Abstract

The rural population of the Himalayan Plateau relies heavily on biomass fuels, especially dung and wood, for cooking and heating. These fuels cause indoor air pollution, contribute to climate change, and perpetuate gender inequality due to the long hours that girls spend collecting fuel while boys attend school. Our innovation, the SolSource 3-in-1, addresses these issues by offering access to solar energy for cooking, heating and electricity in a form that is more economical, portable and suited to the preferences of rural Himalayan communities than any existing alternative. The SolSource 3-in-1 (patent pending) is a novel solar energy device that meets the three primary energy needs of low-income populations not only in the Himalayas but worldwide: cooking, heating, and lighting. The SolSource has the potential not only to be a solution itself, but to catalyze entrepreneurship and innovative design among rural Himalayan communities. Our team partners with rural Himalayan communities to help local entrepreneurs generate income from manufacturing and selling the SolSource and to help other community members become comfortable with designing and constructing their own energy solutions through a series of educational workshops. The SolSource reduces greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions from residential fires and prevents deforestation by reducing demand for wood. More importantly, it empowers communities through education and example. The overarching goal of the project is to inspire and incubate rural entrepreneurship and innovation of energy technologies.

Submission Document

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