News
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 is unique. It is not for activism. And it is not low tech: Clarification needed in France
Lytefire is unique. It is for workers, entrepreneurs, and artisans from the South and made possible with the support of the humanitarian sector and industrial sponsors. Lytefire is not open source and it is not low tech. We do not like labels. We simply do our work and our users create the (…)
Sophia Antipolis
On prend toujours un risque à rêver. Celui de créer un rêve si fou que l’on serait tenté de tout quitter pour le suivre. Celui de ne pas arriver à le partager et de le voir moisir. Celui de le partager trop tôt ou de le voir filer trop vite. Celui de le voir évoluer aussi entre d’autres (…)
STEM Synergy never stops!
About a year ago in 2024, we presented the first solar bakery installed by our partner and licensee Stem Synergy in Ethiopia. Since then our partner and licensee STEM Synergy has done A LOT to empower communities through STEM Education and Sustainable Solutions Ras Mekonnen Elementary School (…)
Leaving Twitter/X behind and moving on
We just closed down our Twitter/X accounts for Lytefire. Soon we’ll move away from Facebook and Instagram. The best way to follow up is our newsletter: https://lytefire.com/newsletter We also continue to be active on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/38140646/
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 (…)
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 (…)
Nous soutenons volontiers vos campagnes de financement participatif (crowdfunding) !
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? (…)
L’entreprise généreuse
Si vous préférez écouter le podcast : Eva Wissenz · L'entreprise génénereuse Je crois que je n’ai jamais été aussi fière de mener une entreprise aussi contre-performante que la nôtre. Lytefire est un pari généreux et de plus en plus porté par les femmes. Et plus j’avance, plus ce pari (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
Qu’est-ce que vous utilisez ? De la low-tech, de la mid-tech ou de la high-tech ?
Nous voulons réduire l’impact du changement climatique et transformer autant que reconstruire des sociétés fondées sur davantage de justice sociale. Il nous semble que toutes les technologies que nous utilisons doivent être adaptées au contexte de leur utilisation, et les outils doivent (…)
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 (…)
Démystifier l’Open Source dans le domaine de l’Impact
Il est temps de clarifier un point important concernant l’Open Source. Nous croyons en toutes les vertus de l’open source, mais en raison de ses limites, nous avons décidé de ne pas nous engager dans cette voie. Nous expliquons ici notre modèle. Il est communément admis que l’on peut (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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, (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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+ (…)
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 (…)
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’ (…)
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%;
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 (…)
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 (…)
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: (…)
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 (…)
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 (…)
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