A Ray of Hope

We live in a world where what we do in relation to our economy and environment can have global impacts. Many individuals and companies across the board are now becoming increasingly aware of this and are seeking to work within parameters that cause least negative impacts and to work towards the development of more sustainable business and lifestyles.
In September last year I completed a trip to Nepal to donate and help install some photovoltaic panels (PVs) and lights at The Shree Bhairawashram Secondary School, Fujel, Gorkha.
The trip was organised by the Nepalese NGO (non-governmental organisation), the Himalayan Light Foundation (HLF) as part of their Solar Sisters programme www.hlf.org.np. It was partly paid for by sponsorship from various lighting manufacturers, designers and consultants. Those who contributed money to the trip were – Erco UK, iGuzzini UK, BDP Lighting, Speirs and Major Associates, Pinniger and Partners, XCO2 and the IALD UK.
The HLF is a Nepal based NGO whose main objective is to improve the quality of life for the people of remote regions in Nepal via the introduction and use of renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaic panels for lighting and clean water treatment etc.
The HLF is based in Kathmandu and was founded in 1997 by Sapana Shakya and Adam Friedensohn, a husband and wife team who now employ around thirteen members of staff and carry out operations throughout Nepal and more recently in India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
The work of the HLF not only encompasses philanthropic/eco tourist programmes such as Solar Sisters, but also works directly with communities in remote regions of Nepal and South Asia to educate them about renewable energy technologies and promote self-help development.
For those of you who are not aware (I have spoken to many people who do not know where Nepal is!), Nepal lies between India and China and is partly surrounded by the Himalayas. Contrary to the belief of some, it was never a British colony. At the end of last year Nepal finally relinquished its status as the last remaining Hindu monarchy to become a republic. This transition has marked a stage of evolution in this recently politically very troubled country.
Nepal is about the size of Greece and has a fast growing and young population of about 24 million. The average life expectancy is around 57 and the average per capita annual GDP is in the region of 280 US$. Typically a Nepalese worker may earn around 200 Nepalese Rupees a day which is equivalent to about £2, however as is evident from the per capita GDP statistic, many earn very much less than this. Whilst earnings may be relative, the fact is that most people in Nepal still live as subsistence farmers as they have done for hundreds of years. It is arguable that this lifestyle is partly sustainable, since its environmental impacts in terms of energy use are low, however there are problems in terms of it being a sustainable mechanism for supporting the current population. About one third of Nepalese families are reliant on money sent home from Nepalese men working abroad in different countries such as India and in the Middle-East and whilst provision of education is improving, the literacy rate for women is still only about 28% with about a 63% rate for men.
Due to the concerns in relation to cost and environmental impacts of fossil fuels, renewable energy systems are and will become increasingly important for Nepal. Largely because of cost and extremely difficult terrain, only about 9% of the population of this country have a connection to grid supplied electricity. These people are mostly in the large cities such as Kathmandu and Pokhara. Despite this supply being there it is often very unreliable, intermittent and extremely expensive for most people. The remote populations of Nepal that do not have grid electricity (most of them) generally use kerosene for lamps for lighting and burn wood collected locally as fuel for heating and cooking. The use of kerosene cans have many negative health impacts such as causing respiratory diseases which are at high levels in Nepal. It is also increasingly difficult for many to afford. It is important at this stage to understand that whilst we complain about rises in the cost of fuel in the UK, these costs in Nepal (one litre of petrol in Nepal also costs about £1) are crippling.
The country does potentially have large resources of bio-gas from farm waste which is increasingly being used by local farming communities and of hydro-power which could provide significant grid electricity supply, however the cost of these technologies and the installation of infrastructure to support them will take time to afford. In the meantime, many rural communities require power for education, health-care and many other functions that we take for granted. This can in part be provided by organisations such as the HLF and through the use of technologies such as PVs.
PVs are very expensive for most Nepalese people thus the HLF and other similar organisations have set up mechanisms to provide them as donations for specific institutions such as schools and community and medical centres that request them. They have also instigated programmes where community groups and families can buy subsidised PVs over a long period of time to help support their businesses.
As part of the Solar Sisters programme I provided two PV panels and eight 10W linear fluorescent lights and fittings for The Shree Bhairawashram Secondary School. This may not sound like very much to most of us in the West but what it did provide was artificial light by which older children at the school could study for their final exams (equivalent to GCSEs) in the evenings. This school, like most in Nepal has no grid supply or provision of sanitary facilities other than crude squat toilets and a stand-pipe for water. Children travel to the school from a radius of about 10km on foot, which due to the difficult terrain, can take up to two hours a day for each trip, there and back. During the exam times, some of the older children choose to stay at the school as boarders to avoid the long journeys and so that they can spend more time revising rather than working at home in the fields. The PVs and lights that I provided enabled this to happen. In the future the school is aiming to raise money for a solar powered internet connection so that both the children and members of the local community can go on line and communicate with the rest of the world.
The Shree Bhairawashram Secondary School is only one of the projects that the HLF’s Solar Sisters programme has supported over the past eleven years, other projects include for the provision of PVs and lights for seven health posts, eight other schools, ten monasteries, eleven community buildings, two community factories and three community based organisations. This programme is currently expanding to encompass still more projects.
Taking part in the Solar Sisters programme made me feel very humble and I find it difficult to describe the contrast in living standards and expectations that exist between many lives and lifestyles in the UK and Nepal. I hope that by undertaking this programme, I have helped to contribute something valuable for a few people and enabled the improvement of their education facilities and made their lives a little bit easier.
Many of you would be correct in saying that actually flying to Nepal to undertake this programme has had a significant environmental impact. Whilst the CO2 emissions for the flight were offset, it is true that in terms of environmental impact, it may not be appropriate for everybody to fly to Nepal to undertake a Solar Sisters programme since each individual’s return flight produces about 2 tonnes of CO2 which is equivalent to about 20% of an average UK person’s annual CO2 emissions. So, despite the fact that tourism in Nepal is an extremely important part of the Nepalese economy, I would suggest that perhaps the first way to support the HLF and others would be through a remote donation.
I chose to travel to Nepal to take part in the Solar Sisters programme since I have previously travelled to Nepal and wanted to try and contribute something of value to people there and help to raise awareness of some of the issues facing Nepal and similar developing nations. I and many others also believe that the wider ranging work of the HLF and other similar organisations are extremely valuable in terms of promoting the validity of renewable energy technologies and increasing the well being of many people in developing countries.
This year mondo*arc has sponsored the HLF by providing re-usable fabric bags produced by the HLF in Nepal for the The ARC Show – not only will this sponsorship help raise awareness for the HLF and similar organisations around the world but will help visitors to the show to think twice about their environmental impacts through the use of usually ubiquitous, disposable plastic bags.

www.hlf.org.np