Leading the Way – Jua Jamii Solar Powered Houses

Increased pressures on the environment, more particularly, the natural resources, has necessitated efforts at research and development, and innovations with an objective of ensuring the sustainable utilization of non-renewable resources and responsible exploitation or use of renewable resources.

A focus area, particularly in Africa, in an endeavor to foster sustainability, has been the harvesting or harnessing and using wind, solar, and other renewable sources of energy, over and above the electricity from the national grid, which is not available in most homes, and is not very reliable. Indeed, the residents heavily rely on diesel generators, which are also used by some national power generating companies in different African countries to augment the inadequate hydroelectric power.

Cognizant of the challenges facing different countries in the African continent, and by extension, other parts of the world, the Jua Jamii team were motivated and determined to develop a solution that addresses particularly, the housing problem and access to power or affordable electricity for home use.

The Solar Decathlon, held in Morocco in September of 2019, presented an opportunity for the young brilliant African minds to come up with an idea that would address multiple challenges at the same time. The team, made up of former university students drawn from different parts of the continent, including East, West, and Northern Africa, mooted and developed an idea of a solar powered house made from recycled shipping containers.

The project was dubbed Jua Jamii, a name derive d from two Swahili words. Jua and Jamii, participated in the solar decathlon but did not win. However, since then, they have been mulling on the best approach possible to bring the product to market. The students or rather, the former university students are currently in the process of developing a business plan and engaging like-minded partners to evaluate and select the most cost-effective approach to bringing the product to market, to ensure that the houses remain affordable. 

Some of the models being evaluated for suitability is directly building such houses for individuals or corporate or entities, that would wish to own a similar property. Another approach being evaluated is franchising and consulting and advising companies with the capacity and capabilities to complete such project to ensure that the cost to the customer or the target market remains affordable.

So, why Jua Jamii? Jua is a Swahili homonym with two meanings, “know” and “sun”. The word Jamii on the other hand, means family. Therefore, the Jua Jamii name for the idea could mean the Sun Family or Know Your Family. Either way, the name given to the business is meaning laden, considering that the young brilliant minds seek to develop and bring to market a solution that will address various problems facing African and other countries, housing shortage and access to clean and affordable energy for domestic use. They seek to ensure availability of affordable housing and clean and affordable energy, which is in line with the national and international agenda, including the sustainable development goals.

Important Links: Stemprize.org; Edition.cnn.com ; Solardecathlonafrica