MPRLP UPDATE SERIES NO. 5 SOLAR LIGHTING
Bringing light to the lives of remote communities in Sheopur Most rural households in India suffer as a result of low incomes and lack of access to affordable and reliable energy. As a result, they are forced to light their homes with kerosene lamps, which provide little light, cause respiratory problems and can easily cause house fires. As part of its mandate to reduce poverty (including energy poverty) in around 2900 villages in Madhya Pradesh, the Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Project (MPRLP) has been helping the government agency, the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam (MPUVN), to provide climate-friendly solar lighting to project villages in the Sheopur district.
The benefits
Out at night in Sheopur district. Photo: © MPRLP/A M Faruqui
and children in particular are much less likely to suffer attacks in well lit villages. Having more light in the project villages has also cut down the number of night-time scorpion stings and snake bites, which are a common problem.
More time for income-earning and study Other general but important benefits of solar lighting include the fact that children can now study at night and parents can do income-earning activities (like making incense sticks) or interact with their neighbours, rather than simply having to go straight to sleep when it gets dark.
Improved health and safety Having solar home lighting means people are no longer exposed to the fumes and smoke given off by kerosene lamps – which cause eye problems and serious lung diseases. This is particularly beneficial for women, who spend a lot of time in smoky environments at home. Use of solar lights also greatly cuts down the chances of house fires occurring. Solar street lighting has also reduced anti-social behaviour at night – women
A good example of convergence The success of the solar lighting initiative is a good example of how various departments and agencies can work together to achieve common goals more effectively for the benefit of the poor. In this case, MPRLP joined the solar lighting project at the request of the District Collector to build on and help implement work already done by the MPUVN, which is responsible for
implementing energy projects on behalf of the government.
“Children can now study at night and parents can do incomeearning activities”
Achievements so far As of August 2010, the work (in which MPRLP plays the role of facilitator) has involved the installation of solar lighting in 1279 households in 13 villages. A further 125 street lights have also been installed as part of the project (one street light for every ten households covered under the programme). The total installation costs of 1.5 crore (approximately Rs. 11,750 per household, including the cost of street lights) have been borne by the Government of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) through the MPUVN.
MADHYA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT
What was MPRLP's role?
Community inputs
MPRLP's key role was to mobilise the villagers and create awareness of the benefits of solar lighting in order to encourage them to take part in the government scheme. This was no easy task because the villagers did not trust the new lighting systems, especially in terms of the systems' ability to keep working long term. As a result, the process of mobilising the communities took several months.
Each lighting module (solar panel, battery, lamp) cost Rs. 9000 per home, with installation work beginning in October 2009. Families were asked to contribute a token sum ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200, depending on their income level. In some villages, families' initial contributions were funded by the Gram Kosh (Village Development Fund) in the form of a loan, which was repaid by the families after the solar home lighting system had been installed.
What made MPRLP the perfect partner to play the role of persuader and facilitator was the fact that it has a strong presence on the ground in 14 out of the 20 villages being targeted. It had already been working on providing other decentralised, renewable energy services such as biogas to the communities.
Helping the villagers realise that they really would benefit long term from contributing to the project was one of the major challenges MPRLP had to overcome. However, after lights were installed in the first five or six villages, contributions came easily from the rest, as people could see the benefits of solar lighting.
The way ahead
Establish stronger links with MNRE and private partners to provide solar energy. Train field staff in technical and operational aspects of the solar lighting systems. Create entrepreneurs at the Gram Panchayat level who can maintain the systems. Widen the scale of operations and engage with multiple vendors to solve the problem of supply of parts and accessories. Put in place a robust monitoring system to monitor system performance and repayment of loans.
Contact Telephone: +91-(0)755-2766812, 814, 815 Fax: +91-(0)755-2766818 Email: mprlp@mprlp.in Website: www.mprlp.in MPRLP is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Children studying under solar lighting . Photo: © MPRLP/A M Faruqui
“MPRLP’s role was to mobilise villagers and create awareness of the benefits of solar lighting”
This publication does not necessarily represent the views of the Department for International Development.