Seke – Turning waste into renewable energy-powered lanterns. This is the project of a local innovator Aluwaine Tanaka Manyonga from the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, who invented the so-called “Chigubhu” lantern, which means “bottle” in the Bantu language “Shona.” It is a portable circular lighting product made from light-emitting diode lighting electronic waste.
Only 44 percent of Zimbabwe’s 15 million people have access to electricity. In rural areas, where more than 60 percent of the population lives, electricity access is only 20 percent leaving most communities disconnected from the national grid. Those with access to electricity are enduring load-shedding schedules lasting more than 12 hours a day due to low water levels in Lake Kariba, the country’s biggest power plant, as well as aging equipment at Hwange Thermal Power Station.
Inspired by poor access to electricity and the rise in plastic and electronic waste that is contributing to climate change, the innovator of the Chigubhu lantern initiated the installation of a solar power system four years ago at Manyoshwa Primary School in Seke, a rural area 54 kilometers from the capital. This solar system supplies power to one of the classrooms for lighting as well as charging smartphones and laptops. A year later, in 2022, 30 students received several Chigubhu lanterns so they could read and do their homework at night. In 2023, instead of giving them already-made lanterns, it was decided to teach them to make the lanterns and fix any technical issues.
The lantern is placed in plastic bottles and cans and charged at school during the day using renewable energy. After classes, the students take it home, providing them with approximately four hours of light.
Thanks to collaborations with the United Nations Children’s Fund , the Australian Embassy in Harare, and local companies like Securico, 1,500 lanterns have been distributed across the country so far. According to the State Environmental Management Agency, Zimbabwe generates approximately 1.9 million tons of waste annually. Of this, about 342,000 tons per year is plastic, representing roughly 18% of the country’s total waste.
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