
492 Photovoltaic Power Systems for Lifting Women Out of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
women and requires energy. Nowadays, as part of the drive to
improve women’s living conditions, diesel mills and huskers have
been introduced. But given the fact that a number of villages are
completely cut off, their operation is often interrupted as a result of
fuel supply problems and—above all—the cost of fossil fuels. Solar
mills have recently been introduced in Africa’s Sahel countries in
particular, and are a means of overcoming this constraint. They are
not yet in widespread use, but they do represent an avenue for future
exploration.
The last few years have