Solar Home Systems - Improving the lives of rural, off-grid communities in Mozambique

'Our living conditions have improved; we will never again have to sleep in the dark'.

This is the story of the Jonasse family who have purchased a solar home system under the UK Aid funded BRILHO Energy Mozambique project.

Mrs Anastacia Jonasse is a 37 years old self-effacing and hardworking mother of three who makes a living by selling second-hand clothing and capulana. In July 2020, following advice from her neighbours and friends she installed her first solar home system consisting of 3 light bulbs and 1 radio receiver. As she was so excited with this technology, a few months later she upgraded it to a more powerful system containing a 19” Television and 5 light bulbs. 'This system helps to bring my family closer as we can sit together and watch TV.'

Mrs Jonasse who always has a smile on her face is a cheerful woman and does whatever is necessary to bring joy to her family. With the money she earns from her small business, she always pays her monthly installment for the solar system because she doesn’t want to stand a single day without energy at home.

She is aware of the advantages of having the solar home system in her life and it makes her day-to-day home activities easier. It also keeps her family members safe as it reduces the risk of fire as candles are no longer necessary to light her home.

She added that thanks to this system, her mobile phone will stay on since the battery will never die. Now she can charge it every time she needs to enabling her to call her colleagues whenever it is necessary and organise her small business. The system enables her to use radio and television to keep up to date latest with the latest news around the world; she is now planning to change her television to a bigger one so that her family can watch TV more comfortably.

Still, with a smile on her face, Mrs Anastacia concludes. 'Because I know the benefits of this system in my life, even when the national grid is extended to my area, I will never quit using the solar home system, this will stay my unique source of energy'.

About BRILHO

BRILHO is a five-year programme, 2019 - 2024, that will catalyse Mozambique’s off-grid energy market in order to provide clean and affordable energy solutions to the country’s off-grid population. BRILHO’s overall goal is to improve and increase energy access for people and businesses, leading to money saving, better well-being and livelihood opportunities for the low income population.

To learn more about this project visit the project website.