Solar backpacks for children: Reading after darkness

Solar backpacks for children: Reading after darkness

When innocent James did his homework after school, he lit a petroleum lamp and lay on the lying to read. In his residential area in Arusha, in the north of Tanzania, there was no electricity, and so his family was forced to burn expensive oil so that he could learn in the evening.

an innovative solution for children in rural areas

Today James is 33 years old, and many parents in rural areas of Tanzania - where the sun goes down all year round around 7 p.m. - are still before the election to save money or to enable their children to read at night. But now James and his company Soma Bags offer a solution: backpacks that are equipped with solar panels to charge a reading lamp.

What started as a small project with some used cement bags, a sewing machine and a solar panel has developed into a company that attracts charity organizations and fashion brands from all over the world. Last year Soma Bags ("Reading Pocket" on Swahili) sold 36,000 solar ruck bags to people in all of Africa and offers an invaluable source of energy when the sun goes down.

affordable lighting for rural households

James was brought up by his mother and grandmother, both teachers, in the love of reading. At the university in Mwanza, James was shocked by the number of schoolchildren he saw on the street and who flipped the lessons to beging money that they primarily spent on local video game cafes. He wanted to help them discover the joy of learning that he knew from his own childhood.

"I was frustrated," said James, "I could see that the problem was much bigger than I thought." He broke his studies before his last semester and used his rest of the study money to buy a mobile library car. He started to attend schools and moved hundreds of children to his reading groups.

But despite his hard work, there was a problem: the children borrowed books from him, but gave them back unread. James quickly realized that they were eager to read, but could not afford it.

Less than half of the households on the mainland of Tanzania has access to electricity. In rural areas it is just a little more than a third. Many families are therefore dependent on petroleum lamps to have light after dark. These lamps create weak light and are expensive in operation. They also pollute the air and mount the risk of burns. The parents often send their children to bed, explained James instead of allowing them to use the lamp to read.

sustainable backpacks with solar technology

James' solution - flexible solar panels that are sewn on the outside of the backpacks and operate a reading lamp - was inspired by a university professor who carried a solar charger for his phone in a fabric bag. "It gave me the confidence that what I want can work," said James.

he started in 2016 to make 80 backpacks by hand every month and to sew a solar panel covered from China, which was charged during the children's way of school. When the children came home, they had enough energy for a reading lamp. A fully charged backpack can operate a lamp for six to eight hours, which means that a day with a lot of sunshine offers the opportunity for several nights of reading, even if cloudy weather uses.

James explains that the solar back bags are cheaper than using a petroleum lamp. A solar kack costs between 12,000 and 22,500 Tanzanian shillings (about $ 4-8), including the reading lamp-according to the price for 12-22.5 days of use of a petroleum lamp, based on an average price, which was determined in a survey at Soma-Bags customers.

structure of the company

The backpacks were mainly sold through its growing franchise of mobile library cars and enjoyed great popularity, which is why James increased production. In 2019 he founded Soma Bags and supervised the construction of his own factory in the village of Bulale in the Mwanza region in 2020. The company now employs 65 people.

The backpacks consist of reused cement bags that were found in the streets of Mwanza, where James lives. The material is durable, light, environmentally friendly and comes for free. The backpacks also look good - inside the bags, the white silhouette of a giraffe appears within bright yellow or green stripes.

"It is innovative," said Joseph Manirakiza from the UN Development Program (UNDP), which Soma Bags supported since 2023. "I never thought that someone would come up with the idea of ​​transforming waste cement bags into something useful."

James ’customers are mainly families and schools in rural areas Tanzania - people and institutions who are aware of the library car from his days. But the company is expanding; Over 200 charity organizations have bought backpacks from James to provide them with children in need, and Soma bags are increasingly also popular in urban areas.

a growing sector

Around 600 million Africans have no access to electricity. There are many companies that produce solar -powered lamps on the continent, and the Solar Light Distribution programs of the UN is part of a global initiative to supply rural areas with affordable and sustainable energy.

The hybrid Social enterprise Smart Girls Uganda has produced and distributed over 12,000 own solar backpacks to children in Africa. "It is important that several companies produce solar -powered bags on the continent," said the CEO, Jamila Mayanja. "It's not just about light; it's about giving children control over their education, their future and ultimately helping to break through the circulation of poverty in their communities."

soma bags was recognized with numerous prices and awards, including the UNDP and the British government. "There is a group of young people in Tanzania who realized that they have to take the future into their own hands," said Manirakiza. "Innocent represents a group of young people who use their talent to do something meaningful."

While his company continues to grow, James is increasingly busy, but he still finds time to offer two reading groups for children from his mobile car two times. Today the children come with James' backpacks on their backs.

"Sometimes I see a child with the backpack, and I think: wow, I can hardly believe it," said James with a smile.