In India, until a few years ago, many villages were without lighting. But thanks to an ambitious initiative launched in 2007 by an NGO, Teri, today 500 million homes have electricity thanks to the powerful solar LED lanterns that use a specially designed battery and panel system.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
In India, until a few years ago, many villages were without lighting. But thanks to an ambitious initiative launched in 2007 by a Ong, la Teri, today 500 million homes have electricity thanks to the powerful LED solar lanterns which use a specially designed battery and panel system.
Up until five years ago, some 400 million people lived on rudimentary kerosene lamps that were not only low-quality but also dangerous. But in just 5 years, thanks to the project Lighting One Billion Lives half a billion houses are now naturally lit, without producing polluting emissions.
This is no small problem given that India is the second most populous country in the world after China, with 1,2 billion inhabitants. After a slow start - only four villages registered in the first year - the project has now taken off. More than 2.000 villages now have real ones charging stations, each of them made up of 50 long-lasting solar lanterns.
However, the Indian research institute does not distribute or sell the lamps but acts as an aggregate social development entity, within which scientists and designers work closely with more than 20 manufacturers to improve the quality and reliability of the lamps. lamps and to reduce their cost, while other teams work closely with villagers to help set up repair centers and provide technical support.
"We are trying to improve the quality of the lamps by also creating a chain of local entrepreneurs", he explained to the Guardian Ibrahim Rehman, director of Teri's social transformation division.
Before such a solution, people (or at least those who could afford it) had to shell out about $ 1 a month just for kerosene lamps, so it was necessary to find an economic model that would allow poor villagers to save. At first, the lanterns cost around $ 100 each, but now they cost between $ 15 and $ 30, and the batteries that used to last one year now last three. Those who cannot buy them also have the advantage of being able to rent them for a few cents a day. In order to have light, villagers simply take the lamps to the nearest charging station in the morning and pick them up charged in the evening.
"People were suspicious at first, but now they are queuing up for them," says Rehman. At this rate, in 10 years, most Indian villages will finally have light.
“The benefits are visible,” added Dhairya Dholakia, who follows the project. “People have light, clear, clean and non-polluting. In addition to the health benefits, education has also improved because children can continue to study late ”.
Teri's initiative, which is already changing the fortunes of many people in India, is expanding elsewhere in countries such as Afghanistan, Burma, Pakistan and some African states, including Kenya, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, leading sunlight even at night.
Francesca Mancuso
Read also:
- Environmental education: in India 2000 solar kits distributed in schools to spread the photovoltaic technique
- Soleckshaw: In India, mail is delivered by solar rickshaw
- 10 social innovations to bring light and clean energy to developing countries
