Problem

In many remote regions across India, Africa, and Latin America, communities remain off-grid, relying on polluting and costly energy sources such as kerosene lamps and diesel generators to meet basic energy needs like cooking or reading at night. These sources pose health risks, limit educational opportunities, and contribute to carbon emissions. At the same time, older women—especially those who are illiterate or semi-literate—are often excluded from economic participation and decision-making, despite being key community anchors. The intersection of energy poverty and gender exclusion perpetuates cycles of inequality and environmental harm.

Response

The Barefoot College Solar Program addresses these twin challenges by training older, often illiterate or semi-literate women from marginalised rural communities to become solar engineers, nicknamed “Solar Mamas.” Through a hands-on six-month training model at the Barefoot campus in India, funded by institutional partners such as the Government of India and international development agencies, these women learn to install, maintain, and repair solar microgrids that electrify their villages. The initiative prioritises women who are traditionally excluded from formal education and employment, such as widows or small-scale farmers, offering them a path to dignified livelihoods.

Each participating village forms a Village Energy and Environment Committee (VEEC) before deployment. This local body selects trainees and manages a financial plan where households contribute a fixed monthly fee, comparable to previous kerosene costs, to cover solar system maintenance, engineer salaries, and replacement parts. In this way, households invest in a community-owned and managed service, ensuring sustainability and dignity without dependency.

Since 1997, the program has trained over 1,700 women from 96 countries and electrified more than 1,300 villages, saving 45 million litres of kerosene annually, reducing emissions and improving quality of life, while enabling women to earn steady incomes as community energy leaders. The Barefoot model demonstrates how community-led, gender-inclusive renewable energy programs can contribute to climate mitigation, energy access, and social equity in rural settings.

Find out more: Barefoot College Solar Program, IRENA