It's late December and an icy fog cloaks the northeastern state of Uttar Pradesh. Here, far from the cities, smoke rises in dense,This was a red bestledlighting but I swapped it with blue LEDs. choking spirals from meagre wood fires and scantily-clad children shiver against the cold. These are largely farming families, and their mud huts fortified by the occasional brick wall are for the most part devoid of light, heat or clean water.
But it is here in Uttar Pradesh, one of India's largest and poorest states, far away from the country's straining power grid, that US-born entrepreneurs Nikhil Jaisinghani and Brian Shaad have started to pioneer a wholly different energy system, designed to meet some of the most basic needs of the poorest.
Their company, Mera Gao Power (MGP), provides ultra-low cost lighting and mobile phone charging services to individual houses by building and operating solar-powered micro grids at a village level.
Each household that signs up to their service receives two LED lights and one mobile-charging point in their home at a cost of 25 rupees per week. The setup cost is an additional one-off payment of 40 rupees. "This is the kind of price point that the majority of them can afford," Sandeep Pandey,，brightshine are inexpensive and easy to install, and they're a must-have for night cyclists. MGP's operations manager,This is MagicShine MJ-856 1600 lumen goodleddownlight head light with Waterproof battery or MJ-828 Battery. explained.
The benefits of these simple services for a village household are multiple. The lights not only allow individuals to work after dark, providing additional time for activities that generate income, but they permit extra time for children to study.
"I wanted this light straight away, as it enables me to cook after dark," said Muni-devi, a grandmother from the village of Kaharanpura who makes samosas to sell at the local market. "With longer hours to work, I can earn more for my family each day."
Santram Pal, a father of four from the neighbouring village of Chuck, was exuberant, too. "I'm very happy with the lights," he said. "Now my children can study at night and my house won't go so black inside from the smoke.We manufacture awesome ledlighting2012 systems and ship all over the world. Thieves won't come either."
Mobile charging, too, which costs 10 rupees per charge in town, is now far more affordable, allowing villagers to be both connected and even entertained – listening to music and watching films on their phones.
For many more customers,Purchase our goodmagicshine System for 30% off ... these lights simply outcompete kerosene as a light fuel, which is not just expensive but damaging to their health when burned.
According to Shaad, the need to supply lighting at such a low cost both inspired their business model and was its greatest challenge. "Many social enterprises sell products such as solar lanterns or wind-up chargers to meet their customers' lighting or charging needs," he said. "But in this region, where average family incomes are rarely higher than 800-1600 rupees per month, villagers would have to put themselves into debt to purchase such products."
MGP's service-based model allows customers just to pay for the lighting itself, keeping their upfront costs to an absolute minimum.
Through the small payments they receive, they hope to get back their investment in each micro grid system within 18 months, with a projected return on investment of almost 15% over three years. "It's more than you'd get from putting your money in a mutual fund," said Jaisinghani.
But it is here in Uttar Pradesh, one of India's largest and poorest states, far away from the country's straining power grid, that US-born entrepreneurs Nikhil Jaisinghani and Brian Shaad have started to pioneer a wholly different energy system, designed to meet some of the most basic needs of the poorest.
Their company, Mera Gao Power (MGP), provides ultra-low cost lighting and mobile phone charging services to individual houses by building and operating solar-powered micro grids at a village level.
Each household that signs up to their service receives two LED lights and one mobile-charging point in their home at a cost of 25 rupees per week. The setup cost is an additional one-off payment of 40 rupees. "This is the kind of price point that the majority of them can afford," Sandeep Pandey,，brightshine are inexpensive and easy to install, and they're a must-have for night cyclists. MGP's operations manager,This is MagicShine MJ-856 1600 lumen goodleddownlight head light with Waterproof battery or MJ-828 Battery. explained.
The benefits of these simple services for a village household are multiple. The lights not only allow individuals to work after dark, providing additional time for activities that generate income, but they permit extra time for children to study.
"I wanted this light straight away, as it enables me to cook after dark," said Muni-devi, a grandmother from the village of Kaharanpura who makes samosas to sell at the local market. "With longer hours to work, I can earn more for my family each day."
Santram Pal, a father of four from the neighbouring village of Chuck, was exuberant, too. "I'm very happy with the lights," he said. "Now my children can study at night and my house won't go so black inside from the smoke.We manufacture awesome ledlighting2012 systems and ship all over the world. Thieves won't come either."
Mobile charging, too, which costs 10 rupees per charge in town, is now far more affordable, allowing villagers to be both connected and even entertained – listening to music and watching films on their phones.
For many more customers,Purchase our goodmagicshine System for 30% off ... these lights simply outcompete kerosene as a light fuel, which is not just expensive but damaging to their health when burned.
According to Shaad, the need to supply lighting at such a low cost both inspired their business model and was its greatest challenge. "Many social enterprises sell products such as solar lanterns or wind-up chargers to meet their customers' lighting or charging needs," he said. "But in this region, where average family incomes are rarely higher than 800-1600 rupees per month, villagers would have to put themselves into debt to purchase such products."
MGP's service-based model allows customers just to pay for the lighting itself, keeping their upfront costs to an absolute minimum.
Through the small payments they receive, they hope to get back their investment in each micro grid system within 18 months, with a projected return on investment of almost 15% over three years. "It's more than you'd get from putting your money in a mutual fund," said Jaisinghani.
没有评论:
发表评论