Dear solar friends,
Since the beginning of the year, we have been more outspoken on social media. Solar baking, solar cooking and what Lytefire does… it is still not well known and we think it’s important to work on that too.
Entrepreneurs like Joan in Kenya, Prudence and Benedict in Uganda, Michel, Denis, Manon et Quentin, Vincent, Romain and many others (and their teams!) are some of the most courageous entrepreneurs out there, and they work with a Lytefire.
Hopefully we can get all of them more known. ARTE, the French/German TV channel, has released a documentary talking about innovation and the energy transition globally, and Lytefire is part of it. Until June 14th, you can watch the documentary for free in French and in German. See minutes 18:00-23:30.
Beyond that, the global news is depressing. Energy costs are rising, the climate is heating, and geopolitically much damage is done.
But for us this is all the more reason to push for local, sovereign, regenerative energy as the basis of dignified, sustainable jobs and livelihoods. On one hand we get to do this with our humanitarian clients and partners, on the other hand, since the beginning we have been empowering DIYers to build Lytefire wherever they are.
In this global context we think that DIY is, more than ever, an important strategy to disseminate Lytefire to new places. It’s all about empowering individuals directly with the knowledge they need to build their energy access.
One thing we have learned from the DIYers is that people are creative and always interested in exploring new possibilities. Many have asked if they can build both the oven and the cooker, not just one or the other. This is why we have decided to repackage our construction guides in a different way. One is the starter package, aimed at those starting out in the simplest way, only interested in the cooker. And the other one, the builder package, is for those more ambitious who want to build either the cooker, the oven or both. This package comes with dedicated support hours (via phone, whatsapp, email) to help you succeed your local build providing real, human advice tailored to you.
We are also working on improving the DIY experience in other ways. We’ll tell you more about it in our next newsletter (you will probably receive 2 or 3 before Summer).
One more thing: Some of you have known us for 14 years now and you know that we are a team of doers, not very inclined to marketing. For years, people have sent us nice comments, pictures, messages and now we have decided to bring light on all the successes. The result is a new website reflecting the growing number of Lytefire users. Check it, and share it!
We need you: Contact us for a project, put us in touch with motivated people and connect us to the media. Thank you!
Looking back on the last 24 Lytefires installed
In the rest of this newsletter we want to recap our successful and less successful projects in the humanitarian sector globally over the last months.
The humanitarian sector is at stake everywhere. Still, 24 Lytefire PRO have been installed in Kenya, Uganda, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Angola with our humanitarian partners and clients.
We are grateful to all our NGOs clients and users, our investors, our team and board members, and to Metco, our Kenyan manufacturer.
In East Africa, we have continued to work in Kenya and Uganda thanks to the support of PrimeSteps Foundation. The Foundation is focused on poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship. Joan Arwa delivered great trainings to allow the creation of 6 solar baking activities powered by Lytefire. The groups have been identified with the help of World Vision Kenya. In order to facilitate appropriation, each community had to invest in the project by preparing a kitchen, work environments and a flat and steady ground. The baking activities have started in Sego, Funuyla and Salgaa. Some groups are only women entrepreneurs and we were really happy to see that they were able to install the Lytefire by themselves. The Arise & Shine group is one of the most promising ones. We have captured their experience and we’ll soon share it with you.
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In Ethiopia, Stem Synergy has produced and deployed 7 Lytefire units. They have been very courageous in doing so because of the local conflicts, the rise of material prices and the discontinuation of government programs meant to support youth entrepreneurship through microloans.
In Angola, we have been very pleased to see that each solar oven has been properly installed by the local teams with minimal support from us. What happened with the UNDP is exactly what we wish to encourage in the future! We love to see people being autonomous. It gets the local people involved directly, rooting the knowledge locally. That is also why we want to reinforce our DIY approach this year.
The 3 ovens have been installed for the UNDP in Benguela, Lua Norte and Uige.
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In West Africa, things have been more challenging, especially in Senegal. ADSCAL Association contacted us a long time ago to equip 3 small bakeries in the village of Agnam. Another oven has been installed for a group of women baking biscuits and cakes. The women’s oven is in use, but the switch to solar baking operations for the other ones has been very challenging. For once, we have experienced a long series of blockages: from delays in the delivery to issues during installation. Add to this bad weather conditions, with hazy weather that is not allowing full performance. We’re still working on it to find a solution. In Guinea-Bissau, 3 solar ovens have also been installed in Bafata, Cacheu and Oio with SWISSAID.
In Haiti. For those of you who have supported Mackenson in 2024 with us to create Pain Soleil, here is an update.
When Makenson reached out to us in late 2023 with a half-built Lytefire we were honestly really touched. We decided to support him like we did so many times with other entrepreneurs. Our community pulled through and within a few weeks we had the money together and sent it. Even before that we sent him our latest construction guide to support his work.
After the campaign Mackenson managed to build the Lytefire and he created the terrasse for it, we have received these images below after we transferred the funds. But sadly he was not able to continue. He must have used a part of the money to support his family instead of investing it in the bakery because there have been several raids in Port-au-Prince, with lots of violence. The government left in January 2024, right when our crowdfunding campaign for him was over. Since then gangs have been ruling the country because of political instability. Now, there’s a businessman who’s served as the acting prime minister since 2024, who became the country’s sole leader a few weeks ago. Later in 2024 we received that update and he mentioned he is using the oven for his family and for the neighbors. Then we didn’t hear anything more about the bakery. Of course the situation in Haiti is terrible. Maybe he will be able to restart activities, we don’t know.
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Europe: France
Yes, this newsletter is already long, but wait.
3 women have decided to start their solar bakeries. They are inspired by the examples of NeoLoco in Normandy and Barasol in Brittany. Mathilde et Tiphaine, are starting the solar bakery Facettes, in West France. This Summer, Naig will launch Pamie, the first solar bakery on the island of Belle-Île, in Brittany. Both got their Lytefire built by Grégoire, in Grenoble.
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☀️
Have a great Sunday,
Eva
-- Eva Wissenz Founder & Managing Director Visit our website | Lytefire
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