Energy Week Exhibition 2013
From the 24th to 28th of September was “Energy Week” at the National Theater in Kampala. That is an exhibition of many organisations and companies which are involved in energy saving solutions. Of course JEEP was also represented there with a stand where we showed our products. I would say, that we had the most varied items, like solar lamps, stoves, basket cookers, filtering systems but also soap. During every day the organisations could present themselves and so we also talked about our field work and trainings. Most of the other stands were only focused on one topic, but there were also stands of the German organisation “GIZ” which showed the results of deforestation and how energy can be saved. It was shown with some models and experiments they normally show in schools.
But what really disappointed me were the flyers of the Ugandan ministry about energy saving tips. I had the impression they just copied european flyers, because there was, for example, the advice to lower the temperature of the washing machine. That is really strange because I know nobody here in Uganda with a washing machine, yet. About cooking I only saw the tip, that you should think about cooking with gas instead of electricity. It was not mentioned to use a cap or a basket cooker. That assured me that there is still the need of organisations like JEEP who propagate how to save energy in the rural areas.
For me, a german volunteer, it was really great to see how many enterprises are only focused on renewable energies. For example the solar home systems showed there came from all over the world, most of which came from China, but also some from Germany and other countries.
This exhibition was not only important for JEEP because we sold our products and distributed flyers, but we could also exchange experiences about products and see new ones from other organisations.
Patrick Lindner
JEEP Volunteer
