News
A generous company
I think I have never been so proud to lead a company as under-performing as ours. Lytefire is a generous bet and one that is increasingly supported by women. And the more I move forward, the more this bet embodied by our small team strengthens my conviction that generous companies have (…)
What’s in your hands? Low-Tech, Mid-Tech or High-Tech?
We want to mitigate climate change, and transform and rebuild societies based on more social justice. All the tech we use should be adapted to the context of their usage, and people’s tools need to be in people’s hands. What we need is long lasting sustainable technologies supporting human (…)
Debunking Open Source in Impact
It’s time to clarify an important point about Open Source. We believe in all the virtues of open source, but because of its limitations, we decided not to embrace that path. We are explaining here our model. The common understanding is that one can open source anything if the know-how is (…)
L’info utile au au business avec Ouest France
"Fourmi expérimente une conserverie végétale low tech dans le pays de Rennes"
Scouts et Guides France
"Il y a quelques semaines, j’ai eu la chance de passer du temps sur un camp point rouge"
Solar Nurturing Artisans
Here we are at last! First feedbacks from African and European entrepreneurs. First case studies. And a second stage of development in sight! Beyond the humanitarian work we’re passionate about, several artisans (craftsmen) have taken up the challenge and set up shop to run their business with (…)
Les Artisans Solaires Nourriciers
Nous y sommes enfin. Premiers retours d’expériences des entrepreneurs africains et européens. Premières études de cas. Et par conséquent, deuxième stade d’évolution en perspective !! Au-delà de l’aide humanitaire qui nous passionne, plusieurs artisans ont relevé le défi et se sont installés (…)
ici par France Bleu
"Drôme : à Pont-de-Barret, les scouts doivent "apprendre à vivre sans le feu""
Neozone
"Low-tech : l’entreprise française Hélie brasse sa bière en utilisant l’énergie du soleil"
EcoInventos
"Ingeniero low-tech inventa Hélie, la microcervecería solar para la producción de cerveza sostenible"
Solar Concentration Outperforms Photovoltaic Panels in Cost and Performance, Here is Why
This is indeed something we get asked from time to time. And the answer is yes, solar concentration is cheaper in many contexts. It depends on what you want to do with the energy. Left: A student and I installing a PV system at a school in rural Nepal. Right: Lytefire solar cookers deployed (…)
Ouest France
"La démonstration de cuisson solaire, à Rosporden, s’adressait aux professionnels et au grand public"
Ouest France
« Utiliser une énergie propre et durable » : à Concarneau, un projet de four solaire partagé
Nous soutenons volontiers vos campagnes de financement participatif !
C’est très stimulant pour nous de voir de nouveaux entrepreneurs solaires s’équiper de leur matériel Lytefire en demandant à leur communauté de les soutenir. A chaque fois, de beaux cercles vertueux se créent, et nous, chez Lytefire, on aime ça ! C’est aussi ça l’économie circulaire, non ? (…)
We gladly support your crowdfunding campaigns!
It’s very energizing for us to see new solar entrepreneurs setting themselves up with their Lytefire equipment and asking their own communities to support them. Each time beautiful virtuous circles are created and we, at Lytefire, love to see that! Isn’t this as well circular economy in full? (…)
TerraTypique
"Dans cet épisode captivant de Terratypique, Laurent et moi accueillons Eva Wissenz, entrepreneuse visionnaire et cofondatrice de Lytfire."
Ici par France Bleu et France 3
"Pour l’apéritif, voici des graines torréfiées... avec de l’énergie solaire dans les Pyrénées-Orientales ! "
Solaire en Nord
"Boulangerie et torréfaction solaire : quand un boulanger cuit son pain à l’aide d’un four solaire conçu spécifiquement pour un usage professionnel : la Lytefire
France 3
"Dénicher le moindre recoin pour aligner des boîtes est une chose. Maîtriser des techniques de conservation innovantes et respectueuses de l’environnement en est une autre."
révolution énergetique
"Faire tourner une boulangerie à l’énergie solaire, ça marche vraiment ?"
Xataka Smart Home
"Este invento quiere ser la alternativa a los hornos y barbacoas de exterior: no gasta luz ni gas y funciona solo con energía solar"
Xataka Smart Home
"Este invento aprovecha la luz de sol. Quiere ser el futuro para cocinar sin usar electricidad y ahorrar en la factura de la luz"
Gearrice
"This invention takes advantage of sunlight. Wants to be the future of cooking without using electricity and saving on the electricity bill"
Ecoticias
"El invento que puedes poner en tu jardín para hacer barbacoas con energía solar: viene de Finlandia y parece del futuro"
Alternativi
"Un four solaire développé par une Française remporte du succès en Finlande et au-delà"
Micro-brasserie Hélie, entretien avec le fondateur
Voici une brève video pour voir comment Romain utilise sa Lytefire : Début 2024, notre collègue Muriel est allée rendre visite à Romain Zamboni dans l’Est de la France. L’objectif était de mieux comprendre son travail et sa motivation à lancer une brasserie fonctionnant à l’énergie solaire. (…)
Micro-brewery Hélie: discussion with the founder
Here is a short video (in French) to understand how Romain is using his Lytefire: At the beginning of 2024, our colleague Muriel went to visit Romain Zamboni in East France. The goal was to understand better his work and motivation to start a solar powered brewery. Romain has been able to (…)
A new solar baking activity in Ethiopia
STEM has proudly equipped the EMUABENAN Bakery Union in Wolayta, in Ehtiopia! This initiative is empowering local entrepreneurs and addressing energy and food security challenges in the community. Through collaboration and innovation, STEM is fostering entrepreneurship among youth and women (…)
franceinfo
"En Bretagne, il fait beau plusieurs fois par jour". Ce boulanger cuit son pain grâce à l’énergie solaire
Nouvelle activité boulangère au Burkina-Faso
C’est dans le village de Poa Loaga que s’est déroulée cette étape de notre partenariat avec la Fondation Jansen PrimeSteps visant à équiper des groupes de femmes dynamiques avec des fours solaires de boulangerie. Toujours bien épaulés par Mr Vincent Nikiema, fondateur de SOS Energie (…)
News Day Fr
"Côtes-d’Armor. Dans ce village, le boulanger cuit son pain grâce à l’énergie solaire"
Ouest France
"Ce boulanger vient de s’installer dans les Côtes-d’Armor et cuit ses pains au four solaire"
ecoticias
"Finlandia vive en siglo XXII: el primer horno solar de la historia que prepara la comida en casa sin utilizar electricidad"
Neozone
"Lytefire, une invention qui transforme et amplifie les rayons du soleil en chaleur, pour cuisiner sans électricité "
EcoInventos
"Lytefire, sistema sencillo que transforma los rayos del sol en calor sin necesidad de electricidad para cocinar"
Energie solaire, Urgence climatique et Engagement collectif
A l’occasion de la célébration du 50e anniversaire du congrès de l’UNESCO tenu en 1973 sur « Le soleil au service de l’Homme », une journée d’étude « Energie solaire, Urgence climatique et Engagement collectif » a été organisée le 12 décembre 2023 au Collège de France. Les participants (…)
Successful crowdfunding campaign for Haïti
It’s another small victory against the forces of darkness, confusion and despair! Thanks to you, Makenson and his family are really happy to be able to move forward with their great initiative for Haiti! A big thank you to everyone for your support of the crowdfunding for the PAIN SOLEIL (…)
Energy Savings with Lytefire - Fast Returns or Waste of Money? Calculate Yourself!
Today Lytefire powers several solar bakeries, roasteries, kitchens and even a brewery and even a sauna. Every time this solar concentrating technology is used, it means no electricity, no charcoal and no firewood is burnt. Good for the planet, and good for the users’ wallets. But how good? (…)
Peace & Bread
One reason to be happy: No AI will ever be able to provide an “experience” as powerful as sharing fresh bread with our friends and beloved ones. Bread is a key food in many cultures, a symbol for sharing, conviviality and generosity. Bread is a simple food, yet nutritious and delicious. (…)
Des nouvelles de Lougsi
Les 105 femmes du village de Lougsi, situé à 30 km de Ouagadougou, ont été accompagnées par l’association locale SOS Energie, par notre équipe et la Fondation Jansen PrimeSteps pour se doter d’un four solaire. Après une longue pause due aux événements politiques, nous avons pu revenir constater (…)
Public Statement regarding Eerik Wissenz
As CEO of Solar Fire Concentration Oy I must inform you that Eerik Wissenz has been spreading falsehoods about our company. Should you have been exposed to his content, we assure you that his accusations of fraud and criminal activity are false, and I invite you to contact the company, should (…)
révolution énergetique
"Cette bière bas-carbone est brassée à l’énergie solaire : voici son procédé"
Lytefire à La Villette, Paris
Tout le weekend, l’association normande des Vagabonds de l’Energie était présente à la Cité des sciences et de l’industrie à Paris pour le festival Tête à Tech. Avec 240 visiteurs, ils ont discuter low tech, énergie solaire, et dégustation savouresue avec les produits de NeoLoco torréfié avec (…)
Vivre Low-Tech
"5 idées de création d’entreprise pour utiliser les avantages de l’énergie solaire"
L’independant
"Pyrénées-Orientales : des graines torréfiées par l’énergie solaire en Cerdagne"
ici par France Bleu
"Hélie,une micro-brasserie qui utilise le soleil pour chauffer ses cuves, sans produire d’électricité"
ici par France Bleu
"Parmi les invités de l’émission, nous découvrons Quentin Mercier, le dernier producteur qui a rejoint la boutique El Rastell. A 31 ans, il vient de lancer Aurinko, son entreprise de torréfaction de graines grâce à un four solaire. "
Head Topics
"Le bois brûlé solaire : une technique durable pour des bardages, en Seine-Maritime"
basta!
« 90 kg de pain sans subir la hausse des coûts de l’énergie » : pourquoi le modèle du four solaire se diffuse
Le Dauphine
"Il propose un pain « qui nourrit vraiment » : à Bren, ce boulanger rompt avec les traditions "
EcoInventos
"Conocemos al panadero normando que hornea su pan exclusivamente con energía solar"
A Light of Hope in Uganda
The rising levels of poverty and unemployment in low developed countries has left the youth desperate, denying them a chance to attain quality education, ridding them a chance to access sources of capital to start businesses, and leaving masses of opportunities and potential untapped. In Uganda, (…)
France 3 Pays de la loire
"Vendée : un torréfacteur au four solaire et des poids-cassés du coin pour remplacer le café"
POSITIVR
Près de Rouen, ce boulanger produit 110 kilos de pain par jour avec son four étonnant
Le Parisien
« 120 kilos de pain par heure » : Arnaud Crétot, ce boulanger qui cuit son pain au soleil de Normandie
AWAY
"Forno a energia solar deixa-te cozinhar onde não há eletricidade Proposta desenvolvida pela Lytefire permite assar, cozinhar e até torrar cereais usando apenas os raios de sol"
Connaissance des energies
"En Normandie, le four solaire du boulanger fonctionne toute l’année"
Nice solar bakery training in Kakuma
Coming back to Don Bosco Institute Kakuma(DBIK) after the first training, we were so pleased to find that the institution had a fully operational bakery with all the bookkeeping in order and the channels of purchase and sales were well structured. The baker Mr. Yona has been keeping up with (…)
Paris Normandie
"Dans le pays de Bray, des graines et des noisettes torréfiées grâce au soleil normand"
Brut.
"Ingénieur et boulanger, Arnaud a eu une idée : faire cuire son pain grâce aux rayons du soleil. Et ça marche. Pendant ce temps-là, en Normandie…"
NEOZONE
"Low Tech : cette « boulangerie solaire » alimente exclusivement ses fours avec l’énergie du soleil"
Voyageons-Autrement.com
"NeoLoco, où comment faire rayonner des boulangeries-torréfaction solaire sur l’ensemble du territoire français, et au-delà !"
Ouest France
Développement durable au lycée Renaudeau à Cholet : à la recherche de l’engagement
From feeding a group of 20 people to cooking for 100 people!
