MARGAO: In the village of Quisconda, which is a traditional Goa rural village, situated on the fringes of Quepem, in the forest of Canacona, the Quepem Salesian Society, has achieved a rare feat. About 50 households here have been provided with friendly solar home lighting units, designed and packaged by the Quepem Salesian Society.
Called Bosco-plus, each household is provided with three Compact Fluorescent Light (CLF) bulbs powered by solar cells and the solar unit comes with a warranty of two years, though its life is much more. The added advantage is that since the society is presently working on a watershed programme in the same village, for the next two years, they will take care of the systems during this period of time.
This achievement has transformed Quisconda from relying exclusively on kerosene lamps, to the irrevocably Bosco-plus solar power unit, which are the size of a school bag. This has made darkness a thing of the past and erratic power supply does not bring about a feeling of dread in the children anymore. This has also brought about a dramatic change in the lifestyle and working patterns of the villagers.
Fr George Quadros of the Quepem Salesian Society said, “It took the society some time in presenting and explaining the solar lighting idea, since we wanted the maximum participation of the community. We trained the village youth on maintaining the units, and after some trials and six months of hard work, we managed to light up the lives in 50 households.
However, Fr Quadros explained that the idea was met with a little hesitation as the villagers were reluctant to accept it. This was because the society wanted each household to own the project, and so these households had to make a very small contribution for the solar unit system. However, the major part of the cost was secured by way of generous contribution made by donors. These donors came to know of the project by word of mouth. The donor in turn gets the honour of a plaque with his name attached to the Bosco-plus unit.
The solar home lighting kit, consists of a 20 w panel, three CFL lights and a charge controller. The kit lights up three rooms for two hours a day or two rooms for three hours a day. Since the villagers are in the habit of going to bed early, the Bosco-plus units are custom made for them and meet their simple requirements. The society has a vision and intention to light up a village every six months.
In implementing of this project is also unique. The village youngsters were invited and are taught the art of electrical wiring needed for this unit. A few of them are also trained in repairing and maintenance of these systems. The society offers them technical assistance and also upgrades their knowledge. Since the society will be with the community for another two years on the watershed programme, efforts will be made to stabilise the solar lighting system and perhaps improve it. This type of participation of the community and the financial contribution and technical assistance of a few individuals, has led to development coming into the village’
With constant power failure and fluctuation in remote areas being a daily occurrence, the students suffer as they are not able to devote much time to their studies. With this in mind the society endeavored to rather light up the homes instead of the village streets. These units are a blessing to the students, who can now study by proper light, rather than a kerosene lamp.
Fr Quadros, the project manager said, “The units work even during the rains. All it needs is light, unless it is very very cloudy and gets dark. It was my dream to ensure that no child lags behind in their studies due to erratic power supply.”
He said that the society will now concentrate on the village of Varvula, which is another remote village which is not accessible by road, especially during the monsoon. The society will soon be working on individual biogas units, where cooking gas will be churned out from kitchen waste. The aim is to save the forest from being degraded. He said that villagers walk for miles to get firewood and that this biogas, which uses kitchen waste and cattle dung, will be used to fuel the unit.
Fr Quadros also said that the society is trying to work on a subsidy for the home lighting systems, to benefit villages in the future and called on the Goa Energy Development Agency to lend assistance, which is needed.
The official inauguration of the solar power lighting of Quisconda village is schedule to be held shortly. This is the first of a kind development in a very remote Goan village to enhance education level and community lifestyle. – NT
Hope the credit go to the beggar of varca.
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