Mysore: U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma today visited a migrant slum community of cricket bat makers to see an innovative, low-cost, decentralized solar energy home lighting system designed by the Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) for this labor community.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting SELCO to design and deploy similar sustainable energy solutions to alleviate energy poverty in India.

Living on the periphery of Mysore city, this cluster of 11 families of migrant workers travel from Baroda in Gujarat to South India for several months each year to make and sell cricket bats. Typically, a family of five lives in a crude makeshift tent and earns anywhere from INR 3,000 to 12,000 per month.

Keeping in mind the community’s varied energy needs, vulnerable cash flows and nomadic lifestyle, SELCO designed a portable, battery-operated solar system that provides one light and a mobile charging point. Costing an average INR 7,000, SELCO also designed a flexible door-step financing model to match the community’s intermittent cash flows. Under the setup, a collection agent was chosen from the community. The agent, in turn, hands over the variable monthly installments to a SELCO branch representative.

Since using the lighting system, the migrant community has seen a 30 percent increase in income, financial savings of INR1,000 per month, and improvements in their safety, comfort and lifestyle. “Since I’m now able to work even after dark, I make approximately 65 bats a day. Earlier, I could only make 40-45 until sun down. Because of light, the exposure to snakes, rodents and insects has also decreased drastically. My wife and kids feel a lot safer,” said a bat maker.

Visiting the community, Ambassador Verma said, “It is heartening to see how access to energy can lead to improvement in the lives of the poor and vulnerable. These customized, dependable lighting installations are not only leading to financial savings but are also reducing impact on the environment as families shift from traditional, polluting lighting sources like kerosene to a cleaner source like solar.”

The sustainable energy solution designed by SELCO is currently being used by similar urban poor communities in two other cities in Karnataka.