From Kisumu workshop to the well prepared grounds of Don Bosco Institute in Kakuma, Kenya, a solar oven and 3 cookers were well received, assembled and they boast fully lined up together with the previously installed oven ready to continue serving the local Don Bosco Institute. To continue (…)
First trainings completed for Rape Hurts Foundation
The bottom line of the training is that these girls would be able to open up their own businesses managed by themselves. By doing so, by becoming active sustainable entrepreneurs, the hope is that their problems of dependency and idleness would end. There are people who have been able to see (…)
Normandie Caux Vexin Office de Tourism
"NeoLoco est le pionnier de la torréfaction solaire en Europe, et de la boulangerie solaire. Aujourd’hui de nombreux artisans Français et étrangers viennent se former chez NeoLoco."
Love for life celebration
Dear Friends, Today is the day to tell you how much we love life, forest, empowered humans and balanced eco-systems. Love is the root, always. We wish you lots of love and loving choices to make this world a better place. Picture: Valentine’s cake - solar baked by Nebbi’s Smart Up bakery in (…)
Le Quotidien de La Réunion
"Le four solaire est une petite révolution. Assisté par 4 mètre carré de miroir, positionné dans l’angle adéquat au soleil, il est capable de monter jusqu’à 200 degrés, et donc «de faire du pain». "
Imago TV
"Arnaud Crétot : artisan boulanger solaire; Aujourd’hui, pour ce nouveau voyage en 2030 Glorieuses, je pars à la rencontre d’Arnaud Crétot, le fondateur de Néoloco, une entreprise pionnière de l’artisanat solaire qui a pour objectif de rendre l’alternative locale plus désirable que les produits (…)
2030 Glorieuses
"Aujourd’hui, pour ce nouveau voyage en 2030 Glorieuses, je pars à la rencontre d’Arnaud Crétot, le fondateur de Néoloco, une entreprise pionnière de l’artisanat solaire qui a pour objectif de rendre l’alternative locale plus désirable que les produits standardisés issus de la mondialisation. (…)
LIFT Economy
"There is so much power in finding a way to earn a good income for your family while meeting your creative interests and serving your community as a whole. Today’s guest, Joan Arwa Ogwang is the perfect example of this. In this episode of Next Economy Now, Joan tells us all about her incredible (…)
ici par France Bleu et France 3
Le pain cuit au four solaire et le panier des trois pières 23 janvier 2023 - https://www.francebleu.fr/archives/emissions/circuit-bleu-cote-saveurs-cuisine-haute-normandie/haute-normandie
First steps towards the installation of a solar bakery in Sudan
At the end of 2022 we implemented our first project in Sudan. Plan International Sudan, an NGO mostly dedicated to education and youth employment, commissioned the installation of a Lytefire 5 unit for a bakery to be installed at Al Alagaya refugee camp in Sudan home of about 28 000 refugee’s. (…)
Last gift this year
Dear solar friends, We are ending the year with a dream that became true (for us). A few days ago we have launched the Lytefire Hub where all Lytefire’s users can gather, find resources, dedicated forums, tips and share positive energy. DIY’ers building the Lytefire 4, Solarpreneurs using (…)
First solar oven installed in Alagaya refugee camp in Sudan
This picture means the world to me. We have installed this week a first solar oven in Alagaya refugee’s camp in Sudan, where about 220 000 people are living. The conditions of this project have been extremely challenging and it’s not fully completed yet but the good will and determination of (…)
Guide Lytefire 4 enfin disponible en français
Nous sommes très heureux de vous annoncer que le guide de construction de la Lytefire 4 est à présent disponible en français. Il a été revu et mis à jour. Et très bientôt (dans 15 jours en fait), on ouvre (enfin) le forum qui va permettre à tous les bricoleurs.euses de se construire le leur. (…)
First solar bakery running at Rape Hurts Foundation
After a successful first training for a very nice group at Rape Hurts Foundation, the participants have been able to start their solar baking production with great success. All together, Augustine Olowo, Allen Odongo and Sam Rodrigues have organized a great training.
Solar kitchen launch with Don Bosco in Kakuma, Kenya
This September Solar Fire started another project with Don Bosco, this time in Kakuma. Kakuma is a small town in the Turkana region, north west of Kenya set in a beautiful yet austere landscape. The region is unfortunately known these days for the climatic stress it is under. It’s the stage (…)
Succesful crowdfunding campaign for East Africa
A big big thank you to all those who have supported this campaign in one way or another. This raised budget will allow to build the 2 Lytefire solar ovens in Kenya and refresh one existing one, to give one to Joan who lives nearby, to send one to Hashimu who is in Tanzania and another one (…)
Solarpreneurs, Production, Events in Normandy and Crowdfunding Success!
Last week I visited Arnaud Crétot in Normandy, who runs a solar bakery powered with our Lytefire 11 Solar Oven. He’s doing great. His solar roasted café made from lentils and chickpeas has just won a trophy (Trophées de l’innovation de l’Agroalimentaire), and his bakery business NeoLoco is (…)
Politis
"Le boulanger solaire: « Ingénieur artisan », Arnaud Crétot a créé une activité de boulangerie et de torréfaction en Normandie. Sobre, et rentable."
Le Réveil
"Découvrez comment Céline torréfie des graines grâce à un four solaire près de Bellencombre"
Nebbi Solar Bakery Preparing a Cake for Uganda’s President’s Son’s Birthday
What a lovely birthday cake! It has been solar baked by Nebbi solar bakery for General Muhoozi for his birthday celebration in May 2022. Then, on August 26th, 2022, during the International Youth Day Celebration held last month in different cities in Uganda, Nebbi solar bakery has gained (…)
ici par France Bleu et France 3
"Les Fours solaires pour certaines activités professionnelles"
Three new Solarpreneurs in France!
Thanks to the patient work of Arnaud, Elise, Benoist, Maxence and Loïc, three new French entrepreneurs decided to start using the Lytefire Deluxe manufactured in France to power their activity. They have been inspired by NeoLoco, Arnaud’s solar bakery, and by Lydiane and Manu, who have been the (…)
Two Strong Women Joining
With the title of this post, I refer to Marie NDiaye’s book, Three Strong Women (2009), which is telling the story of three heroines between France and Senegal. It is proven: powerful stories and visions can change the world. Let’s only remember the Civil Rights movement in the US or the raise (…)
Campaign launch! Support Solar Bakery Pioneers in East Africa
Help Joan, Hashimu and Allen to inspire their local communities by harnessing the power of the sun and creating sustainable bakeries! Feeding their community without polluting or deforesting is what Joan, Hashimu and Allen choose to do in order to fight the intensity and acceleration of (…)
Encore plus d’activité à Goghin
Avec le coup d’état du début d’année, les projets prévus ne se sont évidemment pas déroulés comme nous l’espérions. Aussi, afin de rester dans la sécurité avec notre projet principal d’équipe plus de groupes, et notamment des groupes de femmes, avec des fours solaires, c’est à Goghin que nous (…)
The case for Lytefire to produce school meals for 64 million children
The issue of food security is highly relevant with the effects of climate change being further exacerbated with the multitude of political conflicts ongoing. Food prices are on the rise, and as a result malnutrition is growing, which is detrimental especially to children and youths. It is in (…)
New sponsors: Siemenpuu Foundation and ASE
Like any other company, we had to adapt to covid and to the complexity of our world. We don’t want to travel too much for long projects anymore, we need to take into account the rise of pricing for shipping and material, and we still need to address the huge amount of request we receive from all (…)
Pain solaire pour les femmes de Lougsi au Burkina
Ces jours derniers nous sommes allés installer un four solaire Lytefire 6 dans la communauté de Lougsi située à environ 30km de Ouagadougou. Nous avons été très bien accueillis par la communauté des femmes de ce groupe et par les villageois. Ce projet est soutenu par la fondation Jansen (…)
Feeling the Entrepreneurship Spirit in Uganda
I have just returned from an amazing trip to Uganda and Kenya to see firsthand the amazing impacts of Lytefire with some of the 250+ entrepreneurs we have empowered in the last 12 months. Visiting the training site in Uganda As you know we have not only developed the Lytefire solar tech (…)
Our Solar entrepreneurs in Nebbi after Lytefire training!
It has been over 3 months since the training in Nebbi in January and since the trainers left it has been an incredible success! With the Solar Fire team in constant contact with the ‘Smart Up Solar Bakery’ we have witnessed and experienced their passion, motivation and dedication running their (…)
The future shines bright with the ‘Sun Light Solar Bakery!’ in Alebtong
The journey continues with Plan International’s Smart Up Factory as the team visits Alebtong, the most rural area the trainers have visited so far! In the Northern region of Uganda, a 40 minute drive west from Lira District. The surroundings of Alebtong are vast with long stretches of beautiful (…)
In Embu, Kenya, Don Bosco’s Tech School Solar Bakery is up and running
The Don Bosco Technical Institutes boasts a number of different workshops. Walking around the school you can see students working on metal objects, wood furniture, masonry structures, electrical installations and many more activities. Now there is a new work post… a solar bakery! During the (…)
2d project with Plan International in Uganda in 2021-2022
We are back in action in Uganda with Plan International and Plan Uganda! In 2018 we delivered two of our solar bakery and entrepreneurship trainings at Plan’s SmartUp Factory Hubs and now we’re back to do another nine installations and trainings! We have a bigger team and our ovens and Lytefire (…)
It’s Climate Strike today
The Lytefire 4 construction guide is at 5€ instead of 99€ for 24 hours. With it, you can build yourself a solar concentrator to cook, purify water, fry, roast in a pan. We are soon opening a forum for builders providing feedback, updates, for a community to build up. A community complementing (…)
Ojwina 2 week Refresher training
In 2018 the Lytefire solar oven was installed in Gulu, it was then relocated in 2021 and transported from Gulu to Lira’s Smart Up Factory location at the Lira West City Division. As part of the refresher training, the team, Callum, Hannah and Hasheem, revisited the Lira hub for 2 weeks, (…)
Kampala’s training for the Solar Tech Bakery
Kampala, the capital of Uganda is the most exhilarating city I have ever experienced! With a population of 3.6 million it is no wonder Kampala is a dynamic and fast-paced environment where you can find yourself getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the city! The Kabalagala Smart Up hub is a (…)
Smart Up Factory is the only bakery in Nebbi!
After an energetic 3 weeks training course with the inspirational students in Nebbi, Uganda, it has been an incredibly successful experience! Nebbi’s Smart Up Hub enrolls 40 students at a time, so 15 students were carefully selected for the first ever solar bakery training in the district. We (…)
The dawn of solar project in Embu with Don Bosco in 2021
Embu is a town on the foothills of Mount Kenya, with wide landscapes, endless fields and fresh, crisp air. The town is alive in all senses of the word, the local markets bustle with activity! Traders crowd every street corner selling produce from their farms, and vendors sell various items by (…)
Kampala Capital City Authority
"KCCA LAUNCHES SOLAR BAKING VOCATION AT KABALAGALA ONE STOP YOUTH CENTER"
WESTNILE TV
"The Oven uses a combination of mirrors that reflect the sun heat up the oven to a temperature of up to 300 degrees Celsius."
Pas de Côté
"Avec Arnaud Crétot, fondateur de NeoLoco (artisanat solaire) et directeur technique de Solar Fire (four à concentration solaire), il n’a pas été question de mesurettes symboliques pour agir mais d’un retournement complet des valeurs, des priorités et de l’organisation de la société. "
Smart Up Solar training in Nebbi
We are beyond excited to start our 2022 training projects with Plan International’s Smart up hubs in Uganda beginning here in Nebbi! After a successful training program at the Kamuli hub in December 2021 the team is now in Northern Uganda. As a relatively small town, Nebbi is busy yet alive with (…)
76actu
"Équipé du premier four solaire d’Europe, cet artisan normand transforme des produits locaux"
Kamuli Youth Solar Bakers!
Welcome our new Kamuli Youth Solar Bakers!! After an exciting collaboration with Plan International back in 2018, the team arrived at Smart Up Factory in Kamuli where we were beyond thrilled with the entrepreneurial spirit the students displayed! Smart Up Kamuli were provided with 1 Lytefire 5 (…)
Solar Fire chosen as TOP NORDIC 50 IMPACT COMPANY - 2021!
