ÅF Lighting supports development project in Ethiopia
Norwegian luminaire manufacturer Evolys and ÅF Lighting have joined forces to deliver 1282 solar panel lights to exposed areas in central Ethiopia. The lights have been donated to areas where access to electricity is scarce, providing light where the current infrastructure is weak.
Recently, ÅF Lighting has been involved in the design of Powerhouse at Brattørkaia, an office building located in Trondheim, Norway. It is designed so that the energy produced during the building's operational lifetime will exceed the energy used to produce the materials, and to build, operate, and even demolish the building. At daytime when the sun shines on the building, it generates more energy than it needs.
During this project, ÅF collaborated with Norwegian luminaire manufacturer Evolys. Together with Evolys, ÅF Lighting has now made a donation in support of a development project to ship solar panel lights to exposed areas in Jimma Zone, central Ethiopia. The solar panel lights have been donated by Evolys. In line with previous Evolys development projects, the number of solar panel lights to be sent to Ethiopia is equal to the number of luminaries produced for a recent project, in this case, the Powerhouse project – 1282 solar panel lights.
The shipping and delivery to the area has been organised by Delta Norway, a humanitarian organisation dedicated to helping people in need. Upon delivery in Ethiopia, the solar panels have been distributed in vulnerable areas where people don’t have access to the public power grid.
“Lighting constitutes an integral part of many everyday functions, especially in exposed areas. That is why we are immensely proud to support the delivery of more than a thousand solar panel lights to such areas in Ethiopia,” says Morten Jensen, Section Manager Oslo at ÅF Lighting Norway.
There is a school among the recipients of the lamps, whose students have never had access to electricity before. The lamps will mainly be used for homework in the evenings but also for everyday needs, such as food preparation, for the whole family. Previously the students were unable to read in the evenings as their families cannot afford to buy fuel for the gas lanterns they otherwise use.
“We are in 2019, and it is the right of every born human to have access to the most fundamental and essential tools of our time and modern society. And for those that are still living in this injustice, it is our duty and our blessing, to help if we can,” says Kristoffer Lindback Larsen, Chief Business Development Officer at Evolys.
