How Barefoot College Trained 700 Rural Grandmothers to Be Solar Engineers & Electrified 20000 Homes

From Meryl Garcia / The Better India: The Barefoot College Tilonia is a community-based grassroots organization that pairs the skills and intelligence of rural people and ‘experts’ in fields like water, education, renewable energy, health, advocacy, the environment, and communications. The organization works to build the capacity of women and marginalized rural communities to participate in planning, executing, and maintaining their own frameworks for development.

Find more articles about social change organizations working with rural communities.

Organization:

Barefoot College Tilonia

Social Innovator:

Roy Bunker

Issue Areas:

Climate Change, Education, Environment and Climate, Gender Equity, Income Security, Job Creation and Workforce Development, Poverty Reduction Measures, Renewable Energy, Social Entrepreneurship

Problem-Solving Strategies:

Addressing Underlying Issues, Community Control and Ownership, Cultivating Collaborations, Empowering People, Establishing Social Norms, Expanding Access, Leveraging Technology, Meeting People Where They Are At, Practicing Human Centered Design, Resilience

Communities Served:

Children and Youth, Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship, Rural Communities, Women and Girls

Locations Where The Organization Works:

India

Notes:

Skoll Awardee

Date:

January 28, 2016

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