Amanda Morgan says: Wow, great video. I loved the panel being run over. Is that the lamp being dropped off a building?

-Amanda

Tim Jarrell says: This was really well done. I am impressed with the durability of this inexpensive and useful product. Is there anyway I could get more information on this company?

Andrew Tanswell says: Hi Amanda,

Yes, we dropped the lamp off a six story building - and it survived! The panel really is $6, we designed it to be very simple (yet durable and functional) so that the world's poorest communities can afford to buy it. These products are already being used in 27 countries.

You can learn more here: www.ToughStuffonline.org

Or get a panel and lamp yourself for camping and such through our BuyOneFundOne Program here: www.BuyOneFundOne.org

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew Tanswell says: Hi Tim,

Glad you like the video! We had a lot of fun making it with the footage, the pictures, the music.

You can learn more about our company here:

www.ToughStuffonline.org

Or learn about our program where you can fund an entrepreneur yourself while getting your own panel and LED lamp here:

www.BuyOneFundOne.org

Please feel free to ask me any questions directly as well.

Cheers,

Andrew

jessica morgan says: a very powerful idea. great work ToughSTuff.

Nick Sowden says: Nice work to all the team making the video. Looks very nice.

Pat Keys says: I just got back from a 16 day backpacking trip using the TS solar panel with the lamp and some batteries. It worked like a dream, and stood up to a lot of abuse. GO TOUGHSTUFF!

Alexander Leahy says: Nice work all, excellent video. Represents the company well in a very short clip!

Stephen Hendrickson says: Very cool. I bet your products could have broader appeal beyond lesser developed countries as well. (I want a durable solar charger for my cell phone.)

Jonathn Miller says: Amazing! This really conveys the great work that business can do to fight poverty and improve lives. Not to mention it's Solar! Great work!

Jonathn Miller says: Stephen. Good point! There is the option to buy these solar products in developed countries. Go to www.buyonefundone.org to find out how buying a solar panel and LED lamp will fund small businesses in Africa and create sustainable livelihoods!

Darren Kelly says: This is a great business. And it has a real chance of success - because it is not just a "save the whales" project. It is a viable business that along the way also happens to help a lot of people in the developing world. I love the fact that these guys enable small entrepreneurs to make a buck.

Make the world a better place whilst making a profit? Who would have thought?

Erik Hansen says: This video is sick! I love the lamp being tossed off a 6 story building!! "YES!"

Check out some of the other "ToughTesting" videos on YouTube-

Subaru full speed over panel- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o95ztB4LFfk

Not even 18-wheelers can hinder the solar panels- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NfAEU9vRUk

Cierra Cass says: Great Video! And an even better business idea!

Joanne Skidmore says: I have one of these LED lamps that I charge with a solar panel that I got from ToughStuff and it works great. It really lights up my dark storage shack!

I just showed it to someone from Vietnam this weekend, and she said these would be great for rural communities in Southeast Asia. Maybe ToughStuff can go there next.

Charity Wanjiru says: The lamp came in handy when we could not find a screw that fell off the tail stand on our plane, while we were in the bush!

I think it an absolute necessity for our field teams and soon our pilots will have it as part of their emergency kits.

Good work!

Tara Gray-Wolfstar says: I bought my first lamp & panel for my Dad for Fathers' Day. He loves it! I bought one for me and took it camping. It made it through our first night of torrential rain, hail and tornadoes (I should've videoed THAT for you!) It is now in my storage shed, which has no electricity and therefore no lighting; Now it has light! It works great. I think it SHOULD be an essential in emergency kits, as Charity says. It is an excellent product, and the fact that it funds the entrepreneur program just makes it all the more attractive.
Oh- and great video!

Jay Wilson says: This appears to be a great concept on two levels. I very much appreciate bringing renewable, inexpensive energy to those that are in need. More importantly, I like the compliment this provides to micro-finance. Distribution could be a fantastic way for a budding entrepreneur to get started in some of the mentioned countries.

bryan long says: As someone who has worked on development projects in Latin America for several years, I can attest to the need for cheap, reliable, and durable sources of light in the field. This is a great product with an excellent focus and a huge market! Best of luck.