We are honoured to announce our company Solar Fire has been selected as one of the Nordic’s top 50 impact companies! Since 2017, The One Initiative has assessed over a thousand companies from the Nordic and Baltic regions, for their impact scalability and commercial viability. We are deeply (…)
Let’s inspire and educate with GoSol!
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” GoSol’s mission is to influence and inspire minds, young and old, to comprehend the potential of using free solar thermal energy. Using purely the Lytefire technology instead of relying on (…)
With Jansen PrimeSteps Foundation in Burkina-Faso in 2022-2023
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 (…)
Don Bosco: a new partner to bring Solar Entrepreneurship to Refugees Settlement in Kenya, 2022
With Don Bosco Jugendhilfe Weltweit we have found a new project partner dedicated to empowering youths. Active all over the world, this organization supports hundreds of vocational training centers, across Africa and beyond. Our cooperation starts in Kenya, with two vocational schools, one of (…)
Announcing new Partnership with Plan International to Empower Entrepreneurs in Uganda
We are excited to announce this new partnership to empower entrepreneurs to run solar bakeries and food businesses across 11 locations in Uganda. The project will allow existing bakery cooperatives to transition from daily charcoal burning to using our powerful Lytefire 5 solar concentrator. In (…)
Formation à la capitale et installation au village au Burkina avec l’association Tora Coeur de Caux
Mission accomplie ! C’est en janvier 2021 que l’association normande Tora Coeur de Caux nous a contacté par l’intermédiaire de notre ami Loïc Perochon pour démarrer un projet à Sika, province de Nasséré, dans le nord du Burkina Faso. Après quelques échanges dynamiques avec Denise Fouquer, membre (…)
Solar Fire is now spreading through a podcast
We are so happy to start a series of podcast. We are on journey to share more and more about our vision and our energy, everything that is behind the scene of Solar Fire. From solving energy poverty to personal empowerment, from gender equality in the team to specific feminin challenges in the (…)
ohga!
"Il forno che riesce a produrre fino a 100 kg di pane al giorno usando solo l’energia solare"
We are featured by "Education Finland"!
Solar Fire Concentration Oy is very happy and honored to see the Lytefire oven featured among the Finnish companies presented by the Finnish Minister of Education and Minister of Trade on the new platform "Education Finland". This platform was created to promote the Finnish expertise in school (…)
Femme Actuelle
"Les graines grillées made in Normandy Plutôt que des cacahuètes cultivées à l’autre bout du monde, Arnaud Crétot propose ses graines torréfiées grâce à l’énergie solaire, produites localement, avec du vinaigre de cidre et de la levure de bière. On les trouve dans de petits (…)
La Dépêche Louviers
"À Louviers, l’association les Vagabond(e)s de l’énergie présente son four solaire"
About 300 solar buns a day for a Montessori school in Mwanza!
Jambo mambo! Habari ako? Nzuri sana! Greetings and salutations from Mwanza, Tanzania. Also known as Rock City, this city of about a million people is in the western part of the country and has about a million inhabitants. It is here that you can find Mwanza Montessori school, a wonderful (…)
76actu
"Près du Havre, un four solaire innovant en projet pour cuire du pain ou torréfier du café "
The Christian Science Monitor
"Solar-baked bread? Recycled loaves? Bakers try something new in France."
Announcing new Partnership with Solarstart in Switzerland
We are excited to announce our new partnership with Solarstart, a Swiss non-profit association focused on raising awareness on solar energy and empowering entrepreneurs. Next summer, the association will install a solar bakery at Switzerland’s largest youth camp bringing together more than (…)
Socialter
"Arnaud Crétot était ingénieur. La voilà aujourd’hui boulanger et torréfacteur." (print)
Reporterre le quotidien de l’écologie
"Ce boulanger normand cuit son pain... à l’énergie solaire"
Tanzania: a Montessori school chose Lytefire
We’re happy to announce that we will be implementing an innovative new project in the Mwanza region of Tanzania in association with Montessori School Mwanza. Montessori School Mwanza is under the direction of Sister Denise Mattle, who has been involved in Montessori education for more than 40 (…)
Lytefire - A different energy, a different lifestyle
11 June 2021
Lytefire - Une autre énergie, une autre façon de vivre
11 June 2021
The Ladies of Goghin, solar bakers in Burkina Faso in 2020
We’re very happy to announce the ladies of Goghin have gone solar! Thanks to your generous contributions to the small crowdfunding, to the hard work of Vincent Nikiema and his association SOS Énergie Burkina and to the contribution of L’Association pour un Monde Solidaire (ASW) we were able (…)
The French solar connection: entrepreneurship and education
We guess you’re now familiar with our Chief Innovation and Tech Officer, Arnaud Cretot, who’s based in France and who pushed the #lytefire to become a great tool for his solar bakery - the 1st in Europe! Depending on the season, with the Lytefire 5, Arnaud gets from 50kg to 110kg of bread per (…)
Solar bakery innovation at your fingertips Boulangerie solaire, l’innovation à portée de main
25 May 2021
Starting in Ethiopia
STEM Synergy, is a US-Ethiopian NGO, focused on empowering people (especially youths and women) through practical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, sustainable local solutions and entrepreneurship in Ethiopia. Lorin is currently in Addis Ababa, starting with the STEM (…)
Tasty solar bread in Burkina Faso
Tasteful smelling and freshly baked bread. Crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside - It’s so amazing that the baking heat was created by solar energy! In our project in Ouagadougou with Remar we helped the women to build their own solar bakery to bake their own bread and create a (…)
Le Réveil Vivarais
"Avec son four révolutionnaire, Lydiane Tirel met du soleil dans vos apéritifs" (print)
fun radio
"Au téléphone, Arnaud nous présente sa boulangerie NeoLoco, la première boulangerie solaire d’Europe."
Introducing our country partners
As we continue to grow and to expand our work in new locations, and find new pathways to create impact, the development of solid teams in our field operations becomes more and more vital. We recently wrote about our ongoing work in Kenya, where our great team is introducing the Lytefire 5 oven (…)
Artisan-ingénieur, un métier d’avenir
Direction le parc Eco Normandie à la découverte de CPM Industries. Comme son nom l’indique, cette PME Normande assume son ancrage industriel. Difficile de faire autrement, pour une entreprise de chaudronnerie dont le savoir-faire profite principalement aux secteurs de l’aéronautique et de la (…)
Ekopratik - a solar oven in La Réunion island
A small team is currently involved in building a DIY solar stove Lytefire 4. Ekopratik is the non-profit association partnering with La Reunion University and CNRS (Centre National de Recherche Scientifique). This fab lab is working on creating low-tech devices and they are adapting our tech (…)
Rencontre avec le four solaire et l’équipe SF France
Aux abords du printemps 2021, avec Inès Malot, Maud Roux nous sommes allés rencontrer Arnaud Crétot de Neoloco, Benoist Panchout et Elise Hauters de CPM Industrie ainsi que dans le cadre de nos stages à distance avec Solar Fire Concentration Ltd. Arnaud est donc ingénieur-artisan et travaille (…)
France Inter
Le 6/9 du dimanche 21 février, avec Eric Delvaux et Patricia Martin. (Audio 16:35)
The Saturday Solar Baking’s in Kenya
If you remember, we started in Kenya in 2016 with World Vision, and continued the prototyping the year after with the support of Autodesk Foundaiton and Wärtsilä. Kenya, and especially Kisumu, is dear to us because the first communities where empowered there and David Chepkwone was the very (…)
Building Impact with the First Solar Bakeries in Ethiopia
Announcing Solar Fire Cooperation with STEM Synergy to empower Youths and Women with Lytefire Solar Ovens in Ethiopia. We are really excited to announce our new partnership in Ethiopia with STEM Synergy, an US-Ethiopian NGO focused on empowering youths and women through practical education, (…)
Solar baking in Haiti with Remar
Next up in our series of engagements with the amazing NGO Remar, I visited Haiti in order to install a baking oven on the roof of the orphanage that Remar is running in the Tabarre neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince. The last time I was in Haiti was in 2014 to build our Lytefire4 in (…)
Happy New Year 2021!
Dear Friends, Clients, Partners, Followers and Supporters, In 2020, the Lytefire Solar Sauna and the Lytefire Solar Oven have been featured in 32 articles in the media in France, Switzerland, Finland, Germany and USA. National newspapers as well as national TV shows :) Thank you for your (…)
Video: Solar Melted Cheese Racelette - Lytefire Sauna
After melting delicious cheese with 400° of solar power at the Lytefire Sauna it’s time to cool down in Heuberge’s ice-covered lake! We’re always ready to develop new ways to tap into the power of the sun. Now it’s possible to use the Solar Sauna not just to sauna but also to make "Racelette" 😃
A new solar bakery in Burkina Faso
We’re very happy to announce the success of our collaboration with the NGO Remar in Burkina Faso. We have officially opened of a brand new, Lytefire powered bakery in Burkina Faso after some weeks of training with the ladies of Remar. At the request of Remar, an NGO operating in 70+ (…)
Schwimmband + Sauna
"Where a conventional sauna needs firewood or a lot of electricity, a newly developed solar sauna focuses on sustainability: wellness in Switzerland at an altitude of 2,000 meters - exclusively with solar energy!"
3 normandie
National French TV France 3, Nov 12, 2020. Introducing Lytefire 11 (00:02:58-00:04:55)
Paris Normandie
"Un four à pain solaire de 11 m² construit dans la région du Havre, et c’est une première !"
Prättigau
"Solar Sauna - Lytefire Sauna; A sustainable, powerful and silent wellness experience at 2000 meters above sea level: The Lytefire Sauna heats up with solar energy"
First Wood-Based Lytefire 5 Unit to Make Pizzas in the Swiss Alps!
Since a few weeks we have the first wood-based solar concentrator installed at Heuberge Mountain Resort in Switzerland, where we have also installed our Solar Sauna. As reported earlier, in April 2020 we held an online design course with the Berne University of Applied Sciences to create (…)
76actu
"À Rouen, les Vagabonds de l’énergie utilisent le soleil pour la cuisson des aliments "
Solothurner Zeitung
"New development of the Solar Sauna, based on a technology that also helps with sustainability in the developing world"
Basler Zeitung
"New development of the Solar Sauna, based on a technology that also helps with sustainability in the developing world"
Swiss National Television RTR
Swiss National Television (German subtitles): https://www.rtr.ch/play/tv/sil-punct/video/sauna-solara-sin-la-muntogna-da-fideris
Die Bayerische Laufzeitung
"The first solar sauna in the world is located in the Swiss Alps at 2000 meters above sea level"
Impact Hub Zürich
“We just recently completed development of a new solar application in the wellness space: A solar-powered sauna! (...)"
Online Interdisciplinary Design Course on Solar Thermal Energy
As reported earlier, together with Bern University of Applied Sciences (BUAS) we launched a education course on design and development of wood-based solar thermal designs for our Lytefire solar concentrators. Due to covid, we moved the course online. In this post we’ll go over the structure of (…)
Interdisciplinary Education Project to develop wood-fabrication methods of Lytefire Solar Concentrators
We are excited to announce that together with Berne University of Applied Sciences we facilitated an interdisciplinary design/build course in solar thermal energy. The course was held as part of their project-week format, where interdisciplinary groups of students get to apply their skills in (…)
Followup visit in the Philippines: 8 months later
We recently revisited our partners USTP (The University of Science and Technology of the Southern Philippines) and CarbonCycle in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. Nearly a year has passed since Lorin Symington was last in the Philippines working with CarbonCycle to power their ‘waste to riches’ (…)
Forest Trends
"The “Amazon Strategy” – How to Build Resilient Supply Chains and Food Systems post-Pandemic"
![[en] "It’s a unique, downright revolutionary sauna that gets all its power from solar energy!" - awesome to read this from Finland’s Sauna Expert](local/cache-gd2/44/976d801c046031b93ac8c728c971a2.jpg?1727277555)
![[en] "It’s a unique, downright revolutionary sauna that gets all its power from solar energy!" - awesome to read this from Finland’s Sauna Expert](local/cache-gd2/79/d1ce621dde789054594c52c69cba4f.jpg?1717747685)
Saunologia
[en] "It’s a unique, downright revolutionary sauna that gets all its power from solar energy!" - awesome to read this from Finland’s Sauna Expert
First Swiss Press
"World’s first solar thermal sauna in use" - Prättigauer Herrschäftler (print)
Crowdfunding for a Solar Bakery in Burkina Faso
We are very happy to have launched a small crowdfunding campaign to support two dynamic guys in Burkina Faso to create a solar bakery and cultural space. Adama Bafiago, an artist and activist, was an early supporter of our first crowdfunding campaign in 2015. He immediately saw the potential (…)
Powerful talk: it’s all connected.
