SunFarmer: get solar power built at three health clinics in Nepal [crowdfunding]

At least three rural clinics in far western Nepal have no reliable access to power, which means staff there can’t consistently sterilize instruments and major procedures sometimes take place by flashlight. A Brooklyn and Toronto based nonprofit SunFarmer is teaming up with international NGO Nyaya Health to bring permanent solar power to those clinics, under an affordable rent to own financing plan.

They have a $25,000 crowdfunding campaign going on Indiegogo and have raised half of their needed pledges with 22 days to go.

Contribute to their IndieGogo campaign. For a $250 contribution, they will send you your own solar powered lantern.

Your contribution will fund the capital that SunFarmer will lend to these clinics as they build the solar installations. As it is paid off, they will recycle the capital to other projects.

Andy Moon is the New York half of the SunFarmer team. He articulates the vision for the project in the video below, but the groundwork is spelled out in these points about the foundation the team has laid in Nepal, from the Indiegogo campaign page:

SunFarmer has a global vision, but has identified Nepal as our first target market. In Nepal, 63% lack access to electricity – for those lucky enough to have a grid connection, the average power outage is 9 hours each day.  Yes, you read that right. Every day the power is out for 9 hours – during the dry season, this can reach over 20 hours a day!

SunFarmer team has built a strong foundation in Nepal:

• Signed collaboration agreement with Nepali government
• Formed partnerships with 3 of the leading solar installation companies in Nepal
• SunFarmer team members were involved in the installation of a solar system at Bayalpata Hospital in far-Western Nepal in 2009
• Strong network of local volunteers and team members

One of the more compelling arguments for the SunFarmer financing approach is its maintenance aspect. Keep in mind, this project is new, but here’s the theory: by working under a financing model, both SunFarmer and the clinic have a vested interest to make sure the installation works over time. So SunFarmer is committed to monitoring the performance of its installations remotely and providing maintenance and repairs as necessary.

The organization is funded in part by SunEdison‘s Rural Energy Fund, whose parent company is building a 10MW solar power plant on a Staten Island landfill, and both of the nonprofit’s founders are SunEdison alums and they both also sit on the SunEdison Rural Energy Fund board of directors.