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Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya [Pehme köide]

(Durham University (The Palatine Centre))
  • Formaat: Paperback / softback, 224 pages, kõrgus x laius: 234x156 mm, 11 Illustrations, black and white
  • Ilmumisaeg: 23-Apr-2026
  • Kirjastus: Bristol University Press
  • ISBN-10: 1529250870
  • ISBN-13: 9781529250879
  • Formaat: Paperback / softback, 224 pages, kõrgus x laius: 234x156 mm, 11 Illustrations, black and white
  • Ilmumisaeg: 23-Apr-2026
  • Kirjastus: Bristol University Press
  • ISBN-10: 1529250870
  • ISBN-13: 9781529250879
Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.



Solar power is a renewable technology with huge benefits for both the Global North and South but with an unavoidable byproduct: waste. This book the first to examine the off-grid solar industry in Kenya questions the technologys sustainability and is based on ethnographic fieldwork with the independent repair workers at the sharp end of the solar revolution.



Declan Murray proposes that, rather than imposing an external blueprint, energy development projects in the Global South should adopt the approach of the bricoleur which means learning from past experiences, drawing on resources at hand and prioritizing function over form. He concludes with realistic and practical solutions to the problems of solar product breakdown, disposal, repair and recycling.

Arvustused

'The Repair Mindset offers a long overdue, in-depth take on matters of product design and distribution which fundamentally shape the options we have as an industry when products reach the end of their life. This book is a must read for anyone investing, advising or working in the industry.' Jamie McCloskey, SolarAid 'Murrays engaging ethnography of off-grid infrastructures shows how repair critically makes technology work, offering thoughtful alternatives to disposability in development.' Jacob Doherty, University of Edinburgh This delightful ethnography not only offers a rich account of the solar industry in Kenya [ but] by placing 'repair' at the centre of solar assemblages and afterlives, it also provides new ways for thinking about the possibilities of waste in developmental economies. Hannah Brown, Durham University









'Kenya has long been the site of innovative or ground-breaking development interventions so it is fascinating to read this close critique of off-grid solar projects through a focus on questions of waste, repair and recycling.' Anne Wacera Wambugu, Strathmore University

Introduction: A Broken World





Part 1: Making and Breaking Products





1. Old Tech Made New


2. Market Devices: Quality Standards and Impact Metrics


3. Breakdowns in the Assemblage





Part 2: Responding to Breakdown





4. Repairing at Home


5. Professional Repair


6. The Illusion of Authorised Repair





Conclusion: The Repair Mindset
Declan Murray is Research Associate in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. He previously worked as a consultant in the off-grid solar industry.