! The oven being no longer big enough, he will use his Lytefire as a back-up oven for baking and also mostly for making cookies and roasting.
→ Visit the Facebook page

Graduated as baker in 2022, Violaine decided to create the Au Gré du Soleil bakery in her region. Initially tempted by the Lytefire Deluxe on a trailer, she wanted to move it only a few times per year to bring it from her home to a family plot. She finally turned to self-construction supported by Artisan Grégoire and the LowTech Lab in Grenoble. She carried out her crowdfunding campaign and, she realized that if necessary, her Lytefire without a trailer could be easily dismantled and stored in a small van. Consistency and respect for nature are strong values for Violaine. She is starting her bakery in 2024 and she will operate on direct orders and a few markets with her sourdough breads that are made the most local possible.
→ No site, no social media

Kurt Baumann is a crafts-teacher and based on our DIY construction plans he built a Lytefire 4 Stovetop as a project with his students. The project was an ideal choice for the youngsters to develop their skills in metalworks. And finally they prepared a delicious lunch with the Lytefire!

This Lytefire was later on donated to us and we brought it to France, where it finally continued a new life as part of workshops for schoolchildren with Les Vagabonds de l’énergie.
→ More about the schoolclass on our blog

C’est encore grâce à la motivation de Mr Vincent Nikiema, fondateur de SOS Energie Burkina Faso, qu’un nouveau projet local a été possible au Burkina-Faso cette année avec le soutien de la Fondation PrimeSteps. Notre collègue Martin Pouabidjie, s’est chargé de superviser la construction et (…)

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Mr Vincent Nikiema, founder of SOS Energie Burkina Faso, has been following our work for a decade. Thanks to the support of ASW and the generosity of our supporters, Lorin Symington, Samuel Martin, who’s joining now Lorin in his work, and Marin Pouabidjie, our representative in Burkina-Faso, (…)

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For this new project with Remar, a solar oven is needed for an orphanage in Tabarre, Port-au-Prince. The place is taking care of about 20 young boys, providing a safe space for them to grow, learn and play. The orphanage is in a nice big sprawling house in Tabarre, not far from Doctors (…)

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Tora de Caux is a small French association based in Normandy, France. It is active since years in Burkina-Faso, in the Bam region. In particular, the team supports rural life in Nasséré through various actions managed by a project manager based in Ouagadougou. With the aim of offering young (…)

→ Visit project page
→ Learn about Education

We are proud to announce the start of our cooperation with the Swiss based Jansen PrimeSteps Foundation. With the support and advise of the PrimeSteps team we will equip and train entrepreneurs with Lytefire solar ovens across different locations in Burkina, with a focus on women’s groups and (…)

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It wasn’t long after starting in Burkina Faso that Remar Niger wanted to get their own Lytefires. We are excited to announce this new project with Remar which will include a broad set of Lytefire solar applications. This project is titled “Enhancing food security and Livelihood (…)

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We have been selected to participate to the VMAP+, a program from Finnish Innovation Partnership Program (IPP). It’s an honour for us, we have been selected for the 2 phases and we have been very lucky to cooperate with Mrs. Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Business Advisory Manager at SNV Netherlands (…)

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The University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines is oriented towards providing "a vital link between education and economy." Our cooperation with USTP is focused on the sustainable development of the units installed with Carbon Cycle ltd through final theses projects, lecturing (…)

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The Bern University of Applied Sciences (BUAS) is among Switzerland’s top educational institutions and has a strong background in engineering, especially with wood. Our collaboration with the Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering focusing on exploring the potential of our (…)

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CarbonCycle is a Filipino recycling company and a renewable energy startup. They decided to tackle climate change and poverty issues by introducing the Lytefire5 to three communities from which they are buying bio-waste to make fertilizer. CarbonCycle is focused on the sustainable (…)

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In partnership with the US based NGO Forest Trends, we started a new cooperation in the Brazilian Amazon to empower indigenous people with sustainable solar technology. Through their Communities Initiative, Forest Trends has partnered with the Yawanawa and the Surui people of the Brazilian (…)

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In February 2019 we acollaborated with UC Berkeley’s Master of Development Practice (MDP) Department. UC Berkeley’s Master of Development Practice (MDP) equips the next generation of professionals with the knowledge, skills and interdisciplinary experience needed for sustainable development in (…)

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In partnership with Plan International Finland and Plan International Uganda, we started a new cooperation in Uganda in 2018 providing Lytefire units and educational trainings to the SmartUp Factory program in Uganda. Since its creation in 2015, SmartUp Factory is driven by the idea that (…)

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→ Learn about Education

Tampere University of Applied Sciences is a higher education institution oriented towards working life and RDI co-operation. Their strengths are multidisciplinary education, creativity, and a strong international dimension. Our cooperation with TAMK is focused on advancing sustainable (…)

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Our company started 3 new pilots in Tanzania’s Mara region with the NGO Global Resources Alliance and a sponsorship from Finland with Wärtsilä Corporation. Mara region is on shore of lake Victoria, where solar thermal energy can play a key role in improving livelihoods of rural people. It (…)

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As part of Autodesk Foundation’s grant to our work, we have been invited to join Autodesk’s Pier 9 Residency Program in 2017. This residency allowed us to develop and adapt the Lytefire technology to digital fabrication methods such as laser cutting, 3D printing and CNC. Located downtown San (…)