You need to take 7 minutes and watch this, it’s definitely worth it! Here’s our Chief Operating Officer Urs Riggenbach talking about solar, climate crisis, sustainability and entrepreneurship. "My hope is that we’re not just fixing the carbon issue. We’re fixing, along with this carbon (…)
We’re coming to your doorstep!
Last Christmas, as an act of faith in people’s empowerment and in our solution to play a significant role in climate change crisis resolution, we have released in open source and for free the construction manual of one of our solar concentrator. Since then, the successful GoSol’s prototypes (…)
Building in Burkina Faso with Remar
We launched a new project with Remar International in Burkina Faso to empower women entrepreneurs. As always we fabricated the solar units locally, in cooperation with local metalworkers. Our chief builder Lorin was in Burkina for 2 months to facilitate the first phase of this project. I first (…)
Lake still not frozen in Finland!
Video Message from Eva, chairperson of GoSol / Solar Fire: My hope is not an illusion, it’s real and strong but today I’m sad, and angry. Everybody can have an impact. Wake up. Speak up. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Achille Sawadogo (medium.com)
"Discovering GoSol’s Solar Concentration Oven, a promising project in Burkina Faso"
Happy New Year 2020!
Dear Friends, Clients, Partners, Followers and Supporters, We wish to see more peace and more justice everywhere. We wish that change makers do become more and more and more visible. We wish for more coherence and ethics in all fields. For ourselves, we wish to scale up and continue our (…)
The Future of GoSol, Lytefire and Solar Fire
Longtime followers will know that we started as Solar Fire and then created GoSol in order to take our experience in solar thermal energy and apply it to real world entrepreneurs. Solar Fire continues to be our engineering arm and is the legal name of our business. GoSol is our main (…)
Our Gift to the World:
The Lytefire Construction Guide Available Now!
Today we release the Lytefire 4 Construction Guide to help solve the climate change crisis. It is immediately available for free on the Lytefire.com Website. Available for download now on www.lytefire.com After years behind the screen, in the field, working with entrepreneurs to (…)
L’Age de Faire
"Tournesol, lin, chanvre, noisette ou châtaigne… Grâce à son torréfacteur solaire, une coopérative soutient les filières locales et propose des alternatives aux produits importés de l’autre bout du monde."
Best Validation Ever in Kenya
For a company, especially an impact company like ours, the best validation comes from the field. Last week, our representative in Kenya, Mr Jared Omondi, sent us the short clip below. It shows one of the pilot solar concentrators we installed in 2017 in the Kisumu area, in Kenya. And... it’s (…)
GoSol showing off in Switzerland
This autumn is so exciting that we didn’t get any chance to blog and share a bit more with you guys!! Some of our GoSol-team came together in Switzerland. This was a good chance to plan our next steps and cook solar meals all together, and also it was a great opportunity to present GoSol next (…)
GoSol Event on 14th of November at ResponsAbility, Zurich
Swiss Impact Investing Network (SIIN) and GoSol are welcoming you to join us for an impact talk on the topic of How to Build a Business Model for Maximum Impact. The event is happening on 14th of November at ResponsAbility headquarters in Zurich, at 18:30. Register here: (…)
Le Parisien
GoSol is featured in national French newspaper. "En Seine-Maritime, des graines torréfiées par le soleil normand"
Autodesk Foundation
We’re featured by Autodesk again. "Five Years of Impact: Using Design to Make a Better World"
Paris Normandie
The solar concentrator operated by our CTO in France is featured in French newspaper. "À Montville, près de Rouen, Arnaud Cretot lance sa première torréfaction avec un four solaire"
GoSol on display in Switzerland!
GoSol on display in Switzerland! Solothurn is not known for being the most sunny place in Switzerland – but yesterday it could not have been more perfect for presenting our Lytefire Stove solar concentrator at the HESO 2019. Direct sun and no clouds made it possible: we fried delicious (…)
Strike if you wish but more than this: take action.
It is now 7 years since we created Solar Fire and GoSol. As friends, we are more than happy. Our team is still united no matter what. We overcame hundreds of challenges together, and we’re still here. Older, tougher, wiser hopefully, and enthusiastic. As sustainable humans, we are more than (…)
Forest Trends
Together with partners including Original Beans, GoSol.solar, and Canopy Bridge, Forest Trends has seen similar success supporting value chains for honey, babassu (an alternative to coconut oil), açai berries, and wild cacao.
Several GoSol Events are happening in Switzerland this September
Read in German We are excited to extend our invites for two events that will happen in Switzerland this September. Since a few days we have an additional Team Member with us here in Solothurn, Switzerland, and we’re busy completing a Lytefire solar concentrator . After recent (…)
Solar Entrepreneurship: Lytefire maximise profits for cashew nuts producers
The Best Agri Products Processing Cooperative (Bappco) is a busy hive of activity. Six days a week the men and (mostly) women of Bappco are hard at work processing cashews. The amount of attention that they pay to each individual cashew is really impressive. If you’ve ever wondered why cashews (…)
This was TBLI Conference Zurich 2019
Last month I attended the TBLI Conference in Zurich. The conference brought together impact investors and companies with a commitment for real impact. This was certainly one of the best conferences I’ve attended. Many participants shared in the impact-maximizing spirit, ready to learn about (…)
![We started our cooperation with Forest Trends last year in the Amazon with the Surui. Today, the US based NGO reported that "The pilot installation of the Lytefire dehydrator unit for drying the babaçu mesocarp [tree nuts] has significantly reduced from 4 days to 5,5 hours." We hope to be able (…)](local/cache-gd2/01/8cc92848ddccf112b8982ace74c8a8.jpg?1727258936)
Forest Trends feedback in the Amazon
We started our cooperation with Forest Trends last year in the Amazon with the Surui. Today, the US based NGO reported that "The pilot installation of the Lytefire dehydrator unit for drying the babaçu mesocarp [tree nuts] has significantly reduced from 4 days to 5,5 hours." We hope to be able (…)
Solar charcoal, cashew nuts process and new evolutions
Prototyping: beautiful (sometimes frustrating) and creative (sometimes repetitive trial and error iteration) prototyping! Building innovative new solutions to problems presented to us by our partner and their stakeholders on the ground. We’re in a very interesting phase here on the outskirts (…)
Partner spotlight: CarbonCycle Processing Inc.
Writing to you from the Philippines, we’re entering the most exciting phase of this collaboration. The construction of 4 Lytefire 5 units is complete, and now we’re testing, prototyping and training end users with the new applications we’ve built. I thought this would be a good time to share (…)
Impact Finland next week
I’m very excited and happy to represent my team at the InnoFrugal 2019 pitching contest on May 7th and to be invited as a speaker at Waves Festival. In Finland, "social entrepreneurship" is connected to "social service". The culture of impact (start-up, companies, investment) is almost (…)
Sometimes it only takes a poem, a garden and a few heroes.
A note from Oxford, Skoll World Forum.
I’m here, in the garden of Rhodes House, in Oxford. After three days only, I’m already adapted to this old town where so many amazing people have studied and lived, for the best and the worst. I’m missing our garden so much. One of the things we had to leave behind when we picked Finland to root (…)
Announcing Collaboration with USTP University
We are happy to announce the start of a collaboration with the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines. Carbon Cycle ltd is very dynamic to initiate our partnership to implement our technology for micro-entrepreneurs in the Philippines. In that context, it seemed (…)
GoSol’s Guest Lecture at University of California, Berkeley
UC Berkeley campus, California. © Wikimedia In February 2019 we kicked-off a collaboration with UC Berkeley’s MDP department, focused on modeling the impact the GoSol solution can have at a global scale. As part of the cooperation, Eerik and I were invited to present a guest lecture to the (…)
Grand Challenges of Sustainability
I’m honoured and happy to be invited by the Lappeenranta University of Technology to be part of the panel discussion on Grand Challenges of Sustainability. There is much to say and I look forward a very creative discussion! The panel concludes a MSc course on the topic focusing, such as the (…)
Why GoSol
This is a key reading to understand our work and our vision. This text is a short version of a much longer text that unpacks all the arguments with calculations and sources. However, since climate change is accelerating, we feel it is better to publish and share this version in the meantime. (…)
"You have the energy right over your head, so you have to utilize it"
This is an interview with Derrick, one of the youth mentors at the Gulu SmartUp Factory, Uganda. In the video, he discusses why entrepreneurs need to be dynamic, the health and economics of polluting heat sources like charcoal or wood and some hopes for the future. The students here in Gulu (…)
USTP’s Innovation Summit 2019 in the Philippines
Last week I was honoured to be invited as a speaker to the 2nd Innovation Summit 2019 hosted by The University of Science and Technology of the Southern Philippines (USTP) who’s now our partner. The two day event was filled with sessions from industry, government and academe. I spoke on the (…)
"I want to be one of the youths who are job creators"
Meet Angella, one of the young women at SmartUp Factory Tororo who participated in our solar entrepreneurship education training. Angella was one of the most enthusiastic bakers in the group, always with a big smile on her face. She participated regularly in the roundtable discussions about (…)
GoSol.solar starting in the Philippines
I’m extremely excited to be travelling to the Philippines to work with our new client and partner, CarbonCycle. I’ve never been anywhere in Asia and to be able to travel to such a tropical paradise and leave behind the -15C depths of Canadian winter makes this trip extra special. I’ve (…)
CEO impact events: SDG’s workshop in Helsinki and Skoll forum
Yesterday I have attended a nice workshop about SDG’s organised by Finnpartnership and Beam. It’s really great that impact is spreading in Finland because the country is a bit behind compared to other Nordic neighbours. Soon a UNTIL lab will also work with companies and UN Global compact will (…)
"I’m enjoying being in business and I believe I’ll prosper"
Meet Janet from SmartUp Factory Gulu Hub in Uganda. Janet was one of the most energetic participants of our solar entrepreneurship education package, always asking questions and clarifying, volunteering and speaking up. She took special interest in book keeping and went on to become the groups (…)
Our Experience with +Impact by Danske Bank
Since a few months we are part of the +impact platform created by Danske Bank and we wanted to share our experience with that. Many tools and incubation services exist for-startups, and through our journey we saw that very often they are more marketing tools and social networking buzz than (…)
Announcing GoSol - UC Berkeley MDP Collaboration
We are happy to announce the start of a collaboration with the MDP program at UC Berkeley, California. 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 (…)
GoSol Solar Training Highlights
We’re happy to share with you this video which shows some great moments from the Solar Entrepreneurship Training we conducted in Uganda with Plan International (Uganda) and SmartUp Factory Uganda. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%; During this course we taught (…)
GoSol Evening Reception at Autodesk Gallery
San Francisco, February 25th 2019
GoSol & Autodesk Foundation invite you to join us for refreshments and learn about GoSol’s solar concentrators developed to empower millions of entrepreneurs and slow climate change. After proving their unique model for scaling solar thermal energy with Autodesk Foundation’s support, (…)
Starting in the Philippines with Carbon Cycle
All the team is very happy to announce our new project in the Philippines with CarbonCycle, a recycling company and a renewable energy startup based in Cagayan de Oro City. Mr Dale Franco Llentic, CEO and founder of Carbon Cycle, has followed our work for the past 3 years and decided to start (…)
The Inspiring Image of the Day!
