Challenge
Women in rural areas spend many hours each year manually processing of crops, collecting water, washing clothes, collecting firewood and cooking on an open fire. For young women in many cultures around the world, this domestic work and farm labor must be finished before they are able to devote time and energy to education, participate in trainings or community development programs, or develop a micro-enterprise. Domestic and manual agricultural work remains a major barrier to women’s economic participation and empowerment.
Solution
The Sumba Sustainable Solution provides technology that increases access to electricity, reduces poverty and create decent work for people in rural communities. For the agricultural sector, Sumba Sustainable Solution provides solar power for a range of appliances, including rice mills, corn mills, coconut graters, coffee grinders, water pumps and UV water filters. The solar-powered Productive Use Centres (PUCs) enable women in rural areas to access labor-saving equipment in their kampung, or village, without upfront investment. The PUC is managed by a local agent on a lease-purchase agreement with users accessing equipment on a user-pays basis, creating a sustainable business model that enables access to basic infrastructure for the most remote and vulnerable communities.
Videos
Recent News
How a Pay-as-You-Go Solar Project Reaches the Poorest Households (Development Asia)
Filling the energy technology, poverty gap (PV Magazine)
Photos
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