A thousand bare feet says: "Train a grandmother - change the world." As technology is so much more than machines, grandmothers` greatest appeal is that they know how to remain in power, and that when they further train their children, men and grandchildren all the knowledge they have, they gain a lot of respect for old and forgotten knowledge, that also strengthen the well known deep respect for ancestors` awareness in cultures where grandparents have a great position.
From barefootcollege.org:
For the solar electrification of villages, Barefoot College annually trains about 100 grandmothers from India and 80 grandmothers from international rural villages located in the least developed countries as per the UN. The grandmothers complete a comprehensive 6 month solar engineering training program at Barefoot College campus in India where they learn how to light up solar home units, solar lamps, and charge controllers. Upon completion of training, the grandmothers return to their village to electrify upto 250 households with solar lighting units and assume the responsibility of repair and maintenance for a minimum of 5 years.
They play a key role in sustaining and replicating solar technology in rural communities by training other women and managing the finances of the solar workshop. The solar electrification program benefits the villages through save money on kerosene and wood and increasing the time spent on education and livelihood.
Barefoot College’s solar water heater solution provides rural communities access to a smoke free and eco-friendly source of heating water as well as to generate employment for unemployed rural youth. The solar water heater engineers are trained to fabricate, install, repair and maintain two varieties of solar heaters, oil-based and non oil-based, that can store upto 300 liters of water. More than 70 solar water heaters have been manufactured and are benefiting hundreds of people living in rural, remote villages in 8 states of India. The 2.5 square metre, 130kg parabolic solar cookers used to cook food are fabricated, installed and maintained to precise measurements by illiterate and semi-literate women. The eco-friendly solar cookers used in Indian villages feed more than 400 people every day.
The solar powered desalination plant setup by Barefoot College, the first of its kind in India, is a joint partnership with the scientific community that produces 600 litres of water per hour, for 6 hours every day.
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