UNDP – Until recently, the villages of Hon and Koussoukpa, like many others, (100 kilometers from Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital) got their light from oil lamps and candles, suffering all the damage to health and the environment. The darkness also emphasized the sense of danger and rural isolation.

Today, solar energy supplies 308 households in Hon and Koussoukpa. It is easy for residents to light their homes, charge their mobile telephones and even access educational community television .

The project is the result of a partnership between UNDP, the Association béninoise pour l’éveil et le développement, the Global Environment Facility’s microfinance programme and Barefoot College, an NGO. UNDP plans to expand the initiative to a number of villages in Benin, creating rural electrification centers using solar energy or renewable energy sources.

Read more – http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2009/october/villages-solaires-du-benin.en