Website Link – https://www.barefootcollegetilonia.org/
“We are a community-based grassroots organization working to make marginalized communities sustainable and self-sufficient since 1972. We believe in the Gandhian philosophy that knowledge, skills and wisdom found in the villages should be used for their own development.”
Solar Mamas
They are middle aged illiterate women-many grandmothers- who live in non- electrified villages and who are rooted in their villages. They have been selected by their communities to be trained in India in 6 months to be solar engineers with financial support under ITEC from the Ministry of External Affairs Government of India. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE) has also been training illiterate rural women from non electrified villages since 2000.
The first Solar Mama was selected in 2000. Since then 1600 solar mamas have been trained from 96 countries solar electrifying 60,000 houses saving 45 million litres of kerosene from polluting the environment.
Since 2000, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been supporting the training illiterate and semi-literate rural women in solar lighting for remote, inaccessible hilly tribal desert areas of the country.
300 out of total 688 women have been trained as barefoot women solar engineers and master trainers from 17 States with financial support of the MNRE in 13 batches from 2009 to 2019.
They have solar electrified 25,951 houses in 688 villages in 17 States. Total 1709, the first generation of rural illiterate women trained for solar lighting of 70,000 non electrified houses in 1146 villages of 95 countries in the last two decades. It saves 5 Litre of kerosene per house per month and preventing carbon emmissions in the environment.
The barefoot community model empowers the rural women selected by the community to fabricate, install, repair and maintain solar technology systems without the help of any paper qualified solar engineer from outside.
Introducing Solar Energy to Women Worldwide
Capacity Building for women on Solar LED Lights and other RE products is being conducted by Barefoot College, therefore, training women in Repairing and Installation. The workshops have been conducted in more than 96 countries
MNRE has supported for training of 293 women as the master trainers to train international women come at the Barefoot College for 6 month under the ITEC Programme.
Global Participation of women in Renewable Energy
Host this video – https://youtu.be/FhzHg62wsqk