Kawesa Mukasa is the Director of the Solar Connect Association (SCA) in Kampala, Uganda. SCA’s mission is to spread integrated solar cooking and water pasteurization in households within Eastern Africa and contribute to improving health and economic welfare of rural women through the creation of clean sustainable energy for cooking-based small-scale enterprises. Solar Connect Association (SCA) started their solar cooking projects in Uganda in 1994 with the support of several organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund for Nature. These solar cooking projects resulted from the depletion of biodiversity, concern for the conservation of the beautiful forests, and the well-being of the rural poor. Under Mr. Mukasa’s leadership, SCA is finding practical, local solutions to these issues.
Between its inception in 1994 and August 2018, SCA has distributed 110,000 solar cookers in Uganda, South Sudan, eastern Congo and Burundi. SCA is moving to social enterprise and adding small solar lanterns to the array of solar related equipment it distributes. SCA plans to start production of charcoal briquettes from agricultural wastes that are burnt in Uganda. This will reduce the quantity of trees that are felled for charcoal burning. To date SCA employs 64 people, 70% of whom are field women marketers mainly selling solar cookers to villagers in their localities and others working on the production floor. Selling solar cooking devices and consultancy on renewable energy for cooking has made SCA self-sustaining and profitable, while making a long-term commitment to the areas where they work.