Dear Graham,
Thank you immensely for your response to us. Yes, we have understood what you
mean.We are very sorry that we did not mention the prizes we researched and came
to.
We saw that for the 3.35w module here050mA @7V - Here will cost 2.500FRS cfa
and the 1
8w module - 260mA@ 7v , costs 7000 frs cfa which is about three and half pound.
People are interested in buying these small ones for their personal uses in our
local Cameroon currency. about two and half pound.
Well others did not react on the research we made so far and are still
continueing to introduce to more community members here, for the DIY Solar and
we donot know what they think but we were happy with the response from Franz
Nahrada and will still be grateful to receive more reactions from others. We had
earlier scheduled to introduce it to more village groups this coming sartudat
27th June 2009 when we will have a general community meeting for all claases of
people that is our youths, women and men.
Yes, it is tru that we have informed hundreds of people and will still continue
to alert more as already planned. We will like to let you know that we can still
continue to inform without any funding now provided as long as we are sure that
in the near future we can have these solar products here to sell to our people
on long term loan as you mentioned ,we are ready.
Well for the parts you already sent as samples ,you did not tell us the costs
and we thought that you might have offered these samples. If they were for sale
too how nuch are you charging for them? Is it the same prize as we find on the
leaflet? When is the payment of the sample due?
We equally agree with you that the project is to start introducing by making
and selling small, small solar parts in small enterprises and not pv solar as
such. We will like to know how you think we can best start our own
particularly for our own solar project in Cameroon?
We we agree on the supply of parts by you or through the Chinese company to us
.. on a long term loan which is within our reach for a start, we will be able to
produce parts too after trainings to sell and then repay the loan to you. How
is that? Our people are really interested to buy.so let us kindly work out a
good and moderate plan of this project here.
Immense thanks and waiting to hear from you.
Sincerely ACTWID members led by Wendi and Njua


--- On Sat, 6/20/09, graham <diysolar@...> wrote:

> From: graham <diysolar@...>
> Subject: DIY SOLAR BATTERY RESEARCH
> To: actwid_k@...
> Date: Saturday, June 20, 2009, 12:28 PM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Wendi,
>  
> I was hoping that others
> would respond to your
> account of your DIY Solar research but so far I have seen
> none.
> Perhaps others have had
> the same reaction as I have
> - just what are you trying to achieve?
>  
> It seems that you
> have alerted hundreds of
> people to the possible benefits of DIY Solar without
> considering how this
> need will be satisfied!
>
> How will you introduce it
> without a lot
> more funding?
> I sent you pv parts on a
> "long-term loan". How will
> you repay me?
>  
> As I always emphasise in
> my introduction to DIY
> Solar, this project is much more about starting small
> enterprises than
>
> about pv solar
> but
> you have not even mentioned the costs
> involved.
> Any project needs
> someone to make and sell
> pv devices and then use some of the proceeds to buy more pv
> parts,
> etc.
>  
> In the light of what has
> occurred I have again
> revised a leaflet that I send out to all enquirers about
> starting
> projects.
>  
>  
> Starting a
> Project  
>  
> Over
> the years that we
> have been offering DIY Solar we have tried, and usually
> failed, to persuade
> people in many developing countries to try out a
> project!
>  
> Sometimes
> it's because the power we
> offer is too small but more often it is because they do not
> understand how this
> pv technique is best used.
> Too
> often they see DIY Solar as
> a sort of charity and believe that if they tell us it works
> fine more pv parts
> will be sent.
> IT IS NOT
> LIKE THAT!
> We are not funded by
> any charity!
>  
> In certain
> cases we do send more pv
> materials ON LOAN to help start things
> going but we expect
> repayment later!
> In other
> words we expect clients to
> make and sell pv devices and use the money received to buy
> more pv parts to make
> more solar devices
>  That is the way most of
> world operates!
>  
> One
> project that seems ideal is to
> get children, whether in school or on the street, to make
> and sell pv
> devices
> to power
> radios and LEDs but no-one
> has ever tried this! Yet another possible
> enterprise.
>  
> In his book Banker to the Poor,
> Muhammad Yunus  writes the following:
>  
> I deeply believe that offering
> charity is not the
> way to redress the problem of the poor. To me, that ignores
> their problem and
> lets them rot.
> The able-bodied poor don’t
> want or need charity: the
> dole only increases their misery; it robs them of
> initiative and, more
> importantly, of self-respect.
> Poverty is not created by the
> poor, it is created by
> the structures of society, and policies pursued by society.
>
> Change the structure as we are
> doing in Bangladesh, and
> you will see the poor change their lives.
> Grameen’s experience shows
> that, given the support of
> financial capital, however small, the poor are capable of
> bringing about an
> incredible change in their lives.
>  
>  
> Graham
>  
>
>