Were you able to make any sense of the title on this latest blog?
Reading over it, we’d forgive you for thinking we’ve gone a little wacky, although arguably the idea of attaching solar panels to donkeys in order to generate electricity is quite an eccentric concept on its own. But it’s working.
Cut-to provincial Turkey, where an increasing number of sheep and goat herders are adopting new technology amusingly named ‘plug-and-play donkey’ by the solar panel company Ser-Gün. The devices are designed to be carried by the donkeys over long journeys into the countryside, providing farmers and herders with portable electricity in the process.
In fact, in ideal conditions the solar panel can create enough energy to charge over 1000 mobile phones as well as numerous laptops and other small devices, including lamps and spotlights. Aside from added convenience, the ‘solar powered donkeys’ are giving rural residents unprecedented access to the online world, where they’re able to keep in touch with family, friends as well as news and events.
‘We aim to better the daily comfort of the producer in the countryside, providing sustainability in sheepherding’ said Tamer Uğurluel, Ser-Gün Chairman.
According to reports from Turkey, the newly available solar power is making birthing of livestock particularly less challenging, with lighting now accessible to the herders at night.
The price of all this donkey power is 2,800 Turkish Liras which converts to about $1,400 in Australian dollars. Luckily for the farmers and herders investing in this tech, the Turkish government chips in around half of the total cost using public funds raised in support of rural communities.
The only question now is where else we’ll start seeing solar panels pop up.
Solar powered elephants in Africa, cows in India and pandas in China perhaps?
Speak to you soon,
Solargain
