David Sengeh (Sierre Leone), Hugo Van Vuuren (South Africa), and Stephen Lwendo (Tanzania) of Lebônê Solutions,
When Harvard Professor David Edwards assigned students in his “Idea Translation” course the task of designing an attractive light display for the London Olympics, one group opted to light Africa instead.
With Dr. Edwards’ encouragement, the students looked for ways to address the need for low-cost energy in Africa. Nearly three-quarters of the continent is without electricity, so they needed a device that could be easily available and cheap. They found the answer down the street in the lab of Harvard biologist Peter Girguis. He developed microbial fuel cells, which harvest energy released by microbes as they break down food. The students proposed that the clean and cheap technology could be applied to African soil.
“Essentially all you do is dig a hole, layer an anode, some soil, sand and a cathode — and connect the anode and cathode to a circuit board to charge a battery that can power an LED light, run a radio or charge a mobile phone,” said Hugo Van Vuuren, a recent Harvard graduate, in an interview with allAfrica.com.
Nine months later, the students were on their way to the capital of Ghana to present their idea in the World Bank Group Development Marketplace Competition. What started as an undergraduate student mid-term presentation was selected from 52 finalists as one of 16 winners to receive $200,000 in grant money earlier this month. The group is now a social enterprise that goes by the name Lebônê Solutions, Inc., which means “light stick” in Northen Sotho, a language spoken in South Africa.
According to Van Vuuren, the concept is already tested and works. Over the summer, members of the Lebônê team will travel to Tanzania to run field tests. If successful, they will bring the technology to entrepreneurs in Namibia for local distribution.
“It will be interesting to see how this works scientifically and culturally,” says Van Vuuren. “Scientifically, we want to use materials already in Africa, such as graphite, chicken wire or whatever else is freely available. Culturally, we want to test how people use the devices, adapt to the technology and benefit from the harvested energy.”
Van Vuuren is one of four students in the group from Africa, and as a recent economics graduate, he recognizes the value of innovation.
“As Africans privileged to study in Cambridge, we feel very fortunate for the opportunity to use technology to potentially affect society, culture, and local socio-economic circumstances,” says Van Vuuren. “We are grateful for the support of Harvard, our professors, and of course the World Bank. It is not often that students get to work on a project that might one day change conditions back home in Africa.”
For more information, visit the Lebônê Solutions, Inc. Website.