Eric Frazier says: I think this is a great concept - affordable, reliable off-grid lighting and electronics charging using completely renewable resources. While obviously immediately applicable to places without consistent and/or affordable electricity, I think this also has the possibility to catch on in other areas too. The prices that companies are currently demanding for solar-charging devices for backcountry applications are ridiculous in comparison ($50 USD minimum). At less than 10oz (solar panel + light), I would love to hang one of these on my backpack so that I can read in my tent after dark. Actually, if it does really only cost $6, I think i'll go ahead and pick one up, certainly worth a shot.

Good work guys, hope to see some more innovative stuff from you in the future!

Joshua Rey says: It's so great to see this idea coming to fruition, changing lives, realising its potential, after such a long investment of time, energy and ingenuity - I continue to pray it takes the world by storm!

James Perry says: This is pure genius. I think the video undersells what a world-changing product this is - low expense and durability makes it a real contender.

Nick Sowden says: Eric - Thanks for the kind words. People in Europe and the United States can actually get one for themselves (backpacking, outdoor activities, traveling, etc) at:

www.BuyOneFundOne.org

We sell them in the west for $30. As you mentioned this is really quite inexpensive compared to other products. AND half of your purchase goes to fund a Solar Village Entrepreneur starting their business. Check it out!

Has anyone on this message board used one of our products yet?

Nick Sowden
ToughStuff

Ben Paine says: Great to see this getting recognition - rightly so. Seems to be a win-win-win proposition across social, environmental and economic factors - a rare thing indeed. Are there plans for these to be made available via mainstream online retailers?

Andrew Tanswell says: Let me say thank you to all those people who have made the effort to leave a comment, view our video and give us such positive ratings.

I have been off-line for a while as I have been in Africa looking at how best to take the business forwards and connecting again with the people who will most benefit from our solar powered products.

Over the coming few days I will endeavour to respond to the various questions and comments.

Andrew

Annie Rey says: The products themselves sound really great - but have any of them actually been used in the field? It seems to me that sometimes even really good ideas don’t work how you plan when you put them into action!

Becky Kuemmel says: I looked at your project because I'm interested in solar as a solution in the developing world. This seems like a really great solution as it is very affordable and focused. However, in my experience in rural areas these people do not have access to stores and often cannot find these products that really help out. Thus, distributing products is often the missing link for great ideas like yours. How does Tough Stuff intend to distribute these products? It seems like finding a solution to this problem would really allow your solution to make a giant impact.

Andrew Tanswell says: Thank you Annie for your very valid point:

Many ideas seem good, but never take off. The main reason is they are designed to a Western mindset and standards (like the wind-up radio).

We have undertaken considerable market research asking rural off-grid African people what they want - and produced our products accordingly.
All our products are robust and designed to work in “Tough” environments. They are also built to last – so that when people spend their limited and hard earned income on our products, they know they will have made a good investment.

For example:
The solar panels are flexible and can withstand very high temperatures and very wet or dry conditions (fine in Sahara extreme temperatures or Ecuadorian Rain Forest (12m rain per year)).

The lamps have multiple settings to allow for low light (50 hours on lowest setting from a single charge, to 7 hours on bright reading light). These lamps have rechargeable batteries in them – but we have used high specification long life batteries that work well at 40 degrees centigrade (not the usual 25 degC)

The lamp aesthetics and functionality were also designed to the preferences of our consumer market.

We know it is what people want – because we asked them.

Not only have we tested them in the field right from the prototype stage but they are now being bought and used in Madagascar in high volumes. Proof.

Interest is overwhelming – because people understand how valuable and useful they are. They provide a clean and odourless form of lighting (can you imagine how difficult it is to have to cook when your light is an open kerosene flame!).

They also save money so quickly. The normal payback is about 2 ½ months or less – thereafter they save a huge proportion (10-17%) of their normal income not needing to buy kerosene.

Of course other associated products mean that people don’t need to buy batteries for their radios, nor do they need to travel to the nearest town and pay someone to charge up their mobile phones. Further savings.

