The Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya

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 technology’s 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 prioritising function over form. He concludes with realistic and practical solutions to the problems of solar product breakdown, disposal, repair and recycling.

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The Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya

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 technology’s 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 prioritising function over form. He concludes with realistic and practical solutions to the problems of solar product breakdown, disposal, repair and recycling.

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The Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya

The Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya

by Declan Murray
The Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya

The Repair Mindset: How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya

by Declan Murray

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Overview

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 technology’s 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 prioritising function over form. He concludes with realistic and practical solutions to the problems of solar product breakdown, disposal, repair and recycling.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781529250886
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Publication date: 01/01/2026
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 224

Table of Contents

Introduction: Broken Worlds

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

7. Conclusion: The Repair Mindset

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