Light a Home - Our Vision
Our Vision is to use solar energy as a catalyst to create employment, boost income and provide self-reliant solutions for energy in remote and rural areas of India.
The Art of Living’s vision to ‘Light a Million Homes’ is an on-going campaign inspiring individuals and corporate partners to work with us to bring clean and affordable lighting solutions to un-electrified homes and villages in India and Nepal.
Did you know?
- 400 million of India’s population (40% of rural households) lack access to electricity
- Every year 2.2 million litres of kerosene is burned for lighting, emitting approximately 5.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
- Traditional fuel combustion, the primary source of indoor air pollution, causes between 300,000-400,000 deaths per year in India alone
Impact of our efforts
- Impacted more than 11500 households bringing solar lighting to more than 65,000 people.
- Set up 6 Solar Micro Grids in India as a pilot for our Integrated Rural Energy Access Model Village Program.
- Provided Solar Grid in 7 schools in the rural belts of Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Rajasthan.
- Set up 56 solar battery charging stations creating 40 entrepreneurs in Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam and UP.
- Trained 95 Yuvacharyas (Youth Leaders) as Renewable Energy Technicians to install and Renewable Energy Products.
- Inspired 56 new entrepreneurs in the field of Solar Energy earning approximately Rs 5000 per month.
Royal Ghutu and Jangalpara are two villages in West Bengal where solar grids were installed under the Light A Home Project by SSRDP, with the support of The Cooper Foundation, Australia. Solar micro-grid were installed in the villages, providing centralized electricity on the local level using the village distribution network fed with solar power systems. Around 30 families are benefited by the project.
"Our children used to study using a hurricane kerosene lamp, which was not very conducive for studying. We also cooked the dinner with great difficulty. Now, all this has become so easy with the lights that turn on with the click of a switch, thanks to Art of Living" Lalitha Hembrom (Local Villager)
Rashtriya Rifles Battalion at Talwara distributed solar lanterns to the locals at Chaladh on 04 Jun 2015 under SSRDP. The locals belonged to an area which was devoid of electricity and were in need of alternate source of electricity. Commanding Officer Rashtriya Rifles Battalion interacted with the locals and informed them about various Government schemes which can assist them in leading a respectable life. Motivating the AWAM, the officer urged the populace to allow the youth to venture out of the Tehsil and pursue higher education. The beneficiaries of solar lanterns thanked the Army for this gesture.
Communities targeted for the intervention are from backward socio-economic conditions with little or no access to electricity or other energy sources. Project so far has been implemented in BR Hills (Biligiriranganabetta Hills) in Karnataka State, India.Gombegallu, Keredimba Podu, K.Guddi, Marigudi Podi, Bisilagere, Ramaidua Podi and Kadigerepode villages fall under BR Hills Gram Panchayat, Chamrajnagar District of Karnataka. This region has dense forest and is located in a tiger reserve inhabited by the Solegas tribe. They lack basic amenities like electricity, medical care and toilets; no government schemes are implemented here. So SSRDP took the initiative of electrifying these villages. 253 solar lanterns along with solar batteries and panels were distributed successfully in this region.