RETHINKING EDUCATION: THE SOLAR INITIATIVE

LAUREN REMEDIOS
SHWETA RAO

BAREFOOT COLLEGE

TILONIA- VIA MADANGANJ

DISTRICT AJMER
RAJASTHAN-305816
INDIA

Phone Number: +91 (0)1463 288210 or +91 (0)1463 288351

Fax: +91 (0)1463 288206
E-mail: contact@barefootcollege.org
Website: www.barefootcollege.org
 Date: 17-11-2013

DECLARATION

I declare that the paper titled “Rethinking Education: Solar Initiative” submitted by me
for the workshop organized by the International Center for Human Development
(IC4HD), New Delhi titled “CELEBRATING SEWA: TOWARDS HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATION IN WOMEN’S
LIVELIHOOD SECURITY” is my own work.
Further, I acknowledge that IC4HD has the right to reproduce, distribute and publish the
above mentioned paper in any form including derivative works (abstracts, policy briefs,
case studies, articles, and translations)

BAREFOOT COLLEGE (SWRC), TILONIA, RAJASTHAN

LAUREN REMEDIOS SHWETA RAO

 ABSTRACT

This paper explains the pioneering work of a Non Profit Organization, Barefoot College
located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, which has been addressing rural problems in the areas of
water, solar electrification, education, communication, women empowerment and
livelihood for nearly four decades. The organization was started in 1972 by Director
Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy and is a community based model which is owned, managed and run
by the poor. It challenges the formal education system and paper qualified degrees by
training rural men and women with very little or no schooling experiences. One such
revolutionary programme is the Barefoot Solar Engineering that trains mothers and
grandmothers from India and other least developing countries in solar electrification. This
six month training programme takes place on Barefoot Campus in Tilonia and gives
hands on training to the women in making lamps, assembling electronic circuits and
learning how to repair and maintain the solar units. After six months when the trained
Barefoot Solar Engineers return, they bring home light by solar electrifying every
household in their community. Being able to provide electricity to their community does
not only give recognition and respect to a Barefoot Solar Engineer but also empowers her
and gives her a source of income to support family and educate her children.
Introduction

Barefoot History

In 1967, founder Sanjit “Bunker” Roy, found himself in rural Tilonia, Rajasthan working
as an unskilled labourer after receiving an “elitist and snobbish” education. He lived and
worked in villages of Rajasthan for five years digging and blasting wells. This experience
changed the way Bunker viewed the formal education system and paper-qualified
degrees. To him, certified professionals were “paper experts without any practical
experience.” He went through an “unlearning” phase where he realized there exists
traditional knowledge within the rural communities, which no formal education system
valued.
In 1972, Meghraj, a rural farmer from Tilonia, and Bunker, a fresh city graduate
formed a partnership and the concept of Barefoot College was born. The organization
was registered as the Social Work and Research Center (SWRC) and began their
operations to address the need for water in Rajasthan. They slowly started exploring other
areas such as health, education, and handicraft and how they could empower the rural
women.
In the early 1970’s, the Barefoot team comprised of geologists, geo physicists,
cartographers, economists, doctors, and social workers. However, by the early 1980’s, the
urban crowd began retreating, and this changed the workers’ dynamic of SWRC. This
was the first lesson in sustainability by shifting the leadership and responsibility of
SWRC from urban specialists to local leaders. This shift changed the thinking within the
organization “as local people started becoming a part of the collective decision-making
process. The college recognized that its dependence on urban expertise and paper
credentials did damage the mindset of the rural poor, in effect preventing them from
coming out of poverty on their own.”
By handing over the leadership to the rural poor and local community, made
SWRC a success story. This community-driven approach relies on rural wisdom and
finding simple local solutions to tackle community problems.

Nature of work

Barefoot College reflects the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, such as austerity,

