Honduran Women Light the Way
A partnership between the Barefoot College, the Government of India and UNDP´s Small Grants Programme enabled "solar engineers" to bring energy to their community.
They don’t know how to read or write. Yet Iris Marlene Espinal, Carmen Lourdes Zambrano Cruz, Alnora Casy Estrada and Ingrid Miranda Martinez are engineering an energy secure future. The four women, all from remote corners of Honduras, are leading efforts to install, maintain and repair solar energy equipment in their communities. So far they’ve installed more than 200 panels, each generating 85 watts of power for household and other uses.
In Tilonia, India
The women learned their skills through the solar energy programme at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, India. The institution is a pioneer in the field of teaching complex technological processes to illiterate students.
Barefoot College
"We dreamed of creating a different opportunity for rural women. One in which they were free to learn." We believe in the endless potential of the rural poor. Barefoot College forges a first-of-its-kind, women-centered, global network dedicated to sustainable development in every community where poverty exists.
Solar Engineers
Their six-month “solar engineers” study programme was made possible through a partnership between the Government of India and the Small Grants Programme (SGP), a programme supported by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and UNDP. The initiative has expanded to 18 countries. As a result, 71 women have been trained as solar engineers, who electrified 3,778 households in 52 villages. Women and girls especially have benefited as they are now able to devote more time to education and income-generating activities.
Education and Income Generation
Back home in Honduras, Marlene, Carmen, Alnora and Ingrid are sharing what they learned with other members of their communities. Together they’re making sure their own children and their neighbours’ children will get a chance to learn to read and write.