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Hello Everyone! Namaste!
The Village Solar Lantern Project will bring clean, reliable, renewable electricity to rural villages in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
I want to raise enough money to start solar lantern projects in two villages. These projects will act as pilot programs. If the projects are successful, the organization I work with, Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, could expand the program into more than 60 other villages they work with.
How it works
The money from this campaign will be spent on a solar panel array, battery, and 30 to 50 lanterns for each of the chosen villages. One woman from each village has been selected to house the project. She will maintain the panels and charge all the lanterns everyday. The participants in the program will deliver the lanterns in the morning for charging and retrieve them in the evening. They will also be required to pay 60 rupees per month, or less than one USD. This fee will make the project self-sustaining. Part of the fee will be allotted to pay the host for her work. The rest will go into a bank account set up for the project and is to be used to repair and replace broken lanterns, replace used batteries, and for panel maintenance. In this way, I hope the project can last for the entire life of the panels, 20 to 25 years!
Why this project is important
There are innumerable benefits to having electricity but I would like to focus on just two. First, this project was designed to help with women's empowerment. Pardada Pardadi Educational Society is chiefly a school for girls. The solar lanterns will help them study after dark, finish household chores, and to use the bathroom at night.
(A woman cooks dinner with the help of a solar lantern)
(Feeding and milking of cows is much easier in the light)
(A village woman uses her solar lantern to run a small business)
Beyond the enormous immediate benefits of this project, is the more subtle global importance of renewable energy propagation. India is ground zero for the fight against climate change. The world's second most populous nation is one of the fasted growing economies in the world. And with more than 450 million people living without electricity, India's electricity consumption will grow more than any other nation. Unlike in the past, today we can choose between meeting this demand with fossil fuels or with renewable energy. In places where no electricity exists, people could skip the twentieth century coal powered grid and move straight to a modern self-sufficient distributed solar system.
(Delhi, India is now the most polluted city in the world!)
Please help me make this project a reality by donating and sharing this campaign with anyone who might be interested!
Thank You!
Sincerely,
Camden and Adam
P.S. I would like to thank Linda Scuizzato for the wonderful photos she took for this project. Feel free to check out her work at www.lindascuizzato.com.
The Village Solar Lantern Project will bring clean, reliable, renewable electricity to rural villages in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
I want to raise enough money to start solar lantern projects in two villages. These projects will act as pilot programs. If the projects are successful, the organization I work with, Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, could expand the program into more than 60 other villages they work with.
How it works
The money from this campaign will be spent on a solar panel array, battery, and 30 to 50 lanterns for each of the chosen villages. One woman from each village has been selected to house the project. She will maintain the panels and charge all the lanterns everyday. The participants in the program will deliver the lanterns in the morning for charging and retrieve them in the evening. They will also be required to pay 60 rupees per month, or less than one USD. This fee will make the project self-sustaining. Part of the fee will be allotted to pay the host for her work. The rest will go into a bank account set up for the project and is to be used to repair and replace broken lanterns, replace used batteries, and for panel maintenance. In this way, I hope the project can last for the entire life of the panels, 20 to 25 years!
Why this project is important
There are innumerable benefits to having electricity but I would like to focus on just two. First, this project was designed to help with women's empowerment. Pardada Pardadi Educational Society is chiefly a school for girls. The solar lanterns will help them study after dark, finish household chores, and to use the bathroom at night.
(A woman cooks dinner with the help of a solar lantern)(Feeding and milking of cows is much easier in the light)(A village woman uses her solar lantern to run a small business) Beyond the enormous immediate benefits of this project, is the more subtle global importance of renewable energy propagation. India is ground zero for the fight against climate change. The world's second most populous nation is one of the fasted growing economies in the world. And with more than 450 million people living without electricity, India's electricity consumption will grow more than any other nation. Unlike in the past, today we can choose between meeting this demand with fossil fuels or with renewable energy. In places where no electricity exists, people could skip the twentieth century coal powered grid and move straight to a modern self-sufficient distributed solar system.
(Delhi, India is now the most polluted city in the world!) Please help me make this project a reality by donating and sharing this campaign with anyone who might be interested!
Thank You!
Sincerely,
Camden and Adam
P.S. I would like to thank Linda Scuizzato for the wonderful photos she took for this project. Feel free to check out her work at www.lindascuizzato.com.