“It was very difficult to function in the dark after sunset”, | Milaap
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“It was very difficult to function after sunset”, says Pooja

Written by Ashutosh Tiwari Publish date 05-Aug-2015
Pooja Devi
Pooja Devi

During my visit to Parwalpur, a village in Nawada district of Bihar, I met Pooja Devi who has taken a loan of Rs. 4845 from Milaap to install a 75W TERI solar home lighting system. TERI solar home lighting system comes with 2 LED bulbs, a mobile charger with multi charging ports and a chulha (the primary traditional cooking stove made of mud used for indoor cooking in rural India) with a fan which reduces the smoke while cooking.  

Pooja Devi is a 26 year old married woman. She is a housewife and also manages the agricultural work. Her husband runs a business of trading goats and buffaloes, which he buys from the villages. He then sells them in the markets in the city and earns a handsome profit out of it. The couple has no kids. 

Pooja’s village has never had electricity supply. Electricity supply pillars are there but there is no wire connectivity for the electricity supply in the village. Before installing the solar home lighting system, the family was totally dependent on kerosene lamps and other battery operated emergency lights. The family installed the home lighting system 10 months ago. After the installation, Pooja’s life has become easier. Now she can do her household work with ease and her old mother-in-law and father-in-law also enjoy the home lighting system. She says,“As my husband spends most of his time outside the home for business and I am the one who is managing everything at home, I know how difficult it is to work in the dark. After the installation, everything seems so easy to do. Plus we save money as well. The kerosene oil which we get at a subsidised rate from the government through our BPL (below poverty line) ration card is being utilised for irrigation purpose. This way we save money on diesel.” One of the biggest benefits of the installation is that now they don’t have to go out and spend Rs. 5 every time they need to recharge their mobile battery. Now they can charge the battery at home whenever they want. So the family is saving money on that front and also using the kerosene oil for agriculture purposes. The family is happy with the installation and how it has changed their lives. They thanked Milaap and CDOT.

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