The Solar Electric Light COmpany is the organisation I will be working for while in India.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SELCO_India and http://www.selco-india.com/)
They don't just make solar panels and have branched out into other sustainable and accessible methods of producing energy, as well as lots of research and development into technologies and ideas that could help improve the lives of the (rural) poor. The organisation has won two Ashden Awards due to their efforts to improve access to energy. The organisation have already provided solar lighting to 125,000 homes and plans to provide access for many more. It focuses on enabling people to make change in their own lives and has initiatives like campaigning for banks to provide microfinance packages for the rural poor, and helping people to use the technology to create their own businesses.
When SELCO was set up in the 90's by Dr. Harish Hand - there were three myths that he wanted to dispel:
2) Poor people cannot maintain sustainable technologies;
3) Social ventures cannot be run as commercial entities.
Now that all sounds very exciting to me.. And it sounds like they're already proving some of these statements wrong.
Energy poverty is a concept I have been interested in for a while. Access to affordable and clean methods of lighting, heating, communication and cooking has huge effects on the quality of life of people in developing nations. I plan to write a post about this massive topic sometime in the future.
SELCO currently works mostly in Karnataka and Gujurat, and I will be based in their research and development lab in Ujire, Karnataka, South Western India.
SELCO lab's website which gives a bit of information about the developments currently taking place (here). The Bangalore part of the labs generally focusses on developments for the urban poor, while the Ujire lab (where I'll be) has a larger focus on poverty in a rural setting.
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