Ramdev of Bhopom ki Dhani village in Ajmer district was among the few people who owned a now ubiquitous mobile set. Till a few months ago, the villagers were not keen on mobile phones as they were virtually useless. Bhopam ki Dhani figures among hundreds of non-electrified villages in the country.
Ramdev and other mobile phone owners had to walk a few kilometres to get their mobile batteries charged. The charging came with a price—they had to shell out ~5 every time and the battery very often was not fully charged. Now, it is history as they have solar power in their village and many of them in their own homes.
The life was terrible for scores of villages in Rajasthan as water has high fluoride content. The villagers had to cough up a good amount every month to get “potable water”. Now, they have “sweet water” everyday that is sufficient for drinking and cooking.
All these have been possible thanks to the Barefoot College, an NGO, working at Tilonia village in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan. The ‘college’ is a unique institution as its door is open only to illiterates and churns out “engineers”--of course without a formal degree. The college trains illiterate rural people, especially women, in various skill developments. Their trained 'solar engineers' have become torch-bearers of rural electrification in the remote areas not only in India but also in underdeveloped countries. Now, women from Asian and African countries are also being trained at the college.
These engineers are the backbone of the “solar revolution” ushered in by the college with the active community participation. They were instrumental in harnessing solar power to address issues from lighting to water purification.
The methodology applied for rural solar electrification is unique to Barefoot College. “Only villages that are inaccessible and non-electrified are considered for the solar electrification”, says Bhagwati Nandan, coordinator of the solar division of the organisation. If villagers express their interest, then a village environment energy committee is formed. All beneficiaries will have to pay their contribution every month. This could be equal to the amount saved on kerosene or candles. “This is to ensure that even the poorest of the poor can feel a sense of ownership towards their solar unit and take care of it,” Nandan added.
The college then trains a member from each village to be barefoot solar engineers, who will install, repair and maintain solar lighting units of the village. The college motivates the communities to give this opportunity to especially middle-aged women, widows and single mothers with families who will stay in the village and serve the community. By being solar engineers, they can earn additional income.
Ramdev, young man of Bhopom ki Dhani, says “the solar lighting was a solution to many of our multiple problems. It has not only helped in lighting our homes but also in communication.” Ramdev says “earlier I had to go kilometres to get my mobile battery charged as there was no electricity in the village and the shop owner used to charge Rs five every time. Now I have the solar light which helps me connected as well”.
Idea of aero plant
As many villages in the state had high fluoride content in ground water, the villagers had to purchase water from outside for their day-to-day needs. The college came up with the idea of a solar-powered aero plant for water purification using reverse osmosis process.
Sangeetha , a village girl , who now mans the aero plant set up by the organisation at Silodia village says: “The village has about 300 families. Each family used to purchase at least two tankers every month by paying about Rs 600. Sometimes, the water quality was not good. Then the college came up the idea of the aero plant and it got overwhelming support from the villagers.”
Parmaram, a volunteer of Barefoot College, says “Though the plant costs Rs16 lakh, they have collected just Rs 500 as security deposit and charge Rs 20 per month for meeting operational costs.” The villagers are now getting two buckets of “sweet water” in the morning and evening, which is sufficient for drinking and cooking purposes.
Bhagwati Nandan says “till now, we have installed three water purifiers in Kishagarh tehsil.” They are at Bhopom ki Dhani, Silodia and Jhak Villages. Two more are in the pipeline.
The college, set up in 1972 by Sanjit "Bunker" Roy to teach rural people skills, has trained 15,000 women in an array of skills, including solar engineering, healthcare and water testing. Roy, 65, says his approach – low cost, decentralised and community-driven – works by utilising the existing resources in the villages. It gets funds from the government and other agencies from different parts of the world.
The college, spread over eight acres, runs mainly on solar energy, maintained by the barefoot solar engineers. Since the solar course was launched in 2005, more than 300 barefoot engineers have lighted more than 13,000 homes across India. A further 6,000 households in more than 120 villages in 24 countries from Afghanistan to Uganda have been powered on the same model.
The programme was so successful in India that Roy decided to go international. Since 2005, Barefoot College has trained 200 women from Africa. Those women have brought solar power into12,000 houses in 160 villages in the continent. Now, 22 women from various countries are undergoing training at the centre.
Coming from countries across the world, the women are trained for six months. Many of them had not visited bigger towns. To overcome language barrier, classes are held in sign language and colour-coded circuits. They were selected by the NGOs working in that countries.
Clare, a mother of four from Zimbabwe, is in the fourth month of her training. She says: “I am very excited about the prospect of this programme in my country. Our villages are not electrified and we use paraffin (equivalent of kerosene) for lighting. I want to take this model to all the neighbouring villages and will ask the government to provide a place to set up a workshop. This will take our villages from darkness to brightness, she hopes.