Solar Village Project
Total donations: $73,600 | Partnership: Since 2018
SolarVillageProject.org provides solar lighting and solar powered water pumps and filters to villages that are completely off the grid – and in India – to villages of the lowest castes.
Grand Circle Foundation initially funded $20,000 to provide solar power and solar water pump and filters to a village of 100 homes of the untouchable caste, off the grid in India, 1.5 hours from Varanasi.
We provided a solar water pump and filtration system for the entire village. The solar water pump, 4 stage filtration system and water storage tanks are one part of the project. The system was installed next to the village school in a common area and provides clean drinking water 24 hours a day. The water pump and filtration system provide a minimum of 2 liters of clean water per person per day.
The solar lights were distributed to the individual homes. At least 800 lumens of light (equivalent to a 60 watt bulb) were provided to each household.
A donation of $3,600 was used as a matching gift challenge to encourage donors. A total of $9000 was raised by Solar Village Project for the purchase of 300 solar lanterns for students. We are proud to have helped generate the funds for this initiative.
Rural clinics and schools in India often lack reliable access to electricity and safe drinking water. SVP’s Sustainable Schools and Solar Clinics programs focus on alleviating both of these problems.
Funds provided by GCF have helped fund access to safe water and solar energy at the Chorwaghalgaon village school of 250 students and a local community of 2,200 people and a second location at the Bahraich Primary Health Center servicing a population of 30,000 people.
A previous smaller project at Darhi Ram village in Uttar Pradesh provided clean water for 110 homes and 500 villagers. The residents of Darhi Ram rely on subsistence farming on small plots of land and quarrying stone from the nearby hills. They had never had access to electricity and relied on kerosene to light at night. A centralized solar water pump and filtration system has significantly decreased water borne illess.
