Image: Pushkar V
Here’s another great example of the good that solar power can do in making struggling people’s lives a little bit easier.
In Bangalore, the capital city of the South Indian state of Karnataka, a woman by the name of Selvamma has been selling roasted corn from her stand for more than two decades. Now 75, Selvamma has been really feeling the impact of her trade on her body; enduring shoulder and wrist pain from manually fanning coals1 to cook the corn. She was also having trouble seeing the corn in the evening, making it more difficult to determine if it was properly done.
According to SELCO Foundation, Selvamma has been provided a small solar power system that consists of a panel, adjustable fan, lighting and a lithium-ion battery. Use of the fan has not only helped her rest her ailing wrist and shoulder, but also speeds up cooking of the corn. Selvamma has become somewhat of a celebrity as a result of this innovation, with more people (hopefully many of them paying customers) visiting her cart to check out her solar rig. She’s been mentioned by a number of media outlets, including the New Indian Express.
Solar Power An Answer To Energy Poverty
One of the perks of my job is getting to read about cool stuff happening with solar power, but it’s stories like Selvamma’s I find particularly impressive and uplifting.
The important takeaway is it only takes a little solar power to effect significant positive change among those suffering from the effects of energy poverty2
In a perfect world, Selvamma wouldn’t need to be selling corn at the age of 75 (if she didn’t want to), but perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of good – and providing access to solar energy can do a lot of that.
As for SELCO Foundation, it apparently provided the solar setup but whether it was donated isn’t clear. The group says it has supplied similar solutions to other corn vendors. SELCO Foundation has also been involved with solar-based home lighting projects, mini-grids and IECs. IECs are solar powered community centres hosting a range of basic services and activities lacking in a community.
The Foundation describes itself as “an open source not-for-profit enterprise creating solutions linking sustainable energy to poverty eradication across urban, rural and tribal areas” in India.
Kudos to SELCO Foundation and more (solar) power to you Selvamma. Special hat-tip to Pushkar V for the photo.
Footnotes
- This has also been reported as “coal”, which is a little troubling if that is the case, but anyway. ↩
- According to the International Energy Agency, the number of people without electricity access dropped below the 1 billion mark for the first time in 2017, but there’s still plenty of work to do. ↩
About Michael Bloch
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This is a very humbling story for those of us living in developed countries scrambling to impress other people with “my solar setup is bigger than yours”