equality, and sustainability. The organizational setup of Barefoot is based on a bottom-up
approach, wherein all operations are community owned and community managed. It is a
place that is built and managed by the poor and for the poor. The basic premise of
Barefoot is to work, teach, learn, and unlearn with the intention of giving back to one’s
own community. The ‘College’ aspect of Barefoot seeks to provide practical training and
learning by doing process.
 Based on this philosophy, rural barefoot professionals work in social, economic,
environmental, and political set-ups in their respective communities. Barefoot provides
solutions in the following areas:
1. Water
2. Solar
3. Education
4. Livelihood
5. Communication
6. Activism
Barefoot started its work around water. In arid Rajasthan, water is a scarce
resource, and it is affected not only by the environment, but also by social practices.
Previously, wells were divided along caste lines. Lower caste dalits were strictly not
allowed to fetch water from upper caste wells. Barefoot College had to work against such
feudalistic practices and mindsets of people to ensure drinking water to all, irrespective of
the caste bias.
Installation of hand-pumps and training of hand-pump engineers were the first
steps taken to providing access to drinking water. The second step was to collect water
through rooftop rainwater harvesting. This system of collecting water was not a new
innovation that the College pioneered. It used the age-old practice of harvesting rainwater
for drinking and sanitation for rural communities. The only intervention done by Barefoot
was to make this practice widespread and train Barefoot Water Mistris (engineers). Every
night school run by Barefoot College has a rainwater underground tank, thereby creating
a steady supply of water to school children and enabling them to rely less on external
sources of water. Apart from rainwater harvesting, Barefoot has provided solutions in
dams, desalination plant, and water mapping and testing.
The second area of barefoot solutions is providing renewable energy to
communities. Solar began in 1986 with a mission of electrifying remote communities,
which had no access to grid or government electricity. This Solar intiative prides itself on
being sustainable. It started by training semi-literate and unschooled men and women
from India to become Barefoot Solar Engineers (BSE). Currently, Barefoot trains only
semi-literate and unschooled women from India and around the world to become BSEs.
This model of training and education completely challenges the assumptions of formal
education.
The informal style of education that Barefoot promotes relies on striking a
balance between education and literacy. They believe that literacy is what a child
acquires in school; however, education is what they gain from family, community,
environment, and personal experiences.
The night schools are another area of informal education. Children who are
obligated to work during the day attend these night schools. This classroom is designed
on a democratic model that allows both teacher and student to have a voice in curriculum
design and teaching methods. Additionally, Barefoot runs a day school, balwadis, bridge
courses, and rural crèches. Community-selected rural men, women, and youth who are
called Barefoot Teachers operate this education initiative.
Apart from training and providing work as Barefoot professionals, the
organization promotes livelihood opportunities in the areas of handicrafts, health care,
and sanitary napkin making. The employment created through these programs provides
rural men and women with sustainable jobs that values traditional skills and provides
access to markets. The handicraft section keeps traditional arts, such as weaving,
stitching, embroidering, welding, pottery, carpentry, tanning, and toy making, alive to be
passed on to the next generation.
Health is one of the oldest areas in which, Barefoot has trained health workers,
midwives, pathologists, dentists, and acupuncturists with little or no education
background. These Barefoot Healers promote health awareness on issues such as
hygiene, food and nutrition, immunization, childcare, family planning, etc. One of the
biggest areas in health is providing sanitary napkins to young girls and women. This
initiative enables girls to go to school and solves the issues of sanitation and hygiene
among women.
All the above-mentioned Barefoot initiatives are promoted through traditional
communication to spread awareness and mobilize action. Traditional methods such as
puppetry, street theater, and music have proved to be powerful tools for changing
mindsets, conservative attitudes, and behavior. The communication team questions
antiquated ideas of child marriage, bride burning, caste system, women’s rights, labour
wages, and right to information. Apart from this, print publications and community radio
are additional tools for reaching out to people.
The philosophy of Barefoot College is to ignite social change through democratic
processes and dialogue. The College tackles social, political, and economic issues, which
is often met with struggle and protest. However, through constant conversation and
involvement among the rural and urban populations, Barefoot has managed to break the
caste and gender barriers and allow for open dialogue.

Scope of work

In India and around the world, Barefoot works in various communities, providing
sustainable solutions. The main target audience is women and children.
Water impact
 Total number of schools and communities with access to drinking water: 1521
 Liters of drinking water available through rainwater harvesting: 99,000,000
 Number of rural water engineers employed: 400
 Number of villages with access to rain water harvesting: 909
The map below shows the countries that use barefoot water solutions. These countries
include India, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mauritania, and Guinea.

