Global Cycle Solutions

New Teammate: Gussai

gcstz — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:26:14 +0000

This is a bit overdue, but we’d like to welcome Gussai Sheikheldin to our team.

Gussai has been working with us for about a month as a Product Development Fellow with a primary focus on our Multicrop Thresher, next-in-line for our product portfolio expansion. He brings extensive international experience, as he was born in Omdurman, Sudan, has lived across three separate continents – Africa, Asia, and North America. He loves that GCS resembles an innovation hive, dedicated to realizing technology responses to local problems, though he could do without the frequent Internet stalls. He spends his free time watching documentaries, reading a plethora of books, and listening to music from all over the world while also working on his PhD thesis on appropriate technology. His advice? ‘Conventional wisdom’ is an oxymoron!

Debbie | Arusha, Tanzania

Featured Rafiki: Elinipa

gcstz — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:54:38 +0000

Things have been very busy around GCS lately with the kickoff of the Rafiki distribution network. We have recently received a fantastic grant (details to be revealed in a later entry), have welcomed new members to our team (more details later), and are steadily expanding our product line (you guessed it, details later). Basically, GCS is getting bigger!

The Rafiki program has been extremely successful. We began with 20-30 sales during the month of October 2012 (our pilot month), and last month, we sold over 160! One particular Rafiki we’d like to highlight is this young woman:

who, with her persuasive charm, managed to sell every member of a village group a solar light – that’s twenty lights in one go! Because of such success stories like Elinipa, we’re planning our expansion to the Morogoro region from our Arusha pilot.

With the help of our Rafiki, we have managed to directly reach out to villages to not only provide helpful products but also to close our feedback loop. Our frequent meetings with our Rafiki give us the chance to hear their suggestions and allow them to relay the opinions of the villagers back to us. We’re very excited to use this feedback to further improve our product portfolio. If you would like to help us cataylze a villager’s entrepreneurial career, please get in touch!

That’s it for now Stay tuned for all the details.

Debbie | Arusha, TZ

New Shipment!

gcstz — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:08:37 +0000

Yesterday, we received a brand-new shipment of 8,000 solar lights. Demand for our excellent lights has been high, which is no surprise given their no-risk investment: Not only does our SunKing Pro charges cell phones, but it also provides enough energy savings within six months to pay for itself. With its one-year warranty, you are literally guaranteed value!

Eagerly anticipating the opening of the delivery truck!

Working in the rain to move all these boxes from the truck into our storage container.

Creepy container lit up by our powerful SunKing Pro. We brave the darkness to bring you light.

We’re all about teamwork at GCS.

A wall of solar lanterns boxes: a beautiful sight to see. Even more beautiful unboxed in your homes

Debbie | Arusha, Tanzania