Intasave-Caribsave Uses Tourism to Bring Solar Energy

Each month we feature inspiring people in our Travel Massive community from around the world who are empowering changing in travel. This month we meet Dr Murray Simpson, CEO and founder of INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE and a new member to our London Travel Massive Chapter.

INTASAVE-CARIBSAVE Group helps others by creating practical solutions for sustainable development and climate change. They are a global not-for-profit and environmental enterprise with offices in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, China and the UK.

Here’s what Dr Simpson had to share with the Travel Massive community.

“Our SONGs project in Africa is a prime example of how we are using responsible tourism to bring solar energy to villages in Kenya, helping to improve education, health and wellbeing for families and communities.“

What is your initiative about? Who does it help?

Our Solar Nano-Grids project (SONGs) is bringing power and new business opportunities to remote communities in Africa. This project has the potential to lift half a million Africans out of poverty, improving their health, education and to create sustainable livelihoods.

By linking clusters of families to small-scale communal solar power systems that are also connected to an agricultural or industrial community business, off-grid solar energy is helping families and communities to build sustainable economies.

Our aim is to install the first 5 solar nano grids in January, funded through a Crowdfunding campaign. One of the perks on offer is a limited edition eco-tourism holiday.

Is there a unique story of how it came to be?

The SONG project came to be when I travelled to Kenya with colleagues from Nairobi to visit rural communities. They expressed a clear need for electricity in order to improve their lives and the lives of their children. Working with local stakeholders, researchers from top Universities, and practitioners, we developed a sustainable model that will deliver what the communities want.

How is your initiative financed?

France’s Agence Française de Développement and Britain’s Department for International Development invested in the research and development phase of the project to ensure we had a robust solution to bring the communities the power they need. 

What has been your biggest success or accomplishment?

With this campaign, this week we reached the $20,000 target to install the first solar nano grid for the community of Lemolo B, which equates to around 60 families or around 300 people.

The first solar installations will begin in January 2016, which, for the people living in Lemolo B, will be a life-changing moment. The community solar hub will provide individual power for lighting, allowing children to study, refrigeration to keep food and medicine safe, and energy for charging phones and televisions. It will also provide electricity for small-scale agricultural and industrial community businesses providing opportunities for residents to create sustainable livelihoods.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Getting the word out is a challenge, with so many other meaningful projects in the world. Our social media #NoEnergyChallenge is helping to raise awareness and to demonstrate how much of our way of life in the developed world relies upon electricity.

Can you share an inspiring story when you felt your project was most fulfilling?

When we visited the community to create the video for this campaign, the community members were enthusiastic and extremely welcoming and warm. One of the best experiences for our team was having the opportunity to sit with them and talk about how they see electricity impacting upon their lives and their hopes and dreams for the future. That enthusiasm is what keeps driving us to achieve our campaign goals – we’re doing it for them.

What do you hope your initiative will accomplish in the next 2-5 years?

We aim to roll out this model, first in Kenya, then expanding to provide clean energy to other African countries, and ultimately to the entire developing world. We will have launched the Solar Nano Grids within several African countries in 5 years. There is no upper limit to what we can achieve. The model is built to last – not only does it create business opportunities and provide much needed micro-credit to small communities, but it provides a model that will reduce in cost over time.

Travel Massive is about empowering change in travel. How does your initiative create change or empower others?

Our limited edition perk enables the profits of sustainable tourism to directly benefit impoverished communities, but what is really unique is that there is an opportunity to join the community, and to work with them to create a solar community hub.

All our travel packages are aimed around not-for-profit sustainable tourism. From Safari adventures that include a visit to the SONGs project, to our next initiative with coral gardening and marine conservation in the Caribbean, they are all about giving something back while having a life-changing and empowering experience for all involved.

Do you have any tips for aspiring do-gooders who want to give back or start their own social project?

Many people would like to ‘do the right thing’ but don’t know where to start. From my experience it’s essential to involve the communities on the ground in designing and implementing the project you want to create. Nobody likes to have someone swoop in from another place and start telling you how to live or what to do. My other suggestion would to be careful your initiative isn’t disempowering the people you are aiming to help.

If you could book a ticket tomorrow, where would you go?

The Galapagos Islands because it’s one of the most vulnerable places in the world that requires understanding and strengthened capacity to survive.

As does the Caribbean, where our next campaign will take place.

Changemaker is a series that profiles inspiring people or projects making a purposeful change to the way we travel. If you know of a Purposeful Traveler who should be featured, email us.