Promoting the autonomy of women entrepreneurs through the sale of solar pumping systems for agriculture

Promoting the autonomy of women entrepreneurs through the sale of solar pumping systems for agriculture

Electriciens sans frontières

Nepal, Asia

Asia
Projet soutenu Project supported in 2024: Women & Environment

Project presentation

 

In Nepal, during the dry season (November to March), farmers face difficulties irrigating their fields. Existing solutions, such as thermal pumps, consume large amounts of energy and are highly polluting. Other, more manual methods create an additional burden for women farmers, as they are primarily responsible for drawing water. Electriciens sans frontières (ESF) aims to make solar pumping solutions more accessible, allowing farmers to produce more in a clean and sustainable way.

The distribution of irrigation systems will be carried out by the local partner organization Kalpavriksha (KGG), which manages a network of women entrepreneurs (called Suryamukhis) distributing hygiene products and household equipment in rural areas. The project also seeks to empower these women entrepreneurs by training them in the sale of renewable technologies, a growing and attractive sector. Nepalese women face strong inequalities: they are rarely landowners, have lower literacy rates than men, and have limited access to vocational training.

Electriciens sans frontières Key figures

20

women entrepreneurs trained in the sale of solar pumping systems.

The association

Electriciens sans frontières (ESF) is an international solidarity NGO founded in 1986. It works to combat inequalities in access to electricity and water worldwide and promotes economic and human development through renewable energy. To carry out its activities, ESF relies on a large network of volunteers (1,200 in 2023). In Nepal, ESF partners with Kalpavriksha, a woman-led company whose primary goal is to empower women through entrepreneurship.

In the field

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