We are happy to share this image sent by World Vision Kenya. These are solar baked buns produced and sold by our friends at Yier Ngima in Siaya, Kenya. This group started with a Lytefire roaster to roast peanuts to make peanut butter. They don’t grow enough peanuts to be roasting full-time, (…)
Indigenous Suruí using the Lytefire Oven & Dehydrator in the Amazon
The first phase of our project in Brazil with Forest Trends to empower indigenous Suruí peoples with solar thermal energy shows a great success. Here are a few insights on this phase! Local construction of the Lytefire One of our Lytefire designs is optimized for local construction. With help (…)
7 Sustainable Development Goals made real for Eva Nangira, a young solar entrepreneur in Uganda
We’d like to introduce you to Eva Nangira, one of the youth mentors at the SmartUp Factory Tororo Hub. Eva is a very attentive student and really grasps the significance of our Lytefire oven. In this short video, she describes the impact that the Lytefire oven is having on her life. Eva (…)
Lytefire 5 in the Amazon: solar drying nuts for Suruí Indigenous People
After building the Lytefire 5 solar concentrator and dehydrator in Cacoal, I was ready to take and install them for the Suruí people that live 3 hours down a bumpy off-road track on the edge of the Amazon jungle. Introducing the Suruí To give a bit of context. The specific Suruí family I was (…)
World Vision Suomi
"Aurinkoinnovaatio lisäsi pienyrittäjien tuloja ja työturvallisuutta Keniassa"
ePressi
"Auringon lämpöenergiaa hyödyntävä innovaatio lisäsi pienyrittäjien tuloja ja työturvallisuutta Keniassa"
Invitation to Guest Lecture at TAMK:
Direct Solar Energy - Theory and Practice
This Friday November 30th, Eerik Wissenz, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of our project has been invited to give a lecture at Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK). The lecture is following our previous collaboration with TAMK where we supported students’ thesis projects related to (…)
Solar Forest - Evening Reception
November 27th, San Francisco
GoSol.solar (educational side of Solar Fire Concentration Oy) and Forest Trends are hosting an evening reception to celebrate our partnership to reduce deforestation and empower local communities with our innovative solar thermal solution. The event will bring together project supporters, impact (…)
The Inspiring Image of the Day!
This is from Uganda, were Lorin has now completed the trainings of Smart Up Factory groups of young students entrepreneurs managed by Plan International. A Smart Sun Bakery is created now and all our team wish them the best of luck to make a profitable and sustainable business with their Lytefire!
Starting in Brazil
In the background of the above photo you can see Cacoal city. I’m in Cacoal building a solar concentrator and food dehydrator for the Surui people that live in the jungle a few hours by car from Cacoal, State of Rondonia. It’s been a week and a half since I arrived in Cacoal. The project is to (…)
Meeting UN Agencies in Copenhagen
I’m in Copenhagen at the UN procurement seminar, surrounded by people who deeply want this world to be a better place, meeting different agencies who are all extremely receptive to our work, as well as very interesting companies (165 small, medium and big companies attending from Nordic (…)
Forest Trends
"Forest Trends and GoSol.solar Announce New Partnership Connecting Indigenous Communities with Solar Technologies"
GoSol.solar Showcase at SOCAP’18 San Francisco
Last week we got to showcase GoSol at the SOCAP conference in San Francisco, October 23rd to 27th, 2018. Autodesk Foundation hosted an evening reception at their Gallery on One Market, in collaboration with Acumen, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, Miller Center for Social (…)
Uganda: Follow-Up and Follow-Through
I’m following up & following through with our young solar powered entrepreneurs at the SmartUp Factory Tororo Hub. I’ve been receiving small reports and hearing from Plan Uganda and SmartUp staff that our trainees have been baking, making sales and getting paid! They’ve even taken to social (…)
Scaling the Direct Solar Economy
21 October 2018
Announcing Partnership with Forest Trends
Lytefire is landing in South America! We are very happy about our latest partnership with the organization Forest Trends and excited to start in Brazil where we have a lot of demand for our Lytefire. Forest Trends is a US based NGO supported by USAID and IKEA Foundation. One of their goals is (…)
Transition Time for GoSol: New Video,
Scaling the Direct Solar Economy
Dear Friends, Partners, Customers and Followers, It’s an important moment for us: GoSol has achieved the Direct Solar Economy vision! By providing a clean source of energy to SME’s and farmers, a sustainable economy has started in sunny developing countries. The educational trainings with (…)
Second Training in Uganda Completed!
I’m happy to report that there is a new solar powered bakery business operating in Gulu, Uganda! Our two-week training course in cooperation with Plan International and SmartUp Factory Gulu Hub finished with a great launch event where the young entrepreneurs promoted their bakery cooperative and (…)
Let there be Solar Fire!
I’m now well into the training here in Gulu, Uganda, training entrepreneur students from the Smart Up program set by Plan International. The students have truly experienced the Solar Fire. Sharon, who is interested in robotics and fabrication, learns for the first time handling a (…)
Solar training in Uganda: Happy Future Entrepreneurs!
Two weeks ago I arrived to Tororo, Uganda, to a warm welcome from the Plan International and SmartUp Factory teams. My mission was to train Uganda’s first solar thermal entrepreneurs using our Lytefire Oven. Over the short span of two weeks, our education course fully trained the youths in (…)
Plan International’s Clip after a day of Educational Training
Watch this very first video of entrepreneurs getting trained at Smartup Factory in Uganda to run solar bakeries with our Lytefire! It’s great to see the young participants of the educational training in Uganda getting boosted! .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%; (…)
GoSol’s full vision starting in Uganda
with Plan International
Since the very beginning, the way we see it at GoSol is that we must deliver an efficient and powerful solar concentrator, and a training to users, and… more. Over the past years, we have refined the Lytefire to the point where local entrepreneurs can actually use it daily to save money, (…)
Longan, a Vietnamese fruit that could go solar
In her previous post, Tran Ngo, our Junior Project Manager, shared about Vietnamese SME’s that could greatly benefit from GoSol solar concentrators. We have already proven that the Lytefire is great for solar baking, roasting nuts and chocolate beans, dry fish and fruits, produce steam for (…)
Can Lytefire be useful in South East Asia?
Sponsored by our partner Autodesk Foundation, our Junior Project Manager is just back from her field trip to Vietnam for the second phase of the Vietnam Market Access Program (VMAP+), a program supported by the Finnish Innovation Partnership Program (IPP). Here are her impressions and (…)
Video: A Solar Bakery Run by Women in Tanzania
We are thrilled to share this film showing how these Tanzanian Entrepreneur Women are using our Lytefire technology to run their bakery. Listen to their testimony after a year of solar baking in their village! This project was possible in cooperation with Global Resource Alliance and with the (…)
Announcing Partnership with Plan International Finland and SmartUp Factory programme in Uganda
In partnership with Plan International Finland and Plan International Uganda, we are starting a new cooperation in Uganda providing our Lytefire solar concentrators and educational trainings to the SmartUp Factory program. SmartUp Factory is driven by the idea that "since the poor and (…)
Farmers Days in Kenya
On June 19th, World Vision Kenya presented the Lytefire oven at Misire Afmaga group in presence of 350 people, including many students. This event was part of the Farmers field days, in Nyamusi. And the theme was: Promoting Innovation and Technology in Agriculture and Trade. Several (…)
This was AU London 2018
This week Eerik and I got to attend the Autodesk University conference and Impact Summit in London. Autodesk University brings together industry leaders in manufacturing and construction to learn about the trends and emerging technologies Autodesk enables with their software tools, and how we (…)
Greening the Blue in Kenya
World Environment Day was celebrated on June 5th in Kisumu thanks to our cooperation with World Vision. About 500 persons attended the event. A Lytefire oven was brought from Koptige bakery to the event and all the entrepreneurs groups participated all day, sharing their experience and (…)
In Kenya, rural solar entrepreneurs share on Lytefire Oven
We’re pleased to bring you the latest footage from our end user entrepreneurs in Western Kenya. Our partners at World Vision Kenya asked the bakers from Afmago Misire Bakery and the Koptige Women’s Group to share their thoughts on their experiences baking with sunlight over the past year. (…)
Back in San Francisco, Interviewing Near Future Summit
and Autodesk on Sustainability and Impact
Interview with Zem Joaquin, founder of Near Future Summit as she mentions her favourite quote by Bill McDonough: “We need to love all children of all species for all time.” After a great showcase of the Lytefire at Near Future Summit, Will and I returned to San Francisco early last week. (…)
Showcasing the Lytefire Oven at Near Future Summit
Today we had an amazing showcase of our Lytefire Oven at Near Future Summit! Everyone got to experience the power of the sun, snack some tasty solar cookies and learn about our impact. This was an exciting opportunity for us to spread awareness on solar thermal and make new connections to (…)
Solar Baking Demo at Pier 9, California
Today we did a solar bake at Autodesk’s Pier 9, as part of our preparation for next week’s Near Future Summit. A curious crowd of people stopped by to see the Lytefire in action, and we spent a sunny afternoon baking pizzas, cookies, and my new favourite: "Pão de queijo" - Brazilian cheese (…)
Our Californian Solar Concentrator turns One Year Old!
The Lytefire solar concentrator we built during our Impact Residency at Pier 9 last year just turned 1. It was safely tucked away in storage taking up precious space at the Pier, but when Will and I reached the Pier last week, we were relieved that the technology easily stores and all pieces (…)
GoSol Showcasing at Near Future Summit, California
We are very happy to announce our participation in this year’s Near Future Summit. Thanks to Autodeks’s support, we’ll be showcasing our Lytefire unit among impact oriented inventors, entrepreneurs, media and investors. For us it’s a great opportunity to share our solution and connect with (…)
Finland-Vietnam IPP program selecting SolarFire/GoSol again
Another recent reason to share happiness is that we have been selected for the second phase of VMAP+, a program from Finnish Innovation Partnership Program (IPP). Last Autumn, we were part of the first phase and we have been very lucky to cooperate with Mrs. Pham Thi Thanh Huong, Business (…)
Announcing Partnership with TAMK
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 (…)
Autodesk Foundation renewing support for 2018
Last February, Autodesk Foundation team visited 2 groups of entrepreneurs in Kenya and they were fully convinced by the impact of the Lytefire. On the top picture, our followers can identify Mr David Chepkwony, first solar baker in Kenya, always so enthusiastic and happy with his Lytefire at (…)
GoSol.solar Launched!!!
It’s been a great experience designing the new site and we’re super excited our new website GoSol.solar is now launched. For longterm followers I think it’s a good moment to answer "why all the website changes?" Our company domain moved from solarfire.org to solarfire.co when we made the (…)
Demand @ASME
"Design for a warming world - How the products we use and buildings we inhabit are designed plays an instrumental role in climate change"
Update from Kenya projects: Training Entrepreneurs
Last week, members from all the GoSol projects participated in a capacity building training session on Village Savings and Loans Methodology organised by World Vision. The training session covered such topics as microfinance products, various financial calculations formula, savings habits, (…)
Finnpartnership
"The Finnish Solar Fire Concentration is testing solar energy technology in Africa that is suitable for small-scale entrepreneurs. "
Update from Musoma, Tanzania
After three months of rainy weather, the sun is back in Musoma and Alpha Women’s group is back with delicious solar baked breads! We’ve just got pictures from our partner, Global Resource Alliance. Alpha Women’s group used improved cook-stoves and kettles to bake scones, for themselves and (…)
Finnpartnership
"Suomalainen Solar Fire Concentration testaa Afrikassa pienyrittäjille sopivaa aurinkoenergiatekniikkaa"
Wärtsilä’s video introducing our project
After a year of cooperation in East Africa, Wärtsilä Corp. is promoting our initiative in their own words. Watch their video presenting our work in Tanzania and Kenya:
Video: Impact Residency at Autodesk Pier 9
Watch how Autodesk Foundation and Pier 9 supported GoSol.org this year on our path to design, develop and spread our entrepreneurial solar thermal solution! Listen to Sherry Wong of Pier 9, Zoé Bezpalko of Autodesk Foundation and Eerik Wissenz, William Cleaver and Urs Riggenbach of GoSol.org (…)
Flagship video of projects in Kenya and Tanzania
After a year of operation with support of our sponsor and with our local partners, we are happy to present our achievements in Kenya and Tanzania. Our local partners are ensuring the follow up of the project as well as data collection to prepare scale up. Several communities have been (…)
Very dynamic solar bakers in Tanzania
Buy what’s available, refine it, sell it for profit. Do it over and over again and support your family and community. This seems to be the operating model of the Tujijenge group working in the Makoko neighborhood in Musoma, Tanzania. They do all kinds of value-adding food processing, depending (…)
Inclusive Business Hub
"GoSol.org and Weconomy are a pioneering the inclusive business space."
