Isiolo — The upcoming Rio+20 conference on sustainable
development will try to identify solutions to worsening resource
scarcity and climate change, but Habiba Rage may already be
holding one in the palm of her hand. The 38-year-old from Alago
Alba in Kenya's North Eastern Region has overcome her village's
lack of connection to the electricity grid with a cell phone
that uses solar energy to recharge. "Our village does not have
electricity," says the mother of four. "It is very difficult to
own a mobile phone because of the energy it needs to keep
working." Habiba needs a phone for her livelihood as a trader
including to keep track of stock arriving from Isiolo, the
nearest urban center. Attacks by bandits along the 110 km (70
mile) route are not uncommon. Like many others in this
marginalised region, she has long found it hard to stay charged
up and in touch. But communications are now getting faster and
more reliable, thanks to Rage's phone, which takes advantage of
the scorching sun. The phone was invented