The Repair Mindset
How to Fix Off-Grid Solar Power in Kenya
1st Edition
Published on 23. April 2026
224 pages
978-1-5292-5088-6 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
More details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
11 s/w Abbildungen
11 Illustrations, black and white
File size
1,67 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-5292-5088-6 (9781529250886)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
approx. 04/2026
1st Edition
Bristol University Press
€35.00
Not yet published
Person
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.
Content
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
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
