International projects

In the second year after the foundation of the non-profit organisation FEED in Hamburg as well as its sister NGO FEED South Africa NPC in South Africa, the organisation has expanded and developed its sustainable projects: The fight against malnutrition of children in schools and kindergartens is still very much in the foreground. To this end, the SUNfarming Food & Energy facility in Potchefstroom in the North-West Province of South Africa trains children in the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and also medicinal herbs, which in turn are mixed into a Vitality Porridge to offer the children a balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals that supports healthy development and provides energy for active participation in school lessons.

In 2022 alone, FEED has been able to provide balanced nutrition to 15,327 children at 38 schools and nurseries and 83,000 family members within a 200km radius of Potchefstroom through funds raised by private donors and integrated into the DEG project led by SUNfarming. .

After two years, the school headmasters confirm a significantly increased presence of the children in class as well as more active cooperation of the children and thus better school results. Together with the partners, FEED has thus been able to create the basis for many children to receive a good basic education at school and a strong foundation for their further educational and hopefully professional path.
Furthermore, within the framework of new training measures in sustainable agriculture for socially weak people and inhabitants of the townships around Potchefstroom, 30 women in particular were newly trained and accompanied by FEED. These women live in remote regions, mostly without a job or other income, with their families and often several children. The gardening training introduces them to the cultivation of food for their own consumption, with the aim of gradually training them to become farmers who can earn money together as cooperatives by selling their products.

The plants are spread over five sites, each equipped with a battery storage system and separate circuit for independent and reliable power supply of the main consumers, e.g. for medical care centre. The plants were built at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka and at the Centre for Atmospheric Research - National Space Research and Development Agency (CAR - NASRDA) in Abuja.

The YESPVNIGBEN research project is led by Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and funded by BAMF. On behalf of Forschungszentrum Jülich, SUNfarming has installed the training and research facilities as dual-use concepts "Food & Energy".

In addition to supplying energy, the facilities are used for research purposes. Professors at the university report: "Unfortunately, there is no proper electricity supply in Nsukka and the rest of the country. There are frequent power outages. The duration of the outages varies, sometimes it takes days. This is why obtaining important scientific data, in addition to the supply of electricity, is so important."
Other areas of research include
- Light transmission of the modules and effects on the cultivation of vegetables and herbs
- Temperature of the modules in connection with performance and service life
- A weather station measures the environmental parameters, the data is analysed online

All systems were assembled by local teams under the guidance of SUNfarming engineers. Necessary further assembly, repair and maintenance work will be carried out independently by these trained local employees in the future. Support from Germany is guaranteed at all times. To ensure operational safety, the entire system will be evaluated via a digital monitoring platform.

SUNfarming Agri-Solar in Osmaniye, video/german:

SUNfarming Agri-Solar in Madagascar, video/english:

SUNfarming Agri-Solar in Osmaniye, video/english:

We were able to meet many existing, but also new business partners.

We saw that with SUNfarming Öko- and Agri-Solar we can offer exactly the right answers to many questions and at the same time felt the tailwind of the entire solar industry.

We would like to thank all visitors to our stand during Intersolar 2022 in Munich.

Our conclusion: a very successful trade fair.
We will be happy to be there again next year!

In March 2022, SUNfarming AG realised the installation of the 13 kWp Agri-Solar system with battery storage system and back-up generator for the independent and reliable energy supply of an outpatient clinic in Gambia. In the small community of Suwareh Kunda on the North Bank of the West African coastal state, whose catchment area includes around 17,000 people, the urgently needed medical facility for adults and children is being built next to an existing primary school with the help of the Brandenburg-based non-profit organisation Alex e.V.. The donation amounting to the procurement value of the SUNfarming components was provided by the Daimler ProCent Foundation.

"Until now, proper medical care has only been provided in the capital city of Banjul, 70 km away, which can only be reached by a heavily used ferry ride of about 45 minutes across the Gambia River," reports Bernd Schorsch, Chairman of Alex e.V. "Only with the help of the generous donation from SUNfarming have we been able to sustainably realise and secure the operation of the infirmary after a project period of seven years in the meantime."

In the future, the new infirmary will have 7 beds for women and 7 beds for men as well as another 5 children's beds for medical care. Furthermore, a fully functional dental surgery with two treatment chairs and two incubators are to be operated, which require a high level of operational safety. "This safety can only be insufficiently guaranteed via the public power grid, which is reflected in power cuts lasting up to 2-3 minutes a day," explains the Gambian project partner and future operator of the hospital, who is called "Baba" by everyone and perfectly fulfils his fatherly role for the population in the region.
SUNfarming has already been working since 2014 in sustainable development aid projects for the supply of renewable energy in combination with the production of food and training in sustainable agriculture among the modules and has itself founded the non-profit association Food, Education, Energy & Development e.V. (FEED) in Germany and South Africa.

These are our topics:

SUNfarming Eco- and Agri-Solar systems with double added value for the energy turnaround:
SUNfarming continues to set the course and focus on biodiversity solar parks. With the two concepts "Eco-Solar" and "Agri-Solar" SUNfarming has set the course for project planning for solar parks on former agricultural land. With the dual-use concept for open space plants, SUNfarming can significantly expand the biodiversity of the land in addition to producing green electricity.

SUNfarming own power concept for municipalities and businesses:
0 % investment costs, on average at least 10 % electricity cost savings in the first 10 years (for municipal electricity), 100 % CO2 savings.

SUNfarming International:
Projects from Poland, Turkey and South Africa introduce themselves.

SUNfarming Food & Energy Projects:
Unique Food & Energy greenhouses developed by SUNfarming deliver jobs + food + energy where they are urgently needed.

SUNfarming Solar Training Centre in South Africa:
More than 3,500 trainees by 2022 in South Africa. Our commitment does not end with funding.

SUNfarming Home Solar:
Produce your own electricity on your roof.

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Your SUNfarming Team