Am I being overambitious for wanting my entire village to transition to Solar?
I come from a village in Kenya, Siaya Kogello. I've been keen on greening the environment, especially after noticing the number of trees being cut down for firewood and charcoal around my area. A once green and lush village is slowly becoming bare and I know it's just a matter of time before it becomes semi-arid.
We started a community organisation that's all about tree planting, alternative fuel sources and community sensitisation. We currently have over 500k seedlings in our nursery, which we distribute for planting and hold projects once in a while. Anyway, back to my question. My village has around 800 households and more than 70% of them use charcoal and firewood.
I have a dream to transition, even a small number or teach them about the alternative fuel sources. Solar energy is not a new thing since ironically, most of them use it for lighting. What do you think is the most strategic way to start the transition? I've tried collaborating with like-minded individuals but they don't seem to want it as much as I do. I know that the biggest barrier for them will be access and affordability of the solar cookers, but I still believe something can be done.
Our biggest achievement so far is digging a borehole for the neighbouring villages which has greatly reduced river pollution, as seen from the attached video. Most of the families used to bathe, swim and water their animals in a nearby major river. That's why I believe the transition is possible, but I'm not confident on how to go about it.