In Madagascar, only 11% of the rural population has access to electricity[1]. This low rate has significant consequences on populations’ health, education, working and living conditions. This is the context in which GRET – with the support of Agence française de développement, Artelia Foundation, and EKOenergy – launched a solar electrification project in the village of Sahanimira, in the central Haute Matsiatra region, where inhabitants were previously dependent on kerosene lamps, candles and expensive generator kits. Involving the population directly in the management of the new energy services is one of the key factors in the success of this project, which can be replicated in other rural municipalities in the country.
An eco-designed “Energy house”
The “Energy house” (“Vonjy Aratra” in Malagasy), a name chosen by inhabitants, is at the core of this solar electrification project in Sahanimira. The building was constructed using local materials, by local workers. The latter were trained on-site in sustainable low-emission techniques. The Energy house now supplies electricity to public structures in the village, which were connected thanks to overhead cables. The energy services provided are affordable for the village residents: rental of re-chargeable lamps, telephone charging, refrigeration, welding stations to repair agricultural tools, etc. Management, services and prices were defined collectively, with support from GRET.
Tangible improvement of the population’s living conditions
For the population of Sahanimira, the transition to a new source of energy also has health benefits. “Before, we used kerosene lamps at home. The smell of them made us feel ill. Now, I feel my health has improved”, says Ralaiarivao, a resident of the village.
Apart from better air quality in homes thanks to solar lamps, the Energy house supplies electricity to the village health centre, facilitating access to healthcare day and night. “Electricity is a great help to us, especially when women give birth during the night”, says Hasina, assistant to the head of the health centre. Every day, the centre caters to approximately one hundred people from Sahanimira and the neighbouring villages.
Two of the public establishments benefitting from access to electricity are the junior high school and the primary school, which have 1,400 pupils between them. “The changes are tangible. For example, we can now print work sheets and school reports on-site”, says Mr. Hery, a teacher at the primary school in Sahanimira. A lot of parents have observed that their children are studying for longer, as they can now revise in the evening thanks to solar lamps.
Thanks to the Energy house, households are also spending less money on a daily basis. Koto, a mother, tells us: “Previously, we used to spend 800 ariary a day (around 16 euro cents) to buy candles that we lit at night. Today, we only pay 200 ariary a day to recharge our lamps”. In total, it was estimated that the reduction in expenditure was higher than 20 %.
Revitalised economic activities
The Energy house also aims to boost economic activities in the territory, such as welding, carpentry, mechanics, grinding, hairdressing, sewing, processing of artisan products, and rice husking. Farmers also benefit from its services: “Now we can have our spades and our tools repaired in Sahanimira itself, thanks to the welding station, we no longer have to travel long distances to other villages”, says Joseph Ralaova, a farmer. Access to refrigeration facilitates processing and conservation of food, particularly for yoghurt and ice cream production.
Active involvement of the population in the governance of the service
To ensure sustainability of the service, the project took an approach inspired by the notion of the commons. This approach is based on the inclusion of all stakeholders at every stage of the project: the population (women, men, young people), the authorities and farmers’ organisations (associations, groups). Public meetings and pedagogical activities were organised to identify the needs of inhabitants, choose the site for the Energy house, define priority services, set prices and establish a model of governance. A representative committee made up notably of women, young people and local authorities, was set up to participate in all decision-making. A manager from the Energy house was designated collectively, and subsequently trained by GRET and its partners.
Key project figures:
- 2,400 people benefit from public lighting
- 300 households use the services provided by the Energy house
- 4 public establishments are connected to electricity
- 80 to 100 people attend the newly connected health centre every day
- 451 pupils in the junior high school and 1,014 pupils in the primary school benefit from electricity in their building
- 2 micro-businesses benefit from the Energy house’s refrigerator
- 12 bricklayers were trained in eco-design
[1] World Bank – Estimation at end of 2022
