News
Récompense du Prix Afrique Excellence pour la boulangerie solaire au Kenya
La boulangerie solaire Solar Fire Bakery au Kenya s’est vue attribuer le deuxième Prix Afrique Excellence. Joan Ogwang Arwa et son équipe sont primés ainsi que nous à Lytefire qui l’avons beaucoup soutenue depuis la création il y a 5 ans (déjà !), notamment Eva Wissenz, Urs Riggenbach et (…)
6 solar bakeries in Kenya with Jansen PrimeSteps Foundation
We are happy and honored to start a new project in East Africa with the trust and support of Jansen PrimeSteps Foundation. The foundation is focused on poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship, and with this new project PrimeSteps is going to help us elevate our work and increase our impact (…)
Cooperation with UNDP
The UNDP (or United Nations Development Program) is one of the major stakeholders when it comes to implementing the energy transition and livelihoods improvement for vulnerable populations. “UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities (…)
3rd cooperation in Kenya with World Vision
Our cooperation with World Vision has been very important to us because it is while working with them that our model could be refined towards African entrepreneurs in 2016 (here) and in 2017 (here). We met Mrs Joan Arwa back then and she has always been a fantastic colleague. Since 3 years now (…)
Solar Baking News from Uganda
SOLAR BAKING NEWS FROM UGANDA Click here if you wish to translate this newsletter. ☀️ There are 2 types of journeys that people can take with a Lytefire solar oven. 1. Entrepreneurial 2. Community Based Organization (CBO) After Joan Arwa last time sharing about her Solar Fire Bakery in (…)
A solar bakery in Kenya is growing
A solar bakery in Kenya is growing Click here if you wish to translate this newsletter. ☀️ There is great news for solar baking in Africa from Joan Arwa. Today’s post comes directly from her. Spread the word in your African network! How is the Solar Fire Bakery doing today since its (…)
Solar Fire bakery breaks even in Kenya!
The best reward for a company is a happy customer! Joan Ogwang is not one of them. She’s a woman entrepreneur from Kenya. In Kisumu, she created the "Solar Fire Bakery" in 2022. She trained herself and started with a first Lytefire oven. At that time, she was part of our team of trainers (…)
Lytefire’s new impact calculator
If not now, when? This is a key newsletter for us and for all the Lytefire users. Click here if you wish to translate this newsletter. ☀️ Lytefire’s impact is mind blowing! The last time we had time to analyze the collected data was in 2016-2017, when we started our first big projects (…)
If not now, when? We work with UNDP
If not now, when? Spring is here, even in Finland, and we hope the good energy is giving everyone strength and courage to keep on with the good work! Click here to translate this newsletter. ☀️ New project with UNDP We are very happy to share with you that we are starting a very (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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? (…)
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 (…)
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. (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
One Strong Woman 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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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. (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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, (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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:
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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