Mt. Elgon Self-Help Community project, Uganda

Project name: Mt. Elgon Self-Help Community Project

Project location: Our offices are located at Bubirabi Trading center, Bungokho Sub-county, 4 miles along Mbale-Tororo Rd.

Website: http://www.mt-elgonproject.org

Project description:

The Mt Elgon Self-Help Community Project ltd is a start up social enterprise that assembles and distributes solar panels locally in Uganda to enable hundreds of rural communities with no access to electricity to access affordable solar systems and power their homes and businesses.

As a Social enterprise, our approach is people centered technique with practical development initiatives. This enables individuals to develop a sense of belonging, hope and empowerment as they work together and learn new skills to make themselves, their families and their communities socially and economically self-sufficient.

We started in November 2010 and in 2011 won ILO award for green business competition.

Goal and purpose of the project:

Is to become a leading local Solar Panel assembly plant in Uganda enabling hundreds of rural communities with no access to electricity to access affordable solar systems to power their homes and businesses

Motivation of the applicant / applicant team:

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues in Uganda and the world at large. The impacts of climate variability and extreme events (cyclones, floods, droughts, sea level rise, and other natural disasters) are rapidly pushing people beyond their coping capacity. In recent years, Mt. Elgon Region has experienced unpredictable weather which has had a negative impact on agriculture production.

There is, indeed, enormous amount of advantages lies with use of solar power specially, in the context of environmental impact and self-reliance.
(1) There is no pollution created in the process of generating electricity. Environmentally it the most Clean and Green energy. Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal) and sustainable, helping to protect our environment.
(2) Solar power does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of electrical generation does.
(3) Solar Energy does not contribute to global warming, acid rain or smog. It actively contributes to the decrease of harmful green house gas emissions.
(4) There is no on-going cost for the power it generates – as solar radiation is free everywhere. Once installed, there are no recurring costs.
(5) Solar energy can be flexibly applied to a variety of stationary or portable applications. Unlike most forms of electrical generation, the panels can be made small enough to fit pocket-size electronic devices, or sufficiently large to charge an automobile battery or supply electricity to entire buildings.
(6) It offers much more self-reliance than depending upon a power utility for all electricity.
 

Use of prize money:

We shall use the funds to expand the project to other new areas