--- title: "About" description: "" url: "https://demo.uichemy.com/kindling/about/" updated: "2026-10-27" --- # About Locally led since 2014 (38 people) Bristol # We Fund The People Who Fit The Lights (Scroll) We fund community partners in 9 countries and train the technicians who keep the kit running. Bristol, UK(2014) Energy SolarStovesGridsTraining Kindling opens no offices abroad. We pay the partner workshop that is already in the village. Meet The Team 61,400 Households reached Homes with a lantern or a roof panel fitted, across nine programme countries. 1,860 Technicians trained People paid to install and repair solar, batteries and stoves after a nine-month course. 91% Funding to programmes The share of every pound that reaches the field, not the Bristol office. ##### 214 local partners ## What We Work By Four rules decide who does the work and where the money goes. They hold in all 9 countries, and they keep 91p in every pound on programmes. See the Work ### Led From Nearby The technician who fits a system lives twenty minutes away, and is still nearby in five years. ### Repair Is the Point A fitting takes a morning. The nine-month apprenticeship exists for the fault two years later. ### 91p in Every Pound That is the share of your giving that reaches programmes, and the books stay open. ### $47 Lights a Home A $40 lantern changes an evening. A trained technician keeps it working. ##### How Giving Works ## Your Money Buys A Thing, And Someone To Maintain It ![An installer in a high-visibility vest drilling the first bracket for a roof panel.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/3f37e891e5fc7070.webp) ### The Kit Arrives A local technician fits the lantern, the panel or the stove, and warranties it. ![A partner coordinator sitting under a tree with a household, going through a notebook together.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/480b2369fed99d87.webp) ### The Repair Matters Two years on, the same person comes back for the part that wore out. ## Plain Answers Six things donors ask before they give. ### Where does my money go? Of every pound you give, 91p reaches the programmes. The rest runs the Bristol office and the 38 staff who plan the work, buy the kit and check it. ### Why energy and not water? Energy unlocks the rest. A $40 lantern buys two more trading hours after dusk, and a vented stove cuts household fuel use by 52%. ### Who installs the systems? A trained local technician from one of our 214 partners. Most live twenty minutes from the roof they fit. ### What if it breaks? The technician who fitted it comes back. Every system carries two years of parts and cover, and 1,860 trained people do repairs. ### Do you use partners? Through partners, always. We fund and train 214 community organisations across 9 countries, and 29 of 38 staff live there. ### Can I give monthly? Yes. Switch the toggle above and give $5, $12 or $40 a month. Regular gifts let a partner plan a year of fitting, not one roof. ## Who Runs Close to the Work ![Tomas Ixil, Regional Lead for Central America.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/d3b9073eec32a362.webp) ![Samuel Adeyemi, Head of Engineering.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/d25c229c16273209.webp) + 9 countries ##### Our Team ![Thandiwe Banda, Executive Director.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/8eb9c9b8bed7f2ac.webp) ### Thandiwe Banda Executive Director ![Arun Shrestha, Director of Programmes.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/36f13800bf83bf50.webp) ### Arun Shrestha Programmes Director ![Priya Raman, Head of Finance.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/f310b3ca95a504b1.webp) ### Grace Mwale Head of Training ![Daniel Okeke, Partnerships.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/f2690edf02a5b4c7.webp) ### Joseph Phiri Lead Installer ## Fund A Lantern, A Stove Or A Whole Grid Gifts are costed: $47 lights a household, and 91% reaches programmes. ![A woman standing in the doorway of her hillside home as the light inside comes on.](https://assets.uichemy.com/6a8d825924a2067386875cf4/uploads/6adb23cd7e30ade6259bba63/ab65639e20f28d65.webp)