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Monthly Newsletter:
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D.light Opens Office in East Africa! We are extremely excited to announce that D.light has opened an office in Tanzania! We have hired a stellar team who will be managing Sales and Marketing in the East Africa region. The team will be led by Pepijn Steemers, a native of the Netherlands who has years of experience with development and social enterprise in Africa. The need could not be greater: In Tanzania alone, about 90% of households do not have access to electricity, while approximately 150 million households in East Africa are off-grid. We have begun a large-scale marketing campaign in Tanzania, and are currently selling both our Nova product series and the Solata (formerly known as the Comet) in East Africa. As you can see from the photos below, the response has been decidedly enthustiastic! Stay tuned for more updates on our expansion into Africa!
Announcing the D.light Design Fellows Program! We are pleased to announce the launch of the D.light Fellows Program! The Fellows Program connects D.light with passionate and talented professionals from around the world. For terms of 3-10 months, fellows will use their unique skills and experiences to contribute in a significant way to our mission of replacing kerosene lanterns with safe and bright light. Each fellow will be located in one of our three field offices in India, China, or Tanzania, working closely with our multi-national team across three continents and four countries. As D.light continues to expand quickly, we promise that all fellows will have an invigorating, challenging, and life-change experience! Please visit our website to view a more detailed description of the program and how to apply. The first application deadline is February 15, 2009, so please consider applying and help us spread the word! We are currently recruiting for the following fellows:
New Staff Around the World This past month, D.light continued to bring on new staff in three continents around the world, in Tanzania, India, and the US. Join us in welcoming these amazing individuals to our team! East Africa Staff
India Staff
US Staff
The India Office has moved! Right on the heels of the China office moving, having outgrown their space, the India office has also moved to a new office! As D.light's largest staff team, the India office houses many of our business development, product design, and sales staff. Please visit the contact page on our website to see our updated address and phone number.
Report from the Field: Lighting Up India, One Village at a Time D.light is partnering with Beyond Solar, a US-based organization that aims to change lives through the use of renewable energy technologies, to provide lights for very low-income families in the Indian state of Orissa. Beyond Solar is testing the viability of various financing models to make our lights more affordable. On a recent trip to the village of New Keringa, the Beyond Solar staff demonstrated the D.light Nova and explained the financing model that would allow villagers to purchase the light with a small down payment and weekly installments thereafter. This is what Jeff Olshesky and Trevor Knauf, co-founders of Beyond Solar, shared in their blog:
Many thanks to our friends at Beyond Solar, who have helped us light up an entire village of over 40 households in India who never before had access to bright and dependable light! Please check out their blog to follow their progress as they visit additional villages in India.
Featured Customer Story: Boys Boarding School in Lindi, Tanzania Kerosene is still the main source of lighting in Lindi, where electricity is not readily available. A boys' boarding school in Lindi was concerned that the kerosene lanterns were not providing sufficient and good quality light for studying. The thick smoke from the lanterns were also causing health problems for the students, especially when they study in an enclosed space. The school purchased five Novas and one Solata to replace kerosene lamps in lighting up the classrooms. The D.light products provide bright light for studying and relieved the students of studying in polluted air. The lights are also used by their students to move safely from building to building at night. The students also expressed that they are very satisfied with the sturdiness of the products.
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