If we don't collect the data, we don't know  whether our efforts are effective.

This year three professional teams hired by Solar4Africa travelled across Malawi interviewing villagers and collecting data. In January 2024 Alex Msunje and Chitani Chatama interviewed 25 women farmers who used the solar irrigation pumps during the 2023 dry season (Jali area, Zomba district). In June-August, Thomson Ngupete and Chitani Chatama travelled across the Southern and Central region, doing in-depth interviews of over one hundred villagers using the solar irrigation pumps, in a randomized survey. Follow-up interviews will be conducted in January 2025. Also in June-August 2024, Mada Msakatiza and Mercy Pokoti conducted village household surveys comparing household consumption patterns of those with, and without, solar electric pressure cookers.

Two student interns, Emily Chu from Stanford University and Chifuniro Mthunzi from the University of Malawi Zomba grappled with an unruly custom data base and extracted a randomized sampling of solar pump customers. They provided team Thomson & Chitani with lists and maps of those randomly-selected customers. Subsequent intern achievements included writing a pump users sheet in Chichewa, writing a Forever Battery users' manual, making promotional materials and flyers, photo-documenting many events and activities, and establishing the basic framework of the website you're now reading!

After leaving Malawi, Emily visited China with her father, where they made a special side trip to meet with the solar electric pressure cooker manufacturer to discuss design improvements requested by Robert Van Buskirk.