GoSol speaks at Autodesk University
Our Executive Chairman, Eerik Wissenz, was a speaker invited to the last Autodesk University in Cape Town, South Africa, on September 7th and 8th. During his talk, "Breaking the poverty cycle with solar entrepreneurship", he presented the results of our pilot projects in Kenya and Tanzania (…)
Global Resource Alliance and GoSol in Tanzania
Global Resource Alliance (GRA) is a small international NGO located in Musoma, Tanzania. They work on issues of orphan care, water supply, permaculture, herbal medicine, reforestation and sustainable household energy use – which are all pressing issues in Tanzania. The GoSol team is a big fan of (…)
The First Solar Bakery in Tanzania
.embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%; Gosol arrived to Tanzania in June 2017, with the goal to replicate the success of the Lytefire solar concentrators that they had in Kenya and other countries. The very first oven was featured in Butiama Environmental Expo, where many (…)
Landing in Tanzania: Butiama Environmental Expo
.embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%; When GoSol arrived in Tanzania in May 2017, the goal was to replicate the success our Lytefire Oven has in Kenya among the local entrepreneurs. With sponsorship from Wärtsilä, the very first Lytefire Oven was displayed at annual Butiama (…)
Fish dehydrated with solar energy at Bao Beach, Kenya
.embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%; Food dehydration is an important part of food security and solar thermal tech is the perfect energy source to power food dehydration. In partnership with World Vision Kenya, we have been introduced to the Bao Beach beach management (…)
Global Ressource Alliance: Our Partner in Tanzania
After a successful mission in Kenya, working with World Vision Finland and World Vision Kenya, and with sponsorship from Wärtsilä, we have piloted our technology in Tanzania. As local partner, we have chosen the Global Resource Alliance, a Tanzanian organization also connected to the (…)
Makali News
"Watanzania kunufaika na gosol; unaweza kuangalia picha na matukio yote katika semina hiyo"
CLEO 24 News
"Video na picha katika matukio tofauti:watanzania tumieni fursa zilizopo kuepuka uharibifu wa mistu"
1 Year After: Expanding Solar Bakery in Kenya
Thanks to Wärtsilä, our founding sponsor, we were back to Kenya, collecting a lot of data after 1 year of almost daily use of the Lytefire Oven by bakers in cooperation with World Vision. But most of all, we were able to provide an additional Lytefire solar oven to these motivated solar bakers. (…)
Yier Ngima - Solar Peanut Butter
In this video we’re back at the Yier Ngima cooperative in Kenya, to follow up on their feedback after using the Lytefire for a year. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
GoSol.org at Maker Fair 2017
Last weekend GoSol.org had a booth at Maker Fair Bay Area, sharing about our impact in Kenya and inviting people to our live showcase on May 25th at Pier 9 . We were invited to Maker Fair by Gearbox, an up and coming Kenyan makerspace who is also supported by Autodesk Foundation. Here a few (…)
Preserving the green beauty with the power of the sun
Misire youth group is an agricultural community in Nyamira County in southwest Kenya. The area is known for its rich agricultural production. The main crops in the area include bananas, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, beans and tea. The land is hilly and green and one can see small fields everywhere (…)
Digital Solar Oven Fabrication at Pier 9
Over the last weeks we have worked on applying Autodesk Pier 9’s digital fabrication toolset to the Lytefire Oven. One of the great things about Pier 9 is that some of Autodesk’s leading experts on digital fabrication have their office at Pier 9 and have directly been supporting us in our (…)
San Francisco Showcase, May 25th
Come and join us for delicious solar cookies as we demonstrate the Lytefire Solar Oven at Autodesk Pier 9 on May 25th! Experience the power of solar concentration technology and learn how GoSol.org enables entrepreneurs in Africa to go solar with innovative design. The event is taking place (…)
You make the world a better place by working...
You make the world a better place by working together, and sometimes small local partners can provide the best value for the local people. Like a solar bakery in a community center. Lokichoggio is a Kenyan town in in northwest Kenya, near the border with South Sudan. The town is very remote, (…)
Presenting Results and a New Application in Kisumu
Last Friday, on April 7th, at the World Vision Lake Region compound in Kisumu we presented 3 Lytefire to around 65 representatives from a wide variety of NGOs and the Kisumu County government. It was the occasion for our team to present the spirit of our work, its impact since a year and the (…)
Solar for All – From Vision to Reality
Today we are looking back at a year of intense R&D, prototyping, piloting and partnership building in Kenya, Finland and the US, taking us from our vision to an actual proof-of-concept. At GoSol.org we have been working hard to address the need of millions of entrepreneurs in emerging (…)
Return to Solar Oven in Kenya
Thanks to the support of our founding sponsor Wärtsilä we are back Kenya since two months, following up on the pilot projects that we started in cooperation with Weconomy and World Vision about a year ago. It was amazing to re-meet the entrepreneurs after leaving the machines with them for more (…)
Africa Business Communities
"New off grid energy technology promises job opportunities for rural Kenyans"
Video Blog: OCTO, Autodesk’s Digital Fabrication Lab at Pier 9
Last week we had the opportunity to visit Autodesk’s OCTO lab. At the lab, Autodesk researches emerging methods of fabrication, looking at everything from machine learning to augmented reality and how that will influence how we make things in the future. .embed-responsive-4by3::before (…)
Wärtsilä sponsors GoSol in Kenya and soon in Tanzania
All the GoSol.org team is happy to announce that Wärtsilä is now sponsoring our work to empower entrepreneurs in Kenya and in Tanzania. Check out Wärtsilä’s announcement.
Solar Oven a Kakuma Refugee Camp with UNHCR, Kenya, 2017
This is the first time we demonstrated the Lytefire tech inside a refugees camp, marking an important milestone on our path to make solar energy more accessible. Last week, Lorin Symington and Heikki Lindfors demonstrated the Solar Oven in the Kakuma refugees camp at the the United Nations (…)
Wärtsilä Corporation
Wärtsilä partners with Solar Fire Concentration to create business opportunities and provide clean energy to SME’s in rural Kenya.
First demo of solar oven for refugees
Lorin Symington updates on experience in and around Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana region of Kenya. The Oven is complete and a local Turkana women helps test with the first cake baked with the Lytefire 5 (former Lytefire) in Turkana!
Video Blog: Introducing the Electronics Lab at Autodesk Pier 9
Apart from CNC machines, 3D printers and laser cutters we’ll be working in the electronics lab at Pier 9, which has everything needed to rapidly prototype analog and digital mechanisms of automation. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Video Blog: Welcome to Pier 9!
The first month at Pier 9 have gone by in a breeze. Here are some impressions from the amazing workshops at the Pier. Everything from laser cutting, CNC milling to 3D printing is there, waiting to be used for our solar design work! .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Solar Oven Landing in Refugee Camp, Kenya, 2017
Our team is honoured and excited to be installing our Lytefire 5 baking system at Kakuma in Northern Kenya in the Turkana region. Trees are slow to grow in normal circumstances and to make things worse the region is in the midst of a long drought. On the plus side, the skies are clear and blue (…)
First days at Autodesk Pier 9, San Francisco
It has just been a few days that Will Cleaver and Urs Riggenbach have touched down in San Francisco and started their Impact Residency at Autodesk, Pier 9. During the first days, they have been participating in workshops teaching the advanced CNC equipment at the facility. During this process (…)
Impact Residency Program Starting at Autodek Pier 9
Two of our team members just reached San Francisco, where they’ll be working at the Autodesk Pier 9 facility as part of the Impact Residency program granted to us by Autodesk Foundation. Stay tuned in the coming days for updates from their side! <signup|>
Solar Fire at AutoDesk University
We just got back from the Impact Summit organized by Autodesk Foundation in parallel to AutoDesk University in Las Vegas. We participated as a grantee project supported by the AutoDesk Foundation The Impact Summit was an amazing event. All the impact organizations and startups supported by (…)
Update from Kenya: The Lytefire Oven generates income
and supports the entrepreneurs
It is one thing to build and install the Lytefire Oven solar concentrator, but it’s another one to use it. Knowing this, we did our best to train the community businesses in Kenya where we’ve installed our Lytefire Oven models in April/May. Now it has been four months since we’ve left Kenya, but (…)
The "Effective Use" of a Solar Concentrator
Effective Use One of our core design principles is aiming for "effective use." By this we mean how much solar energy is transformed into real income for the entrepreneur using our solar concentrators. The key factor is how many hours of the day the entrepreneur can actively find use for the (…)
Predicting the Next Billion Solar Concentrators
Solar concentration is going to change the world, period. There, we said it. And we want to make it very clear: Solar concentration will play a key role in providing energy access to the poor, reversing deforestation, and mitigating climate change. It will also play a key role in cross-cutting (…)
Autodesk Foundation supports GoSol / Solar Fire
Our team is very happy to announce that the Autodesk Foundation (USA) has committed to support our work with a USD 100,000 grant and a very exciting support program. And here is what Autodesk’s team is saying about our work: "We’re impressed with Solar Fire’s design-driven approach to bringing (…)
SolBook: Preparing the Next Generation
of Solar Builders and Entrepreneurs
The SolBook is a resource for integrating GoSol.org’s empowering knowledge into school’s curricula. It will contain lessons on the physics, ecology, economics and entrepreneurial aspects of thermal solar energy. This book will take on the energy problem of today and makes it approachable for (…)
World Vision’s video presenting our work in Kenya
In this beautiful video you are invited to understand fully what we have achieved in Kenya with the cooperation of Weconomy and World Vision Kenya. One month after the end of this first phase, the communities have adopted the tech even faster than we thought and the women would be very happy (…)
Solar Cooking Chef in New York!
More than a year after we gave a Lytefire Stove to the Teaching Garden of GrowNYC, on Governor Island, it still works well and is being used regularly! During summer time, for students and the general public, Shawn Connell of GrowNYC says "it is an impressive and popular tool. Making popcorn (…)
Radio France Internationale
Radio show "C’est pas du vent" by RFI featuring Arnaud Crétot, CTO of GoSol.org.
EcoTown
За допомогою сонячних концентраторів в Кенії печуть хліб і виготовляють арахісове масло
Building the Direct Solar Economy
Discover what has been accomplished in Kenya in partnership with Weconomy, Suomen World Vision and World Vision Kenya. It’s so powerful to see that these bakers and organic peanut butter producers. They are the seeds of an emerging direct solar economy. .embed-responsive-4by3::before (…)
Meeting the Kopitge Bakers in Kenya
and First Solar Bread Testing
We are proud to be able to help the Koptige Bakers by providing them with the knowledge to build and maintain a solar powered bakery that they can use on a daily basis regardless of the power cuts they sometimes suffer, that can last for days. Baking with solar ovens, watch the video below to (…)
Thank YOU!
We are thrilled!! Our #FreeTheSun video presenting our project, tech and spirit has reached 46 749 views on Youtube... Wow!! Let’s hope the coming gifts and products will spread like this and there will be for sure a much more optimistic energy future for humanity (and forests, and plants). (…)
Building Lytefire Solar Concentrators in Kenya
Our best solar oven and roaster builder Lorin Symington has been in Kenya for a few weeks making our Lytefire solar concentrator to roast peanuts and bake bread. After having sourced all material for the solar concentrator locally and worked with a local team of metal workers great success has (…)
Les Vagabonds de l’énergie reprennent la route !
