Takeshwari is able to work after sunset

The group belongs to Nagapali village in Subarnapur district of Western Odisha. Their village is one of the very few with bus connectivity in the Tarabha block of the district. We reached at about 6 in the evening to meet the group. My translator and field officer, Priyanka is also the resident of the village so she knew everyone in the village and the group members. Everybody was waiting for us at Takeshwari’s residence. Most of the members were present and rest a few curious villagers gathered around us. Takeshwari is a housewife while her husband is a mason by profession. She is a proud mother of three children including a girl and a toddler son. Takeshwari said, "I took the loan for solar lamp due to constant power cuts in the rainy season and after the sunset." Most of them work as a daily wage laborer and others do farming. They work on projects which the contractor assigns to them and travel for work on the bicycles with their husband. The solar lamp can easily be seen carried on the bicycle while coming back from the work after the sunset. Power cuts during the day don't affect their day to day operation but after sunset, the scenario is completely different. They need a solar lamp for every activity they do right from cooking to going to the washroom in the midnight. Most of them don’t have a proper sanitation so they carry solar lamp while going to the washroom at night. Most of the member's children study in government and private schools in the Tarabha block being near to their village. They need a solar lamp to study as its bright light helps them to focus while studying on the table. They seemed completely satisfied and they hope to get support for their children's education in future as well.