Solar Impact
 Number of solar electrified villages: 1081
 Number of women BSE: 859
 Number of countries with barefoot solar engineers: 64

The map below shows the countries Barefoot impacts in Africa and Asia and the number
represents the number of Barefoot Solar Engineers. The maps shows: India, Bhutan,
Afghanistan, Jordan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Malawi,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Mali, Mauritania, Liberia, Burundi, Djibouti,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and South Africa, Solomon
Island, Vanuatu, Nauru, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama,
Colombia, Haiti, Peru, Bolivia, Haiti, Chile,

Figure 1
Education impact
 Total number of children in night schools since 1975: 75,000
 Total number of teachers in government schools: 14,000
 Number of villages with night schools: 700
 Number of Barefoot teachers: 4,500

Livelihood impact
 Number of Barefoot artisans: 5,000
 Total sales for the last 12 years: 1 million dollars
The chart below shows the various fields Barefoot Professionals who are employed in:

Figure 2

Percentage of livelihood created

6 3
8
34 Education
11 Drinking water
Entrepreneurs
Women empowerment
32 Rainwater Harvesting
Media and Communication

Sources of funds

Barefoot receives funds from national and international funding agencies, which
include government and non-government sectors. Below is a brief list of the main
funders:
 Ministry of External Affairs: Funding provided for international solar training
 Ministry of New and Renewable Energy: Funding provided for Indian solar
training
 Central Social Welfare Board: Funding provided for crèche
  Skoll Foundation; UN Women, UNDP: One United National; ENEL: Green
Power; Barr Foundation; Erol Foundation; Bank of America: Funding for solar
equipment and training and rain water harvesting
 Charity Aid Foundation: Funding for night schools
 The Dalai Lama Trust: General donations
 Various awards

Context of the Work

Every year more than 60 semi-literate/unschooled mothers or grandmothers from

India and 80 semi-literate/unschooled mothers or grandmothers from other least
developed countries come to Tilonia, Rajasthan, India and immerse themselves in a 6-
month solar engineering training program. Currently, there are 859 trained women solar
engineers, and 38,600 solar electrified houses in 1,081 villages in 64 different countries.
In addition to solar electrification, the women engineers also provide energy solutions to
hot water, solar cookers, and fresh drinking water through solar powered desalination.
The impact of this solar training and electrification is manifold contributing to poverty
alleviation, women’s empowerment, and environmental protection.

Constraints

In rural Rajasthan, as with most places in India, the ‘purdah’ system is ubiquitous.
The ‘purdah’ system is an antiquated practice in which women cover their face and head.
This way of living is restrictive both literally and metaphorically. Women are married at
a young age and are responsible for family and household and have limited opportunities
in the work sphere. Barefoot shift to train women instead of men to be solar engineers
gave these women a chance to step out of their purdah and enter into the world where
they could avail opportunities and empower themselves. Women who never got a chance
to get out of their homes, are now earning a living, and contributing to their family’s
income along with their male counterpart. They are confident and bold enough to talk to
strangers, and express themselves. They even have dreams and aspirations for their
children because now they have the confidence and the money. Additionally, the ‘purdah’
system restricts girls from getting an education. Women were expected not to continue
schools after a certain age and were redirected to household responsibilities.

Innovation and Action

Barefoot College believes that formal qualifications are not required to bring
about a change in their communities. For this reason, Barefoot has initiated the Solar
Engineering Program, wherein semi-literate to unschooled women train to become solar
engineers.

The College has demystified solar technology and is decentralizing its application
by making it available to poor and neglected communities. As part of the decentralization
process the college essentially trains a few members of the community to be barefoot
women solar Engineers who will install, repair and maintain solar lighting units for a
period of five years. Additionally a rural electronic workshop where components and
equipment needed for the repair and maintenance for solar unit will be stored. The
women go to India for six months of training and selection of these women is a
community affair. The methodology applied to rural solar electrification is unique to the
Barefoot College. Only villages that are inaccessible, remote and non-electrified are
considered for solar electrification. The master trainers who train these women are also
men and women from local communities who have attained no formal education but have
been trained at Barefoot College and now train others through their practice and
experience.
Upon returning to their villages, the grandmothers start solar electrifying each
house and bring renewed hope and inspiration to the village. In return for their
installation, maintenance and repair services, the women engineers receive a monthly
salary from the village solar committee.
Figure 3

Master Trainers of the Solar Engineering Programme

The success of the program revolves around the partnerships built between
different agencies (government and non-government) and the communities that have been
solar electrified. Bringing together the strength of different partners such as the Business
Sector, Multi-lateral Organizations, Government Agencies and Private Foundations
enable the solar program to reach the most marginalized and rural communities in
developing countries.

