Solar Powered Refrigeration for refugees in Kenya
THE CHALLENGE
In refugee-hosting regions of Kenya, post-harvest losses for fruits and vegetables are as high as 60%. Food and other essential items are wasted because the cold storage chain is essentially non-existent due to the high cost of equipment and unreliable access to electricity. Because fresh produce and vaccines can perish in a matter of days under ambient temperatures, temperature control alone can extend the shelf life of food and life-saving medicines by weeks to months, contributing to essential cost and resource savings.
THE SOLUTION
To reduce such critical resource waste in already resource-constrained settings, Solar Freeze developed a solution to provide refugee and host communities in Kenya with access to portable solar-powered refrigeration through a “Pay-as-You-Store” model. This enabled access to solar-powered refrigeration at affordable pricing ($0.2 – USD 0.5), allowing refugee-owned businesses and host community clinics to own and operate solar assets. A total of 20 local community members were trained and equipped with the requisite tools to offer these services to the community. The trained technicians reported benefits including economic benefits (from income generated through solar installation and maintenance services), job and study opportunities (from offering services outside the camp and using new income to fund higher education), social and professional networking benefits (through connections made during trainings), and overcoming gender stereotypes (through women being able to demonstrate their skills). In addition, a total of 82 freezer units were sold to 37 female business leaders and 45 males throughout the CHIC funding period. Several customers who purchased the service reported reduced costs, increased revenues, more reliable energy for lighting and operating devices, and other important business-enhancing benefits. Given these achievements, the Solar Freeze project was selected to receive an Ashden Award at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021.