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Plant, harvest and cook food while learning about sustainability and green jobs - that’s what happens at GrowNYC’s Teaching Garden where one of our Lytefire solar concentrators is regularly used by students since our first cooperation back in 2015. During 2 years, every week, students from (…)

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Lorin Symington has a special connection with Haiti and thinks that if Lytefire workd there, it can work everywhere! With the logistic support of a small local NGO in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Communiterre, the goal of the first project was to train a local artisan to build the technology, start a (…)

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Abiodun Alabi and Funsho Folabi are two Nigerian friends based in Finland. Together they have founded SF Green Resources Nig. Ltd. They want to pioneer best practices and new technologies that will ameliorate livelihoods in Nigeria and simultaneously improve sustainable production in line with (…)

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The country is known for its solar plants and is a big player in the solar market. Micro-CSP, however, isn’t very present and there is a lot of opportunity to provide people with an efficient and elegant solution for their thermal needs. Founder and CEO of a solar solutions company in RSA (…)

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Since Arnaud Crétot, a French engineer based in France, joined the Solar Fire team in 2014 after his studies and the creation of the Energy Vagabonds with a friend. This association is promoting soft and clean energy and the new team uses the Lytefire oven to introduce Concentrated Solar Power (…)

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Plant, harvest and cook food while learning about sustainability and green jobs - that’s what happens at GrowNYC’s Teaching Garden where one of our Lytefire solar concentrators is regularly used by students since our first cooperation back in 2015. During 2 years, every week, students from around NYC take field trips to the Teaching Garden and are blown away by the power of the sun when they prepare off-grid meals.

→ Read more about this project

After studying abroad and working in the solar industry in the US, Moutasem Hassan is ready to return to his conflict-ridden home country and promote solar energy for a more independent Palestine.

Moutasem is motivated by the fact that solar energy not only creates jobs and reduces fossil fuel dependence, it also reduces the greenhouse gas emissions and could pose a way out of poverty. “I’m especially excited about this technology because it can be built locally, so it will not be limited by the harsh import duties imposed on us by Israel.”

Learn more about him and his successful construction.

Muhammad Hassaan is a 23 year old engineering student from Pakistan. For his final project, Muhammad and his two other teammates Zia Bakht Butt and Bilal Ahmad designed a hybrid solar and biomass power generation system. Part of their system was a solar concentrator, and they were looking for a simple and effective design to bundle sunlight. With our DIY construction plans, they built the Lytefire and were able to successfully test their use-case.
→ More about their project on our blog.

Based in Normandy, in Pays de Bray, Céline Puech launched Solé B’Rayon in 2022 with a Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster. Céline has matured her project for a long time but she was very close to NeoLoco and the market turned out to not be enough in the end. She terminated the activity in 2024 and sold the solar oven to Manoir de Kerlotech for coffee experiment with Lobodis. She has selling roasted seeds, herbal salts, crumbs for deep fry recipes and also energy bars, all prepared with direct solar heat.
→ Visit the site

Luc Fournaux is the manager of a touristic activity in South France. Motivated by his son, he purchased the very first industrial Lytefire Deluxe Oven + Roaster in 2021, convinced by the enormous potential of this type of equipment in his sunny region. With Le Comptoir d’Hélios, he sold his seeds to his outdoor activities customers as well as in farmers markets of the region. But running several activities simultaneously wasn’t an easy task, and after 2 years he took a different path, selling his Lytefire to Aurinko.
→ Visit the site

Low-tech Lab Grenoble’s association aims to disseminate, identify and promote low-tech in the region. Grégoire Pourcelot is a low-tech developer, active member and a builder. He wishes to support any one wishing to build their own Lytefire DIY stove or Lytefire DIY oven. With Grégoire, the Low-Tech Lab undertakes to carry out the constructions. The level of support is flexible and the training courses are suitable for everyone, whatever the level of DIY (very beginner to expert). Grégoire can also build for you a Lytefire Artisan.

→ See Facebook account
→ Contact: gregpourcelot@hotmail.fr and grenoble@lowtechlab.org

Micro-brasserie Hélie opened its doors in 2023 and organized a successful crowdfunding (here). Created by Romain Zamboni near Montbéliard, it is a strong example of real circular economy. Hélie’s beers use local ingredients. The beer is certified organic and brewed using solar energy, using a solar concentrator Lytefire DIY Stove built and thermal solar panels. Romain is Europe’s first solar brewer. The bottles are reusable,and manufacturing waste is limited as much as possible, some of it being recycled for animal feed. The water needed for cooling is reused in the manufacturing circuit. To innovate with Lytefire, Hélie Microbrewery has an Lytefire License.
→ Visit the site

STEM Synergy has excellent records of technical and educational expertise in Ehtiopia. It is an US-Ethiopian NGO, focused on empowering youths and women through practical education, sustainable local solutions and entrepreneurship. Since 2022, they are a licensee and we appreciate their motivation in commercializing Lytefire in their country
→ Visit the site
→ Cooperation

With Kelvin, Mr Rami Abdun, has decided to spread Lytefire in Sudan. Solar Energy Engineer with background of mechanical engineering and expertise in Solar Photovoltaic and Thermal energy systems, Mr Abdun uses his expertise in extremely hard conditions to produce the solar oven. A first cooperation with him started in 2022.

→ Cooperation

Remar reached out to us after seeing videos of solar baking with Lytefire in East Africa and Europe. They are creating a bakery training centre for women from Kossodo in Wend Kuuni, Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It took less than a month from first contact until Lorin arrived (…)

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