In Afghanistan, living off the grid isn't tree Hugger's dream -- it's reality. But a renewable-power start-up called Sustainable Energy services Afghanistan is lighting up Afghans' lives, with help from the sun and the wind.

Read the Article

A team of technicians from SESA installs electrical poles and wiring along a twisting mountain road in Panjshir Provice.

A young Afghan shepherd examines a discussed diesel-fuel pump in Bamiyan Province. When available, diesel costs 20% more in Afghanistan than it does in the U.S.

This recent addition to the landscape above the Panshir town of Bazarak is designed to power the governor's compound and local TV station.

SESA CEO Tony Woods, in his Kabul office, says, "There's a feeling from NGOs that to make money on the business side, we're going to trample over everyone. We're not."

After fleeing marriage to a Taliban husband, Samiya Amiri found work--and the beginning of a new life -- as a renewable-power engineer.

Solar and wind are key, says British NATO commander Nick Carter, but he believes the big answer "will be hydropower," given Afghanistan's many rivers.

Read the Article