Ninety percent of the large interior, rural part of Africa is not an abundant user of fossil fuels and is not connected to an electricity grid. This limits habitability and leads to significant migration to larger cities in attempts to improve economic and social welfare, which happens at the cost of its rich cultural diversity by inevitable adaption and mixing of societies. A direct transition from a firewood to an off-grid renewable electricity age can mitigate this detrimental development. This perspective discusses the interdisciplinary requirements linking cultural, sociological, economic, and technical aspects for a transition to modern life without loss of valuable traditions. Photovoltaic power and wind energy can provide local affordable electricity in off-grid locations. Intermediate storage for day–night cycles is catered for by novel types of batteries. Purifying and recycling water, refrigerating food and medicine, and benefitting from contact with the world via electronic media permit a tremendous increase in living conditions and significantly lower the pressure of migration into cities. Access to energy is a fundamental requirement for the preservation of the rich cultural diversity with family and tribal bindings, local languages, traditions, and religions, and allows for a more moderate transition to a modern society.

中文翻译：

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利用可再生能源保护非洲农村的文化多样性

非洲90%的广大内陆农村地区并不大量使用化石燃料，也没有连接到电网。这限制了宜居性，并导致大量人口迁移到大城市，以试图改善经济和社会福利，而这种情况的代价是社会不可避免的适应和融合，从而牺牲了丰富的文化多样性。从柴火直接过渡到离网可再生电力时代可以减轻这种有害的发展。这种观点讨论了在不丧失宝贵传统的情况下过渡到现代生活所需的将文化、社会学、经济和技术方面联系起来的跨学科要求。光伏发电和风能可以为离网地区提供当地负担得起的电力。新型电池可满足昼夜循环的中间存储需求。净化和循环利用水、冷藏食品和药品，以及通过电子媒体与世界接触，可以极大地改善生活条件，并显着降低移民进入城市的压力。获得能源是保护丰富的文化多样性（包括家庭和部落联系、当地语言、传统和宗教）的基本要求，并允许更温和地过渡到现代社会。