Feeling Proud and Connected With BioLite SolarHome

April 13, 2022
BioLite customer Bendetta using her SolarHome 5000 and SolarHome 620
Bendetta using her SolarHome 620 and her new SolarHome 5000 in Machakos, Kenya.

 

Two hours outside of Nairobi, Bendetta lives with her family and farms maize on a large plot of land. Mother to six children and grandmother to six grandchildren, her days are busy and full: starting at 6am she thanks God for another healthy day and goes on to accomplish a seemingly never-ending list of tasks for her farm, her family, and her home. While her routine is packed with cleaning, cow-milking, food prep, and farming, she never feels alone thanks to her BioLite SolarHome 5000 and 620 systems.

Bendetta at her home in Machakos, Kenya

BioLite customer Bendetta in Kenya
BioLite customer Bendetta in Kenya

With its easy-hang setup, Bendetta is able to remove her SolarHome 620 console from her home and bring it with her to the farm to play radio while she is working her crops. Her favorite channel? The Christian Gospel where she can sing along.

When she returns home, she finds it filled with her children and neighbors, often gathered around to watch local programming on her solar powered television. “My children used to go to other people’s homes who had a TV and would be gone for many hours,” Says Benedetta, “but now they can stay home with me to watch and it gives me peace to know they are safe.”

BioLite customer Bendetta using her SolarHome 5000 and SolarHome 620
The SolarHome 5000 includes a television and is powered by a roof-mounted solar panel.

 

In addition to feeling more connected with her family, Bendetta feels more connected to local news and information that impacts her livelihood and her community. Prior to owning her radio and TV systems, her only source of news came from a local women’s group – now she is able to supplement that information with reports from a Kikamba-language news channel that speaks about her local area as well as broader events in Kenya. She feels proud to host her family and neighbors alike to watch these programs all together.

Bendetta’s experience is exactly the type of customer journey that BioLite expandable solar home systems are designed for; initially starting with the entry-level SolarHome 620, Bendetta was able to take her first step onto the energy ladder and replace expensive, inefficient paraffin lighting with power from the sun. Gone were the days her children would miss out on schoolwork because they couldn’t afford enough paraffin to keep the lights going at night – instead, the nights stayed bright and Bendetta began to save, eventually working her way up to her next purchase, the SolarHome 5000, bringing even more power and lighting into her home in addition to the television that has transformed her evenings.

“My family and neighbors keep asking me where they can get a TV like this,” says Bendetta happily, “I am constantly recommending my BioLite solar.”

BioLite customer Bendetta using her SolarHome 5000 and SolarHome 620
Shop BioLite's Crossover Product, The SolarHome 620+