Careless handling of fossil energy resources calls for some re-thinking, both in industrialised countries of the earth and elsewhere. Knowledge gained of development policy shows that small organisations are often highly competent and efficient in rendering direct developmental aid.
The "freilassing solar project" association provides worldwide support to nations in distress, enabling them to live a decent life by means of help through self-help. The association is devoted to the task of promoting the use of renewable energy resources in developing countries, priority being given to the use of solar energy.
Another objective focuses on the training of young people, above all in propagating environmental protection.
The association operates as a charitable organisation and pursues exclusively and directly non-profit-making ideals in the public interest as defined in the section of the Tax Code "Special Purpose Funds entitled to Tax Relief". The association pursues no form of gainful activity whatsoever.
How Everything Began…:
Solarproject run by the State
Vocational School Berchtesgadener Land
and the Lutheran Church, Freilassing
1996-2005
In the year 1996 a group of pupils of the State Vocational School Berchtesgadener Land in Freilassing founded a development aid project together with their teacher. Within the scope of the project, which is organised by the group in conjunction with the Lutheran Church of Freilassing, workshops for solar technology have been designed and constructed in Mpwapwa, Tanzania, a locality twinned with Freilassing. Responsibility for the equipment installed in the workshops together with all essential means for production has been assumed by students who have undertaken working assignments to Tanzania accompanied by their teacher. These trips have been financed by industrial firms employing and training apprentices.
Since the project has been founded there were four people working in producing solar cookers, assembling solar lamps and producing other useful things for daily life.
These helpful products are unaffordable for the poor families living in rural Tanzanian areas because of their extremely low incomes. The aim of the Solar Lamp Project is to offer a high quality product at reasonable cost which at the same time would correspond to the most modern state of technology. Thus a solar lamp was developed in conjunction with competent industrial companies situated around Freilassing. This lamp can be sent to developing countries in the form of a construction kit and assembled locally. A toolkit produced by "Solarprojekt Freilassing" is necessary and can be bought by agencies and/or institutes wishing to install solar workshops.
The solar lamp SOLAR 2000 has been produced since the year 2000. It is now used in more than 20 countries and in some of them there are workshops for the assembly and the maintenance of these lamps as well.
The SOLARPROJECT and even more the PROJECT SOLARLAMP aims at launching small enterprises in rural areas, thus enabling communities to earn a modest income. This can be attained by means of a rental system. Users of the lamps are charged a small amount for recharging the batteries. These charges must always be lower than the monthly expenses for kerosene or paraffin oil (look for page: rental system).
The Background Story
1995
Members of the E. L. C. T. Mpwapwa parish resolved to use solar technology and to build the necessary devices.1996 The Lutheran Parish of Freilassing – twinned with the parish of Mpwapwa – founded a partnership link. Initial student trips were organised to Tanzania.
1997 Workshop SOLAR I was built in Mpwapwa. The workshop along with tools and equipment in addition to material for constructing 200 solar cookers were financed by donations from the Rotary-Club Freilassing-Laufen and other donors. Donating countless numbers of hours, volunteers worked to provide the interior furnishings of the workshop together with equipment, all of which was then shipped to Tanzania.
1998 Workshop SOLAR II was constructed on similar lines to the first one. Since October 1998 solar lamps have also been built in Mpwapwa, Tanzania.
1999 A presentation of the project took place at an international seminar in Dodoma, Tanzania, attended by the Prime Minister of Tanzania, Mr. Sumaye, who also held a laudatory speech. Two further workshops (in Singida and Songea) were installed using our equipment.
2000 A new solar lamp, the SOLAR 2000 was developed by the solar project Freilassing and shown to the people of this town during the 4th AFRICA Festival on July 8, 2000. Assembly in Tanzania began in January 2001.
2001 Assembly of the SOLAR 2000 began in Tanzania, Uganda and Brazil. The Rotary Club donated its Young People's Cultural Project Development Prize to the Solar Technology Project Group.
2003
Founding of the non-profit organisation solarprojekt-freilassing e.V.
The solarprojekt-freilassing e. V. was awarded
the "Deutschen Solarpreis 2003" and the „Bayerischen Umweltmedaille".
2004 The solar project Freilassing moved to a new accommodation. 3 500 "SOLAR 2000" respectively the assembly kits for SOLAR 2000 was sent out.
2005
The new model of the solar lamp SOLAR 2000-LED
with light emitted diode technique was developed.
The project became the official "Dekade-Projekt" of the UN world decade "Education
for sustainable development".
The irresponsible waste of fossil energy calls for change of thinking not only in industrial countries of the world. Over 2 billion people have no access to electricity and therefore have no electric lighting. The number of kerosene/paraffin lamps in use in Africa is estimated to be more than 50 million. Each lamp consumes approx. 35 litres of kerosene or paraffin oil per year, thus producing approx. 80 kg CO2 per year. Light generated by an oil lamp is weak and causes smoke and smell, injurious to health. The purchase of kerosene/paraffin places substantial financial burden on the users and costs developing countries a high amount of foreign currency. In Tanzania 35 litres oil cost 35 € (annual requirements to operate one single lamp). This amount would enable people to buy approx. 400 kg of corn or pay a teacher's monthly salary (approx. 50 €).
One project for the distribution of 500 SOLAR 2000 in Tanzania was funded by the GATE program (German Appropriate Technology Exchange) of the GTZ (Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit); another project in Mali by the DBU (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt).
Please, contact us if you want to start a project for assembling solar lamps in developing countries. We will send you suggestions for workshop equipment and a detailed financial plan.
Despite the fact that all volunteers work hard for the solarprojekt-freilassing e. V. and try to accomplish all their tasks without outside help, we still need a lot of money for this work.
Here's your chance to become part of a success story by joining our society and supporting our indispensable development aid work.
Please help us with your donation!
solarprojekt-freilassing e. V.
Sparkasse BGL - Acct.#: 577 37 - BLZ: 710 500 00
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