Souvenirs, souvenirs... Il y a quelques années, Robin Deloof et Arnaud Crétot terminaient leurs études et avaient décidés de faire un périple autour du monde pour explorer les diverses solutions énergétiques à l’oeuvre. Ils ont alors créé "les Vagabonds de l’énergie" et ont posé leurs sacs à dos (…)
GoSol - What We Do and Why
At GoSol team spirits means a lot to us. Since a few years now, no matter if we work together from different corners of the globe or not, no matter the huge ups and downs of every project, we share the same spirit and working together on our own solar projects around the world was and still is (…)
Two Inspiring Events Upcoming in Helsinki
"Are you “Value Conscious” and “Values Conscious”? Do you want to learn how to do more with less? Do you want to know how to innovate under resource constraints and cost controls? Are you already working on or want to learn more about high impact, new tech, sustainable and affordable solutions? (…)
Meeting a Courageous Kenyan Women’s Community
Our whole team is thrilled to be watching Lorin’s first footage from Kenya because these women are the reason we all joined this amazing solar adventure. We have dreamed and developed our tech to meet their needs, the daily needs of people having a productive activity that can be fueled with (…)
GoSol on the road to Kenya
In this vblog, Lorin Symington is sharing his concerns, determinations and... tiredness before leaving to Kenya for our project in cooperation with the Weconomy program of World Vision Finland. It’s not an easy life to try solving energy poverty!! Lorin is our best builder. He prototyped, (…)
Starting in Kenya with World Vision
Almost all our team was in Paris to meet with our partners, Fondation Rexel and Fondation Deloitte, and briefed Lorin before his departure to Kenya to start a great project in cooperation with World Vision Finland and World Vision Kenya. Here is for you a short glimpse of this prep moment. (…)
Lytefire Save Trees
After moving to the city for school, Nayazim Raouzi Peskala is thinking about green ways to build businesses back home. Hear him share his thoughts with us after seeing the Lytefire Stove in action at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria, South Africa. Let’s hope solar bakeries will spread widely very (…)
First Replication of Lytefire Stove Model in Palestine
Welding shop in Palestine Moutasem returned to his home country a few months ago with nothing but a vision: To make sustainable energy affordable. To this end, he joined our early adopters program. Now Moutasem has turned social entrepreneur and replicated the Lytefire Stove technology fir the (…)
The Greenest Post
"Aprenda a fazer seu próprio painel solar para produzir energia limpa em casa"
Pensador Anônimo
"...a organização GoSol surge com o objetivo de democratizar os painéis solares pelo mundo"
In Nigeria with SF Green Resources
We are so happy to announce the beginning of the project in Nigeria with our partner SF Green Resources ltd. Abiodun Alabi and Funsho Folabi are two super motivated (and motivating) guys and we know they are going to make an awesome job with their team in Nigeria. The project starts now in (…)
Razões Para Acreditar
"Organização ensina como construir seu próprio painel solar para democratizar energia limpa"
Drying Fruits With Solar?
After seeing the Lytefire Stove in action at The Innovation Hub in South Africa, student of entrepreneurship Bobofranz Mafendela was excited to share with us the opportunities he sees for implementing GoSol technology back home in Sekhukhune District, Limpopo, South Africa. Can you imagine solar (…)
Lytefire Stove Demo to Entrepreneurs & Students
Together with our #FreeTheSun partners in South Africa, Sunfire Solutions, we demonstrated the Lytefire Stove solar concentrator to students and entrepreneurs at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria, RSA. Enjoy this video and then let’s go hard bringing GoSol.org tech everywhere in 2016! (…)
Post COP21 Ecology Strategy Review
We are still in the magic of Christmas and I think it’s a good time to reflect on whether Santa will grant the COP 21 wishes. As all children know, there are no guarantees. And that’s the whole point, there is nothing in the COP21 agreement that sets out to try to guarantee anything, we are told (…)
The COP21 Agreement: A Letter to Santa
The COP21 agreement is filled with all sorts of legalese that may be difficult for the average person to understand. A great deal of press has been published about a few phrases in the agreement, like a nod to 1.5°C being better than 2°C, but without a human, readable, translation it’s difficult (…)
Early Adopter Participates in Startup Program
Our early adopter Moutasem Hassan took part in the cewas Middle East startup course in Palestine. Moutasem (front-right) wants to take GoSol.org technology to Palestine and this week-long course helps social entrepreneurs like him refine their business ideas and build a solid strategy to move (…)
Backyard Baking in Joburg
Here’s a fun little video of GoSol’s Lorin Symington baking with the Lytefire Stove + oven in Johannesburg. Whether you bake mountains of muffins, scads of scones or a cornucopia of cookies... The oven can be replaced by a stove, a roaster, a food dehydrator... And the solar concentrator can (…)
Aaron Langa from Forum4Change
While at the Siyakhana gardens, we met up with Aaron Langa, a serial social entrepreneur and longtime advocate for the rights of the poor. He’s the founder of Forum4Change, an organization dedicated to upgrading the conditions in informal settlements. Hear him describe how GoSol.org’s solar (…)
Deloitte Foundation becomes a GoSol.org sponsor
We are happy and honored to announce that the Fondation d’entreprise Deloitte is becoming a new supporter of the GoSol.org initiative. Deloitte is an international company providing audits, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax and related services, worldwide. Created in 2008, (…)
Siyakhana vBlog
The Wits Siyakhana Initiative for Ecological Health and Food Security is a 2 hectare garden and eco-center tucked away in a Johannesburg city park. Powered by employees, volunteers, students and sponsors, the garden is one of the foremost permaculture sites in South Africa. In this video (…)
Meeting the Yier Ngima Support Group in Kenya
World Vision is one of the biggest NGOs in the world, in the field every day to support compassionate, educational and sustainable actions. Through the Weconomy program of World Vision Finland, we have started a partnership to bring our solar tech to Kenya, showcase the Lytefire Stove oven in (…)
Rorisa At the Innovation Hub
While we were at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria, South Africa, we got a chance to talk with some of the students there and we asked them what opportunities they saw with the Lytefire Stove. Presenting Rorisa Mogane, a young entrepreneur, who was so excited by our tech. (…)
Wandie’s Place - Going Solar?
Recently, we teamed up with restauranteur Wandile Ndala, owner of Wandies Place, the most famous township restaurant in South Africa. Wandies has played host to everyone from the New Zealand All Blacks to Sir Richard Branson and is a regular stop for nearly every tour bus passing through (…)
GoSol.org and SunFire Solutions on CCTV’s "Africa LIVE"
We blogged earlier on our solar showcase at Siyakhana where we hosted a film crew from CCTV Africa doing a piece on renewable energy and entrepreneurialism. Watch the movie below and see our Lytefire Stove model in action! .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Solar Energy and Food Gardens Are a Natural Fit
Community gardens are dynamic, important spaces that improve food security, increase access to nutritious and sustainably grown foods, and raise awareness about ecological practices. We spent a great day showing off the Lytefire Stove at Siyakhana starting with hosting a film crew from CCTV (…)
10 Km from Civilization - the GoSol Solution
We are very honoured and happy to publish this blog post from Gabriel Ojobo, Country Manager at SF Green Resources Nig. Ltd., our partner for our next mission in Nigeria. "Taking a ride from Jos, the capital of Plateau State in Nigeria to Jebbu Bassa is just a fifteen minute drive and from (…)
CCTV Africa
"Social Entrepreneurs Create a Solar Cooker in South Africa" (Video) .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Baking in Johannesburg
After completing the Lytefire Stove, I started to test the oven we’ve built at SunFire Solutions. First thing in the morning I decided to bake scones. Did you know that tea time is something serious in South Africa? People love scones! And here is a first batch of 24 baked in 25 mins during a (…)
Inspiring Innovation in Pretoria
The Lytefire Stove is done, and the oven won’t be far behind! Excited to get out and show off, we presented the solar concentrator to the students of the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, in the Gauteng region. It is a thriving education center offering students the opportunity to learn about every (…)
GoSol.org in the Johannesburg Workshop
Johannesburg is a great place to build. South Africa is the industrial heart of Southern Africa and JHB is where the action is. In the industrial districts it seems every 5th shop is either a laser cutting shop, an engineering firm, a metal supply or a paint store. Throw in the occasional glass (…)
greenMe.it
"GoSol: il solare a concentrazione fai-da-te che porta energia pulita alle popolazioni povere del mondo"
Pro/Hi-Tech
"Создайте свой собственный солнечный концентратор для дома с бесплатным руководством от GoSol"
Free The Sun Campaign for Builders
29 September 2015
Solar and the Meaning of Life
We have many ecological and social problems. Some say we’re doomed. Solar is expanding exponentially. Some say everything will be fine. We believe a solar economy is possible, but we can’t be relaxed about it. Our Plan Is To Do Something About It Our aim is to strike at the heart of our (…)
Starting in South Africa with SunFire Solutions
Thanks to the ongoing success of our #FreeTheSun campaign and the determination of SunFire Solutions, we’re finally on the ground in RSA. We’ll be building one of Lytefire Stove solar concentrators in Johannesburg in the coming weeks. Crosby Menzies of SunFire Solutions during the (…)
Rexel Foundation becomes a GoSol.org Sponsor
We are proud to announce that the Rexel Foundation for a Better Energy Future is reinforcing their support for the GoSol.org initiative by becoming a sponsor. Learn more about their commitment to social entrepreneurship in our earlier blog post presenting them.
Solar Eggplant at GrowNYC
The guys at GrowNYC just cant be stopped. Another tasty solar snack directly harvested and cooked in their solar garden.
Solar Breakfast at Surface in Hamilton, Canada
I’ve just completed another Lytefire Stove model based on the most recent early-adopter construction plans here at Surface Design Space in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It so happened that it was the birthday of local musician Mary Simon - what better occasion to inaugurate our solar concentrator? (…)
Connecting Builders: Switzerland meets Togo
Recently we connected the two early adopters Kurt Baumann, who built a Lytefire 4 with his school-class in Switzerland and Boris Awume from Togo, whom we portrayed earlier. Boris currently works in Switzerland but he’s going to start building in Togo at the beginning of September. We used the (…)
UK NHS Secretary Jean Bell on ’Why GoSol.org’
Jean Bell is secretary at UK’s National Health Service NHS. Having followed the development of GoSol and Solar Fire, I think solar concentrators could be a valuable, environmentally-friendly solution. A communal village concentrator could free up local people from having to walk further (…)
Solar Popcorn and Greens at GrowNYC
Earlier this year we built a Lytefire Stove solar concentrator at SI Makerspace and installed it at the Teaching Garden of GrowNYC. Shawn Connell, staff member at GrowNYC, runs workshops teaching youth about the green economy, sustainable gardening and... solar concentration! These are his (…)
Boris Awume, Entrepreneur from Togo
Boris Awume is our most recent early adopter. He is an entrepreneurially-minded Togolese working in Switzerland but excited to make new things possible in his homecountry. Starting at the end of this month, Boris and his team are going to build the Lytefire Stove model to test it’s merits in (…)
Sortir du nucléaire
Article on GoSol.org in the french magazine Sortir du nucléaire. "GoSol, l’entreprenariat solaire accessible aux plus pauvres." Read it on our blog.
Engineering Students Complete Solar Concentrator in Pakistan
The engineering students at Air University completed their final project of a hybrid solar-biomass system. Their model used our Lytefire 4 solar concentrator in combination with a biogas digester. We congratulate the students for their graduation and hope they keep pursuing the advent of (…)
Solar Energy for Palestine
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 a Palestinian citizen. At age 17, he got a scholarship to attend the United World (…)
First Sizzle with the Lytefire 4 in Switzerland
After setting up the solar concentrator in the school’s yard, the students had to calibrate the mirrors. Soon enough the vegetables, burgers and bacon were easily cooked with nothing more than sunlight. As indicated by the GoSol.org team it really did take us 2 hours to calibrate the mirrors (…)
Hybrid Power Generation at Air University, Islamabad
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 (…)
Swiss Schoolclass is Building a Lytefire Stove
Kurt Baumann is a handicraft teacher in Langenthal, Switzerland. He is our first MultiPass supporter, and wants to build a solar concentrator as an educational project together with his students. Kurt teaches his students anything from woodworking to welding to general handicraft skills. (…)
L’entreprenariat solaire accessible aux plus pauvres
L’article ci-dessous est la version complète d’un article de deux pages qui sera publié dans la revue du réseau "Sortir du nucléaire" cet été 2015 : Basée en Finlande, l’entreprise sociale Solar Fire Concentration propose des solutions thermiques pour les petites et moyennes industries du sud. (…)
Lytefire Stove Guide Ready for Early Adopters
We’ve just finished the first version of the Lytefire Stove guide and now all our Early-Adopters get to download it and start building right away! As early adopter you get to build first. You get access to the construction guide, and details of the expected budget, time to build and (…)
Radio France Internationale
"C’est pas du vent", a radio program about the environment and solutions. Our CTO, Arnaud Crétot, presents the GoSol.org campaign and constructions guides.
