The Most Southerly
Rotary Club in Africa
SOLAR JAR PROJECT
Handmade in South Africa, the new Consol Solar Jar™ includes the following new features while retaining the elegance of the original design:
The longer-lasting battery shines for up to 12 hours on a single charge.
Improved stainless steel ring resists rust with ease.
Day/night switch keeps LEDs off under adequate lighting conditions to conserve power until it's needed.
Battery status indicator lets you know when it's time to recharge.
Solar Jar - Let Students "SHINE" - Phase Three
With adequate funding, the Rotary Club of Stanford has started a third phase of our Solar Light Project that answers the need for safe solar lights to reduce the risk of shack fires and also to promote education.
In this phase, we will give all students who live in informal housing (shacks) with no access to electricity, a Consol Solar Jar.
This will meet the safety and educational goals that we think are important to achieve. Fewer shack fires and avoidable accidents and the chance for students to study with “Free Light” in the evenings.
Initially, we would start with the local community (+/- 150 lights required) and then move on to Gansbaai (15 miles from Stanford) where there is a need for +/- 1000 lights. If we could meet this target, we would then move to the next area where need exists.
This is not a project that the Rotary Club of Stanford can achieve on its own – our limited resources are already stretched by our Soup Kitchens and Education Programmes – and we would welcome the support of other Rotary Districts and Clubs.
We would continue to source the Solar Lights from Consol - a South African manufacturer, as in South Africa we know that one person in employment can support as many as 15 dependents through extended family structures, whereas far-east imports of goods just upset the balance of trade account.
The Solar Jars are relatively cheap at less than US $15 each but the difference they can make to a family in need is a huge multiple of the initial cost.
Thank you again for your interest in our Solar Jar Project. This could evolve into a large rollout but as mentioned above, it is manageable by concentrating on area by area distribution. If the funding isn’t available or comes in periodically, we can easily pause the project and restart it when funds permit.
The ongoing maintenance costs are minimal and are included in the $15 quoted.
Thank you again for your support
Malcolm Bury
President 2017-18
Rotary Club of Stanford
Stephen Stocks
Assistant Governor 2015-18
District 9350
South Africa
The Most Southerly Rotary Club in Africa
