MAASAI ENTREPRENEUR WINS YOUNG INVENTORS PRIZE

A Maasai inventor Richard Turere has won first place in the Young Inventor Prize at the European Inventor Award 2023.

Turere was distinguished for developing a system to ward off lions and other predators from livestock using light sequences in order to protect his community’s livestock without harming the endangered lions.

“Today, my team and I might seem too young for people to take us seriously. But we are going to compel them to believe in us through our achievements and recognition like the Young Inventors Prize is part of that journey,” says  Turere.

Turere has been named the winner of the second edition of the Young Inventors Prize, which the European Patent Office (EPO) established to inspire the next generation of inventors.

The prize recognizes young innovators aged 30 or under who have developed technological solutions to tackle global problems and help reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Turere’s invention contributes to UN SDG 15: Life on Land, which includes protecting, restoring and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

After testing several ideas, Turere’s invention, known as Lion Lights, is based on a simple concept: visually replicating the human presence that keeps lions away.

 Using changing sequences of flashing lights mounted on fences, the lions cannot be comfortable with the patterns and are discouraged from hunting livestock.

As word of his technology and its success spread, other community members began requesting the system for their properties, and now over 2,000 homes in Kenya use Lion Lights.

The system typically runs on solar energy but can also be coupled with wind power when the weather is cloudy or there is little sun.

 It has attracted international attention and has been implemented in several other countries, including Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Argentina, and India, where it has helped deter various species of animals, such as hyenas, leopards and cheetahs.