In this way we move towards our company vision: To lift millions of people out of poverty through enterprise.

Andrew Tanswell says: Ben Paine picks up an important point about the nature of our business – it is a triple-bottom-line business with financial, social and environmental goals. However, he raises the question as to whether we will make these products via mainstream online retails.

At this stage we do not intend to focus on the Western market – where online retail can occur. Though this has the potential to be more profiatable on a unit by unit basis, our aim is to bring about transformational change to homes, communities and nations in the developing world. To achieve this scale we have to focus: Focus on the consumers we want to reach and focus on the products they need, not what the Western market might like.

Of course no entrepreneur would want to miss out on an opportunity and, recognising there is a demand in the West, we have our BOFO on-line product offering: When you “Buy One” you pay extra to “Fund One”. You can buy our product kit on-line for at least twice the typical retail price – but in so doing you are providing the finance that will help an MFI (micro-finance institution) or NGO to lend or give to a budding new entrepreneur who wants to start up a business selling the ToughStuff products. [as said before, more information on this is available on our website at http://www.toughstuffonline.org/buyone-fundone/ ]

Andrew Tanswell says: Ben Paine picks up an important point about the nature of our business – it is a triple-bottom-line business with financial, social and environmental goals. However, he raises the question as to whether we will make these products via mainstream online retails.

At this stage we do not intend to focus on the Western market – where online retail can occur. Though this has the potential to be more profiatable on a unit by unit basis, our aim is to bring about transformational change to homes, communities and nations in the developing world. To achieve this scale we have to focus: Focus on the consumers we want to reach and focus on the products they need, not what the Western market might like.

Of course no entrepreneur would want to miss out on an opportunity and, recognising there is a demand in the West, we have our BOFO on-line product offering: When you “Buy One” you pay extra to “Fund One”. You can buy our product kit on-line for at least twice the typical retail price – but in so doing you are providing the finance that will help an MFI (micro-finance institution) or NGO to lend or give to a budding new entrepreneur who wants to start up a business selling the ToughStuff products. [as said before, more information on this is available on our website at http://www.toughstuffonline.org/buyone-fundone/ ]

Andrew Tanswell says: Becky Kuemmel , you raise an important point about how the fact that people don’t have access to this type of product because the products simply don’t get out far enough to benefit those in inaccessible places. They don’t know about these solar powered products so how can they even know that there could be an option to purchase these products.

We have developed a solution that addresses this point and has two further advantages of creating new micro-enterprise employment and makes these solar products available to the very, very poor for whom the initial price of the product would be still be too high. [Picking up on Jay Wilson’s point that distribution through entrepreneurs has huge potential.]

We have something called the “Business-in-a-box” programme, where we set up micro-franchise entrepreneurs to rent out or sell our solar products at sufficient margin to provide them with a (relatively high) income while still making sure the products are affordable to the very poorest.

To give an indication of potential in the rural African communities, we ran a pilot for the BIAB programme. Our first Village Solar Entrepreneur went out with ten sets. A month later he wanted to buy 150sets

Our programme of micro-franchise BIAB employment will create thousands of micro-entrepreneurs. In Madagascar alone we planned to have over 1000 village solar entrepreneurs in place in 2 years. We started this programme on 1 July 2009 and there is a good chance we will have over 450 in the first three months!

There is a good explanation of the BIAB programme at http://www.toughstuffonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/biab-overview-ngos-february-2009.pdf

Curtis Bell says: I just finished hiking 200 miles with a ToughStuff solar panel on my back. Scratching, bending, and exposure to rain could not stop this product! It easily provided enough power to charge my camera batteries (AAs). I believe this durable product can make a lasting contribution to human welfare in the developing world.

Buy one for your pack and fund one for those in need.

james rupasinha says: Simply a wonderful product - has the potential to transform a multitude of lives.

Very very excited!

james

Nicholas Park says: Great video, it really shows the usefulness of this product (the lady in the field, the kids reading..!) and the "toughness" of the product (solar panel run over by a car..! and the lamp dropped from a 6 story building..!!).
is the panel made of recycled material too and how biodegradable is it ? that would cover all dimensions !

