In remote villages of Assam that have no or erratic power supply, locally produced solar energy helps villagers access digital services and also become small entrepreneurs to enhance their income.
Bradeswar Rabha is a small farmer who cultivates bananas in his backyard in Muduki village of Assam. His income of Rs 1.50 lakh per year from banana farming was not sufficient to meet the needs of his family.
Rabha set up a solar-powered lok seva kendra (LSK) as a secondary source of income. He now earns an additional Rs 1.50 lakh per year through this. Thanks to his solar-powered LSK, Muduki village, which falls under Rani administrative block in Kamrup district, has uninterrupted and low-cost access to digital services.
The solar-powered LSK – like all the LSKs – includes a laptop, printer and photocopier, besides an inverter and earthing kit.
Like Rabha, many villagers have become small entrepreneurs using decentralised solar power. Decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions, promoted by Diya Foundation, involve power produced locally using solar energy and hence do not depend on the electricity supplied through the grid. This helps villagers use the DRE units for better livelihood.
Energy is essential in today’s digital world to perform day-to-day operations, access various services and also for peer-to-peer connections.
However, there are still some areas where access to electricity is not possible due to their remoteness, or those facing constant power cuts.
A lok seva kendra is part of the common service centre (CSC) programme implemented by Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), offering digital services to people across India. However, rural communities in Assam need to travel far to access digital services. This is not only time-consuming but also expensive.
In this context, LSKs powered by solar energy – such as the one operated by Rabha in Muduki – offer digital services to people in remote villages that have erratic power supply or do not have electricity connection at all.
Energy is also a key element in promoting livelihood activities among rural communities.
Diya Foundation, a non-profit organisation based at Loharghat in Kamrup district, has been promoting livelihoods in villages of Kamrup and Goalpara districts by harnessing solar power – under a project titled ‘DRE solutions in livelihood intervention’.
It is being implemented in remote villages such as Ukiam, Muduki, Ghoramara, Kopilikhoj and Krishnapur that lack sufficient energy access, with the support of Selco Foundation which promotes rural entrepreneurship through DRE solutions.
Through the use of solar power units that are not connected to the grid, villagers are now able to operate rice huller machines, spinning machines for eri silk yarn, lok seva kendras, tailoring units and similar small businesses.
Diya Foundation has been able to successfully promote more than 350 rural entrepreneurs in many remote villages of Assam. The communities of these areas are leveraging decentralised renewable energy to enhance their income.
Before installing the DRE solutions, Diya conducted awareness meetings in rural areas about leveraging renewable energy to generate livelihood.
The Diya team conducted a baseline site survey in the household premise prior to the installation of DRE solutions. The solutions were customised based on the survey findings, in order to make them energy efficient.
The team trained the beneficiaries on operating the DRE solutions. The training helps the villagers operate the installations easily, while ensuring their durability.
Under the DRE project, the installations are serviced for free for a year, saving the maintenance cost and time for the beneficiary households.
Though DRE solutions have many benefits, there are some prevailing challenges. One of the major challenges of solar-powered solutions is the inability to generate energy during bad weather or rainy days. So it cannot be the only energy provider.
The price of the solar panel is a little high, which can be a barrier for rural people in adapting DRE solutions. The process of customising the solutions can be time-consuming. This caused many people to change their mind about adopting the solutions.
Renewable energy has proven to be a blessing in terms of reducing the greenhouse gas effect. Additionally, it can be the energy provider in the remotest parts of the earth for various sectors, such as agriculture, manufacturing, livestock rearing, sericulture and health.
The renewable energy solutions can be replicated in many areas with some financial support from the stakeholders concerned. There are some additional challenges but they can be resolved over time.
As former US senator Tim Wirth has said, “Energy is essential for development, and sustainable energy is essential for sustainable development.” And distributed renewable energy offers the best sustainable energy solution to communities in remote villages.
The lead image at the top shows the solar panels that help villagers in remote parts of Assam improve their livelihood. (Photo by Gopinath Rabha, Diya Foundation)
Surajit Saikia is a development practitioner, committed to implementing new ideas. Currently he serves as the Programme Manager – Livelihood at Diya Foundation.
