APOPO not only advances the Sustainable Development Goals through its Mine Action, Tuberculosis Detection and Innovative research in Tanzania. As a humanitarian organization embracing social transformation and innovation, we are also commited to environmental protection and wildlife protection and our long-standing Carbon offset project in the Uluguru mountains.

APOPO’s innovation is made for resource-limited settings. Key elements, like the locally made evaluation cages, which we use for our TB detection work, are manual and don’t need a power supply. Yet we do rely on electricity for our daily work, for lighting, use of electronic devices, and electronic data management. Automated solutions also play an important role in our research and training to unlock the full potential of the HeroRATs.

Morogoro, with its proximity to the equator, benefits from a high position of the sun (hence the horizontal position of the solar panel) and roughly 12 hours of sunshine a day. We expect great and tangible benefits during power cuts, and ultimately for our environment. Among all the benefits of solar power, the most important thing is that solar energy is a truly renewable energy source. It can be harnessed in all areas of the world and is available every day.

We hope that this switch to using a renewable energy source marks only the beginning. APOPO welcomes further investment to continue the solar power path across all our programs and sites.