Andrew Tanswell says: In response to Nicholas Park’squestion “is the panel made of recycled material too and how biodegradable is it”.

Our priority is to provide robust products that last when exposed to the elements

We have flexible solar panels – pretty unique in itself – which use solar cells that are manufactured in high-tech facilities to an exacting specification. The thin-film amorphous solar technology has a proven lifetime of up to 20 years.

There are some emerging solar technologies which are organic but they do not have a proven stability of more than a year. They are also more expensive.

I think this will change over the coming years and we will change too. We won’t get locked into a particular product but we will continually look at what is the best for the millions of people who can benefit from inexpensive solar power.

tom oliver says: Very cool,

Lighting is a huge problem, and after doing some follow up on this project, it is the first one that I believe will be able to reach the scale needed.

Andrew Tanswell says: Tom,

Thank you - you are right it, lighting is a huge problem. 1.4 billion people around the world do not have access to electricity - so they have no lighting and instead have to resort to using candles, batteries and kerosene.

The price point on the ToughStuff solar lamp (and mobile phone charger and radio connectors) is so low that it becomes accessible to the very poorest of people.

Imagine a world where no one is using noxious, dangerous, CO2 emitting kerosene.

This really is "one idea to change the world".

JASON SHAH says: ToughStuff has found an incredibly unique and universally applicable solution to one of the world's most pressing problems. Congratulations to the team - this group deserves our full support.

Jonathan Tame says: I'm impressed by the simplicity and sustainability of this idea. However, I imagine that the critical factor in its success will be getting the right distribution network. Having worked in Cameroon and been involved in trying to get improved seeds and fertilisers distributed among farming communities, I often marvelled at how Coca-Cola was trucked all year round, apparently effortlessly, to the remotest parts of the province. What chance might there be in finding a partner like Coca-Cola who would offer their own distribution channels for the panels all round Africa?

Greg Perez says: Very impressive work! Cheers!

Sanju Kumar says: That is really a wonderful work. I'm really impressed!. Keep going

sanju

Andrew Tanswell says: Dear Jonathan,

You are quite right about the need for effective distribution. Broad and deep reach is what will make these products accessible to remote and poor rural communities. It would be great if we can work alongside the likes of Coca Cola but in the mean time we are working with other commercial distributors and also setting up our own alternative trade channels. We are setting up thousands of Solar Village Entrepreneurs as micro-franchise businesses, which create a healthy living for the individual but also enables rural communities to either buy or rent the solar products.

So not only do we have a reduction in CO2 emissions, considerable financial uplift to very poor people but we also create employment.

In this way we move towards our Vision of "lifting people out of poverty through enterprise".

Charie Gay says: We use this product and it is great.
Our members at humanity unites brilliance keep them and then also donate them
See us in Liberia at hubhub.org/news

This is a superior product for the compassion fields of the world...

Bremley W.B. Lyngdoh says: Andrew this is really cool what you are doing. I would love to promote your magical solar panel in the remote villages that we work in across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Keep the green flame burning!

Bremley

Jonathan Tame says: I'm impressed by the simplicity and sustainability of this idea. However, I imagine that the critical factor in its success will be getting the right distribution network. Having worked in Cameroon and been involved in trying to get improved seeds and fertilisers distributed among farming communities, I often marvelled at how Coca-Cola was trucked all year round, apparently effortlessly, to the remotest parts of the province. What chance might there be in finding a partner like Coca-Cola who would offer their own distribution channels for the panels all round Africa?

Hayley Smith says: Great product; great business model; great vision!

Christine Young says: What a fantastic idea and product! As we count down the days until Copenhagen, we keep learning more about how crucial it is to help people in the developing world to reduce their carbon emissions without denying them the benefits and opportunities that we in the west have long taken for granted. . By providing such a safe, sturdy, cheap and environmentally friendly way to access technology and to move out of poverty, ToughStuff has come at the right time. The fact that it is available in the west too is a real bonus.

I'd like to hear more about people's experiences of using the product and of the Business in a Box strategy. What feedback have you received so far?