Our club was successful in obtaining a District Grant amounting to $2,500 for the Fapon Solar Ice Project with the balance of the funding coming from club fund-raising activities which included a premiere viewing of “The Solar Nation of Tokelau”, a documentary showing how Tokelau became the first nation in the world to have all their electricity powered by solar energy.

In December 2016 Devonport Rotary Club funded a project in Vanuatu to enable the construction of an ice-making solar system in north-east Fapon, a small community in the central bush of Espiritu Santo. Essentially, 6 solar panels were purchased and installed, providing power to a specially designed fridge and freezer unit.

The 400L freezer provides ice and food storage for surrounding households and villages and is set to benefit more than 200 people in a number of ways by improving food preservation and providing opportunities for the community to start a fisheries project which will enable them to sell fresh and frozen fish.

Training has been provided to Tari, the son of Chief Willy, on maintenance and special monitoring of the system  through the use of controller for checking the charge level of batteries.