Barefoot Solar Engineers
It is not everyday one finds
women electricians in Africa, let alone rural women with basic literacy skills.
Four rural women in Karambi
village in Bugesera District, Eastern Rwanda, have become heroes in their
village for being able to
assemble,
install and maintain household solar equipment.
The women are members of RWN
community women supported groups and were selected from homecare givers and
paralegals with the involvement of the community, according to their ability
and leadership skills.
The women attended 6 months’ training in 2010 at the
Barefoot College in India, and would return to the village as “Barefoot
Solar Engineers” able
to put electricity
in every
house. The village has just over 110 households. The project was in collaboration with
the college and the Rwanda United Kingdom Goodwill Organization (RUGO).
Provision of energy to rural villages
is one of the key targets in
Enabling households with solar
electricity has propelled the women to a higher status in the community, as
well as being role models to girls in the village. All houses in the village pay a small
monthly fee to maintain the equipment,
provide an income for the women and set up a “sinking fund” for future
replacement of worn out components.
More than 100 households now have electricity, and the women are now demonstrating their skills through their women’s group at an international trade exhibition in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, to assist other villages.
Rwanda Women's Network (RWN) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.
For more on IIE , ACE or RWN please follow the links below.
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