Figure 4
Challenges & Opportunities

The Women's Barefoot Solar Engineering Initiative faces many challenges.

Overcoming entrenched ideas about access to education and knowledge transfer are at the
heart because they permeate all layers in the development process from the women
themselves on the ground who have been told and convinced they are not able to learn
due to low literacy, lack of schooling, gender bias, age bias. The biggest challenge is in
convincing and changing the rural village mindset and all the way to the highest
government mentalities that educating grandmothers in rural areas is not a waste of time
and will have impact.

The larger development community and funding pools must also be challenged
and convinced that a grass roots community based model has the very real possibility of
reaching scale and large impact that it is worth investing in and championing.

The developed world presents challenges in its deep belief that technology should
only be accessed by the paper certified, formally educated elite and not be readily made
accessible to the poorest of the poor.

Opportunities are vast. The empowerment of a single woman who then mobilizes
and catalyses confidence and "belief" within their community leads to viral impact,
interest, hope and change.

The organization is expanding into regional learning centers that will offer not
only the knowledge transfer and de mystification of technology in the rural solar
electrification area, but also other vocational trainings, lead quickly and effectively to
entrepreneurial development and economic mobility for women in the developing world.
6 are currently in work in Africa with one in the Pacific region under discussion and one
in Central America also in planning. This expansion of the Barefoot College "footprint"
will allow the organization to build deeper Public/private sector partnerships that are
necessary if it wants to maximize the efficacy and scale possible. It will allow for wider
understanding and support of the college's work and drive further development debate
and paradigm shift.

The motivation is simple and clear. 1.6 billion people live without light and clean water.
That must change. Of the 875 million illiterate people in the world, 80% are women. That
stops women from becoming the agents of change they are proven to be. That must
change. Get technology into their hands. That is what turns women into "Barefoot
professionals".
Results

Since 2008, the grandmothers have managed to provide electricity to more than
45,000 households, bringing light to more than 450,000 individuals in 1,081 villages.
In addition, communities have seized the opportunity to provide electricity to numerous
public facilities, including schools, hospitals, local administration offices, religious
buildings and community centers.

Box 1: The Solar Engineers of Sholavata, Rajasthan

In rural Rajasthan, where caste discrimination still exists, solar power proves to be a viable option
for a community’s access to electricity. Few kilometers away from a village, Sholavata, we have
the ‘Bagariya’ community that lives in seclusion. This community survives on solar
electrification maintained by two solar engineers
Sangeeta and Jannat.

While Sangeeta comes from a feudalistic upper caste

family called the Rajputs, Jannat belongs to the
conservative Muslim community. Both of these
communities do not prefer their women going out and
seeking employment. They work at the production centre
of Barefoot College located in Sholavata and take care of
repair and maintenance of solar units in the nearby
villages.

“It was very difficult for me to step out of my house and

join the training programme because I come from a
Rajput family wherein the women are supposed to strictly
follow the restrictive purdah system. Luckily my parents
have been associated with the organization from a long
time and hence they encouraged me to come forward. But other people in my family are still not
happy about the fact that I go to work every day. Sometimes you just have to ignore these voices
and carry on with your good work.”
- Sangeeta

“My family opposes my willingness to work. I still do it because it’s my choice and with the
income that I earn, I support my family and children.”- Jannat

Going green!
The villages that have solar electricity have positive environmental effect on the
environment. They considerably reduce air pollution, fire and health hazards which take
place due to burning of firewood or kerosene.
Moreover, communities that had previously relied on using firewood saw
significant reductions in deforestation and land degradation. For example, with the help
of solar energy, annual kerosene consumption in villages across Mozambique fell by
27,375 liters and annual firewood consumption fell by 91,250 metric tons in the same
region. Many communities across Africa and Asia have managed to replace 50-95% of
kerosene lamps with solar powered lighting, and some villages have succeeded in
eliminating kerosene lamps completely.

Socio-Economic Impact
The villages chosen for solar electrification programme are remote and
inaccessible which have no hope of being electrified through power grid. Hence such
communities, when they receive electricity through solar power, enjoy various socio-
economic benefits.
They save significantly over kerosene and battery expenditure. Beneficiaries in
Ghana have been able to register savings of 76% in solar energy expenditures over
kerosene. Apart from this, it also reduces the work load and labour for women who
would otherwise walk miles in search of wood or kerosene. They save a lot of time this
way which can be used for other productive activities.