United World College Mahindra
"To live the UWC mission of a sustainable future is challenging, but Urs Riggenbach from Switzerland is determined to change the way we use technology to help build a sustainable future." - Portrait of Urs Riggenbach and GoSol.org.
Mongabay
"Solar thermal is limited firstly by the availability of sunlight, secondly by useable surface area upon which to place solar concentrators and lastly by the imagination." Interview with Lorin Symington.
Faites le plein d’avenir
"GoSol, une entreprise sociale basée en Finlande lance une campagne de financement participatif pour permettre à des artisans du monde entier de bénéficier gratuitement..."
Mackenson’s Solar Pizza
Mackenson, the first GoSol.org technician in Haiti is back on the GoSol.org blog with a message to all our viewers and potential supporters: "Ansanm, ansanm nap rive pi lwen". When I asked Mackenson if we should make pizza his eyes lit up. He rarely gets the chance to eat pizza, since running (…)
PianetabluNews
"Il sole è un bene di tutti, approfittiamone per combattere declino ambientale e povertà nel mondo. Non si tratta di una visione naïve, ma di un traguardo fattibile."
Non Sprecare
"Forni solari, la campagna di crowdfunding “Free the sun” per un cambiamento globale" - The "Free the Sun" crodwfunding campaign for a global change.
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
"to break the capital cost barriers to small scale use of solar concentration for household cooking, small commercial use,..."
18eLode - Il giornale degli universitari
A portrait of Elisabetta Gaglione of GoSol / Solar Fire, in Italian, and a section featuring the Free The Sun campaign.
Baking Cake in Haiti
We met Fabienne Dorlean through Robillard Louino, a young leader from Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She’s a graduate from a hotelery program and a very capable young baker. She is really excited about solar baking, and says that gas-fired baking ovens are expensive to buy and expensive (…)
Agence Ecofin
"GoSol à la rescousse des artisans africains pour l’exploitation des ressources solaires"
Terra Eco
"Du solaire pour booster l’artisanat du Sud" - Solar energy to boost artisanal activity in the Global South.
L’ecoBottega
"Free the Sun: energia solare accessibile a tutti, in ogni parte del mondo" - Accessible solar energy to everyone everywhere in the world.
Energie Rinnovabili
"Ridurre l’Impatto del Cambiamento Climatico e le Barriere d’Accesso al Solare" - Reducing climate change and facilitating access to solar energy.
Il Prof. Echos
"Là dove l’energia del sole rende felici " - Where solar energy makes people happy.
UBLU Umweltberatung Luzern
"Sonnenenergie nutzen geht auch ohne Photovoltaik- oder Solaranlage. Aus Spiegeln lassen sich hocheffiziente, autark funktionierende Öfen bauen und wer hat nicht als Kind schon mal mit einer Lupe ein Feuer entfacht..."
Rexel Foundation (Paris) is supporting us
We are honored and happy to count the Rexel Foundation among our partners for the campaign and to be part of the Rexel Foundation Platform for social enterprises. In the context of the Europeanization of its support platform for social entrepreneurship in the field of energy, the Rexel (…)
SOS Energie, Burkina Faso
Vincent Nikiema, the President of SOS Energie Burkina Faso (SOSEB), is happy to support our campaign and we hope we can start together some field operation very soon. SOS Energie was created in 2008 following a simple observation: in Burkina Faso 90% of deforestation is due to the use of (…)
Engadget
GoSol campaign featured among Tesla battery, Solar Impulse airplane, low-cost LEDs and other great solutions.
GrowNYC Goes Solar
We’re so happy to introduce our new partner GrowNYC, a non-profit which improves New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs like the Governors Island Teaching Garden. Plant, harvest and cook food while learning about sustainable practices. What a perfect home for one of (…)
Jeunes Verts Togo
The Jeunes Verts Togo are a youth association created in December 2009 with currently more than 500 members (students, youths, and women from the villages). Esso-kl’nam Pedessi, Project Leader, is enthusiastic about our solar project: "We love the idea of free construction guides and it would (…)
Inhabitat
"GoSol could be the key to no-cost solar heat around the world" - Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building
Meeting Patricia Mc Ardle, the Solar Lady
I’ve met Patricia McArdle a few years ago through her novel Farishta, where she shares about her experience in Afghanistan as a diplomat and the time she spent there spreading awareness about solar cooking. In this post Patricia answers us a few questions about her solar passion. How did (…)
BioEcoGeo - Cucinare col sole
"La missione di Solar Fire Concentration è rendere l’energia solare sostenibile accessibile a tutti, soprattutto alle piccole e medie industrie dei paesi ’emergenti’"
CityMetric
"Here’s how solar concentrators could provide renewable cooking technologies for the developing world"
SunFire South Africa Supports the #FreeTheSun Campaign
Crosby Menzies, founder of SunFire Solutions in Johannesburg, South Africa, is supporting our #FreeTheSun campaign. It’s an important partner for us because Crosby has expertise in solar cookers and a huge network in South Africa. This team is with us since the beginning of the GoSol.org (…)
PassWord Show, Radio Resonance
The Password radio program is the UK’s only regular-hour long foray into the world of science and technology and not only tells you about the latest developments in the area but what those technologies mean to you.
!["[GoSol.org] aims to kick off a global wave of solar entrepreneurship with free construction guides for building high-powered solar concentrators with local materials"](local/cache-gd2/63/80633841fcaa985af79ca9860ad798.jpg?1718089692)
Treehugger
"[GoSol.org] aims to kick off a global wave of solar entrepreneurship with free construction guides for building high-powered solar concentrators with local materials"
SciDev.Net
SciDev.Net is the world’s leading source of reliable and authoritative news, views and analysis on information about science and technology for global development.
World Vision and the Weconomy Program
Juha-Erkki Mäntyniemi, COO and Innovation Director, is presenting shortly the Weconomy program powered by the NGO World Vision. We plan a fruitful cooperation in Kenya with this program. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Voglio Vivere Cosi World - Energia solare termica per tutti
Rewieving our work in Haiti with the NGO Haiti Communitere last Winter.
Finnish Cleantech Delegation to San Francisco and L.A.
Last week I visited California as part of a Finnish cleantech delegation led by Ms. Lenita Toivakka, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade of Finland. The business delegation was attended by industry leaders and newcomers in the Finnsih cleantech sector. Finland hosts a (…)
BioEcoGeo Magazine
"Nel quinto anniversario del terribile terremoto ad Haiti, è sorta la prima “Solar Bakery” grazie ad una start up finlandese costituita da un team internazionale."
Baking Experiments in Haiti
Here, our budding entrepreneurs Mackenson and Island are preparing more treats in the 3m2 solar oven on the roof of Haiti Communitere, in Port-au-Prince Haiti. Everyone is really excited to create a business selling healthy food and earning extra $ by saving on fuel. In the pictures below (…)
Boond - Every Drop Makes a Difference
We are proud and honored to announce a cooperation with Rustam Sengupta, Founder and CEO of Boond for the crowdfunding campaign we are launching in the next few weeks. Boond is a social entreprise that promotes solar energy access in remote and rural parts of North India. Rustam researches (…)
Interview with Alan Bigelow, PhD, Columbia University
Alan Bigelow is a physicist that develops optical and ion-beam technologies at Columbia University. Passionate about solar energy and what it can do to solve our problems, Alan shares his views on solar concentration in this interview. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Solar French Fries
Funny... I’ve found this oooooold video of Solaire absl (a non-profit association based in Belgium) cooking French Fries with our solar tech.
Mackenson Has Seen the Future, the Future is GoSol!
Meet Mackenson, the first GoSol.org technician in Haiti and a dear friend of mine. He’s a good man with a kind heart who has lived a difficult life. He dreams of a better future for his children, and for his country. Mackenson is skilled and inspiring like so many potential entrepreneurs all (…)
Arnaud Crétot’s Interview for Libres! Le Film
Our thermal engineer Anaud Crétot talks about our energy future in this interview for Libres Le Film (in French). Arnaud Crétot, ingénieur thermicien et Directeur Scientifique de GoSol.org, raconte à travers son parcours dans le monde de l’énergie, comment la question des choix énergétiques (…)
Staten Island Cookoff with GrowNYC
See the results of Lorin’s training and demonstration day with GrowNYC at the Staten Island Makerspace. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
The New Global East Africa Event
Yesterday we attended an event hosted by The New Global at Aalto University. Solar entrepreneurs Patrick Ngowi of Helvetic Solar and Rustam Sengupta of Boond gave excellent presentations. This was followed by a discussion with renewable energy developers of Finland about their cooperation with (…)
GoSol.org International Team in Tampere, Finland
Meet the GoSol.org team in this short film by French filmaker Basile Remaury.
Grilled Cheese in the Freezing Cold!
Saturday was freezing cold (-10°C / 14°F) but Lorin & co. were cooking up a storm at the Staten Island Makerspace in New York. Want to check out the most powerful solar cooker in New York City? Let us know!
Concentrator Ready at Staten Island Makerspace
Lorin has finished building one of GoSol.org’s solar cookers in record time! Have a look at his video introducing some of the people at the Staten Island MakerSpace. The north east United States is expecting a big snowstorm in the next few days but as soon as the sun shines again we’ll be (…)
"Libres!" Trailer with English Subtitles
Energy is very closely connected to freedom. And private economy and freedom are contradictionary in many ways. So bring back the energy to people and we’ll have more freedom." Soren Hermansen, pioneer of Samso Island energy transition. The island in Denmark is one of the renewable projects (…)
Les Vagabonds de l’Énergie on Samsø Island
Yesterday Arnaud Crétot from France joined us in Finland. Arnaud is a thermal engineer with keen interest in the global renewable energy transition, and before getting involved in GoSol.org, he traveled the world as part of Les Vagabonds de l’Énergie, a project documenting energy inventions, (…)
Arnaud Crétot Joins Us from France
We are very excited to have Arnaud Crétot from France over with us in Finland. Now, for the first time, the team is all in one place (Well, except Lorin, who’s in NYC building another machine...). Arnaud is our thermal engineer and scientific director. You can find out more about him on the (…)
Virtual Pro
"Panadería Solar Lanzado en Haití " Article about our first solar bakery in Haiti.
GoSol.org at Staten Island MakerSpace, NYC
Progress update from Lorin Symington’s quest to build a solar concentrator in NYC. Lorin is working with the Staten Island MakerSpace in NYC. .embed-responsive-4by3::before padding-top: 75%;
Mackenson and Guerline baking at Haiti Communitere
Yesterday Mackenson and Guerline baked up some delicious goodies for the fine people at Haiti Communitere. Mackenson has been experimenting and making improvements to the oven and now it maxes out the thermometer at 200°C after an hour of operation starting at 10am. We’re really excited to (…)
Lorin’s Update from NYC
Here’s a quick update from our technologist in the field, Lorin, who is in NYC spreading the GoSol.org goodness. Today marks an important day for Haiti; it is now 5 years since the earthquake that destroyed so many lives. Our thoughts are with Haiti and all the survivors of the January 12, (…)
Meet Mackenson, the first GoSol.org Technician in Haiti
It’s through Haiti Communitere that I met Mackenson. This was back in 2012 when I was checking out Haiti for a solar energy mission. He was hard at work building a trash collection vehicle for his neighbourhood in Cité Soleil. Cité Soleil is notorious for its poverty and gang warfare. Most NGOs (…)