Organization Of Joint Action For Ecological Sustainability (PRERNA OJAS)
About the program.
Women’s organized in Self Help Groups having strongly embedded ties offers great potential in catalyzing rural economy. Motivating them to take entrepreneurial plunge while ensuring strong handholding support after necessary trainings for capacity building, paves way for inclusive, sustainable and diversified rural development on bedrock of governance system owned, managed and led by community institutions at the same time.
Taking above perspectives into account, 70 Lakh Solar Energy Program got implemented in 75 blocks of 30 districts in Uttar Pradesh with twin objective of providing clean source of light to school going children, ensuring their RIGHT TO LIGHT, while generating myriad of interlinked livelihood opportunities for Self Help Group women’s. This Program got implemented under effective leadership and management of women owned community institutions organized under umbrella of UTTAR PRADESH STATE RURAL LIVELIHOOD MISSION with funding, technological and handholding support from Ministry Of New And Renewable Energy, IIT (BOMBAY), and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd respectively.
This Program focused on “Localization of Solar Energy” wherein local SHG women got trained in solar technology for Assembly, Distribution and subsequent repair and maintenance of Solar Study Lamps, with an ultimate objective to nurture them to take-up solar entrepreneurship. In line of its execution, women led community institutions like Cluster Level Federation (CLF) / Village Organization organized under UPSRLM acted as execution agencies in their respective Block, they all worked in cohesion under decisive authority and centralize monitoring of their compeer institution, Jhansi Rani Cluster Level Federation considering it as nodal agency.
With a view to utilize potential of closely knit collaborative efforts of these community institutions, mammoth task of providing 34 Lakh solar study lamps to government recognized school going children got envisioned by establishing 89 assembly and distribution centers across 75 blocks of 30 district, selected on broad parameters of kerosene dependency and SC/ST concentration among few others. In line of its execution, around 4000 thousand SHG woman’s got trained to take-up this challenge. Against which, within a short span of time, by dint of their collaborative hard work 28 Lakh solar study lamps have been distributed to 28 Lakh students of rural ultra poor families at a marginal cost of Rs 100/- after required subsidy support from MNRE, generating a turnover of around Rs 28cr. Under effective leadership and efficient management of SHG member’s, even after meeting all operational expenses including handsome disbursement of Rs8 –Rs9 Cr in salaries to rural women, this project has been able to save around sufficient amount of corpus money which is parked at various community institutions. With a view to utilize potential of closely knit collaborative efforts of these community institutions, mammoth task of providing 34 Lakh solar study lamps to government recognized school going children got envisioned by establishing 89 assembly and distribution centers across 75 blocks of 30 district, selected on broad parameters of kerosene dependency and SC/ST concentration among few others. In line of its execution, around 4000 thousand SHG woman’s got trained to take-up this challenge. Against which, within a short span of time, by dint of their collaborative hard work 28 Lakh solar study lamps have been distributed to 28 Lakh students of rural ultra poor families at a marginal cost of Rs 100/- after required subsidy support from MNRE, generating a turnover of around Rs 28cr. Under effective leadership and efficient management of SHG member’s, even after meeting all operational expenses including handsome disbursement of Rs8 –Rs9 Cr in salaries to rural women, this project has been able to save around sufficient amount of corpus money which is parked at various community institutions.
Further taking this momentum forward, respective community institutions are putting this corpus money to built economic support system to boost entrepreneurial spirits of associated women’s. Utilizing which, they have established around 700 Solar S-Mart shops, by which they are making an average daily income of Rs 300-500 majorly through repair and maintenance and trading in solar technology
Therefore on the bedrock of above mentioned facts and figures, this program has made remarkable impacts on rural socio-economic landscape touching 3E’s of prosperity which are Education, Empowerment and Environment. From sociological perspective this program has supplemented technology driven economic empowerment of barely educated women living in rural landscape, those were earlier recognized as wife of someone, are now widely recognized as SOLAR DIDI, confidently demonstrating the specifications of solar lamps in class rooms like a teacher, where they once dreamt of being student. Those were earlier disregarded and were to look at others to meet out their petty needs have now moved on to become crises manager in chief of family at times of adversity.
Further, this program has completely eliminated use of traditional kerosene oil lamp locally called as “Dhibari” for study purpose, which apart from source of insufficient light, many a times had also been a sole cause of disastrous fire. Solar Study lamp, as its replacement has not only ensured efficient and sufficient light to unprivileged students, thereby increasing their study hours supplementing their education, but has also generated mass consciousness about benefits of clean energy.
Therefore in broader perspectives adorning its reliability, this program is classic case to study which could be replicated across, supplementing rural growth .