Having a dependable source of light in households has an economic advantage

attached to it. It makes way for community wide economic activity because the day
doesn’t end with sunset. Women carry out various activities such as handicrafts which
give them additional sources of income. In the case of Ghana, solar energy has been
providing lighting for two food processing plants where women produce butter at night.
In Niger, women engaged in increased honey production; in Rwanda, women increased
craft-making; and in Ethiopia women increased production of handcrafts and “tela,” a
locally brewed beverage.

Education
The communities with solar electricity also experience additional long-term
benefits. The solar lighting systems are provided with mobile charging unit. And a
substantial rise in the usage of mobile phones has been noted in such communities since
they now have a facility to charge their phones on a regular basis. In addition, radio,
television, and other electronic media facilitated more efficient information gathering and
educational activities.
Solar energy has a long term impact on children’s education in particular, since
school going children can now study after dark. Extended daylight hours allow for more
flexible schedules for completing domestic tasks, work and studying. Several
communities, including those in Bhutan and Ghana, installed solar energy kits in school
buildings. Several communities have also implemented adult literacy programs, along
with community television and radios airing audiovisual education programs.
Women Empowerment
One of the strongest and direct impacts of this programme is the change brought
in the social status of the women. They feel more empowered and confident as a Barefoot
Solar Engineer. They take part in the crucial decision making process at both household
and village level. They are respected for their work and the immense amount of courage
they show during the whole training programme while learning the complex technical
skills and going back to serve their communities.
Since all the women from various countries learn the skill together, the exchange
of knowledge takes place at various levels. Psychologically they get prepared to adjust to
the culture and language barrier in a new land. Culturally, they interact with each other
and learn how lifestyle and traditions vary from country to country. Academically, they
learn together and help each other apart from the language barrier to build a unique
understanding and peer to peer relationship. This exposure helps in broadening their
horizons and prepares them for new kind of learning and exchange.
The women therefore, not only learn the skill but also attain confidence to look at
improving their lives with a fresh perspective. This confidence further supports them in
taking leadership roles to train more women in their communities and enlighten more
lives.

Recommendations
The Barefoot model of sustainability, simplicity, traditional values, and rethinking
educations can be and is easily replicable. Fourteen grassroots rural organizations in 14
different states around India use Barefoot solutions in rural development and tackling
community issues. These organizations draw on the experiences and the successes of
Barefoot projects such as solar, education, and livelihood. The 14 organizations work
independently from Barefoot College but come together as a network to collaborate and
cooperate. This network is called SAMPDA and they work to innovate and develop low-
cost methods of empowering the rural communities.
SAMPDA is unique as acting as a channel to exchange experiences and ideas that
is relevant in the areas of livelihood, education, and solar. Barefoot College is a part of
this network and act as a liaison between the different organizations, government
agencies and different funding agencies. Additionally, SAMPDA meet bi-annually to
organize workshops, seminars, and conferences to discuss the successes and future goals
of the network members.
For example, SUTRA is an organization based in Himanchal Pradesh. This
organization follows the Barefoot solutions of night schools. Majority of children from
these schools live in slums and work during the day. Himalaya Vikas Samiti Mission in
Uttarkhand models the activities of rainwater harvesting and solar lighting in various
communities around the state. Agragamee in Odisha uses Barefoot philosophy of training
semi-literate to unschooled women and thereby creating ‘ecopreneurs’ capable of
sustaining their household and the environment.
The Barefoot approach has enabled the expansion of its programs in mobilizing
people to make positive social change in ecologically and culturally diverse settings. The
solutions can also be seen in the Solar initiative at the global perspective. Women from
64 different countries implement and integrate the barefoot solar lighting in their
respective communities. Moreover, the solar initiative prides itself in being sustainable
and developing local capabilities by passing on the gift of knowledge to other women in
their villages and training more solar engineers. The approaches of Barefoot, best
practices, and lessons learnt can be easily replicable and generalized since these activities
and philosophes are participatory, self-reliant, sustainable, and simple.
 References

Bunker Roy & Jesse Hartigan (2008). Empowering the Rural Poor to Develop
Themselves: The Barefoot Approach. Spring 2008, Vol. 3, No. 2, Pages 67-93.
Retrieved from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/itgg.2008.3.2.67

Barefoot staff member. Barefoot campus interviews.

Internal department reports

Report for the Millennium Development Goals. Developed by Barefoot College Solar
Department.

www.barefootcollege.org