2022 Southern Kachin Residential Installations
In the mountainous regions near Momauk, Myanmar, there is a collection of five off-grid villages. The electrification plans for the villages are either nonexistent or delayed, leaving the families without reliable access to electricity.
Majority of the families work in the agriculture sector and had income to contribute to the electrification project. Working off our wealth-based subsidy model, the families were able to contribute 20% of installation cost to cover the transportation of the materials to the villages.
Starting on December 12, 2022, we installed a total of 83 solar home systems, bringing solar energy access to 83 families who would otherwise still be without energy access.
We started this project by conducting a site survey. In August 2022, our team traveled to the villages to meet with the families and local leadership with the goal of understanding the solar production, energy need of the community, and of transportation routes.
After the site assessment, we started production of the DC Home Systems back at our warehouse. Once we were done with production and quality control, we shipped the materials to out to the villages.
Upon arrival, we met with the community members to introduce ourselves and present the DC home system.
When we got started with installations, we had two main criteria: making sure we were answering all of the questions the families had and making sure we were using the time efficiently.
Balancing community engagement and expediency, our team installed:
30 solar home systems in the first village
10 solar home systems in the second village
10 solar home systems in the third village
22 solar home systems in the fourth village
11 solar home systems in the fifth village
Beyond the user manual
We go over the safety and care instructions in details with the families after each installation. We do so until they’re satisfied and confident about their new lighting system.
Our local team consisted of four ambitious staff. The installation took 12 days to complete all 83 homes.
We utilized our roof mounting system for many of the homes, and other solar mounting arrangements for buildings with special requirements.
Each home system consists of
300W solar panel
12V100Ah battery
DC Home System with 4 LEDs
They were designed to effectively address the energy need based on the solar production, cloud and fog coverage, and daily energy utilization of the families in the villages.
Since our installation, 98 additional families from the community have registered to be on our waitlist, waiting for the next installation.
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"The elders in the village would say grace upon installation and pray for our wellbeing as their way of showing gratitude for our work."
Tso Htoi, Solar Field Technician
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"As we are leaving the village, I looked back and saw that the homes are now illuminated with our lights. It’s truly a rewarding and joyful experience."
Hein Htet Aung, Solar Field Technician
This is the largest group installation we’ve done to date, which presented us with challenges and learning opportunities to improve our designs and methods. In 2023, we aim to bring solar energy access to all the families on our waitlist from this community along with other off-grid communities.
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