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ENVIRONMENT PROJECTS

1) New Solar Project Commissioned- School at Thuamul, Kalahandi(Orissa)

Background

Kalahandi is one of the tribal districts of Odisha. The inhabitants in the hilly zones in general are still in the primitive stage of civilization and economically backward. Mostly the tribes are Kandahar, Paraja, Kul, Dora whose livelihood depends on the Jungle. They are physically, economically, socially and educationally downtrodden people and still neglected by Govt. So called NGOs break crocodile tears to solve the very problems of the tribals. Very often they suffer from diseases and face early death even primary education to their children is a nightmare for them. Keeping their deplorable condition in view the Siksha Vikash Samiti, guided by Vidya Varati came forward with some proposals of humanitarian aid for the area and started Vanabasi Seva Prakalpa to look after all round development of the tribal population in general and to run a residential school. Sikhya Vikash Samiti felt that lack of education is the root cause of all problems in tribal society. The location of the school was decided at Thuamul because it has some significance besides its tribal density. The river Indrāvati starts flowing from Thuamul and the most trusted and popularly worshipped goddess of Kalahandi district Maa Manikeswari first appeared in the same place. There is the ADIPITHA of Maa Manikeswari. Thuamul is situated in the Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district at a distance of 20 Kms from the block headquarter and 60 Kms from District headquarters, Bhawanipatna. This hilly place is 3400 ft. height from sea level. This is a tribal populated block inhabited by tribes mostly Kutia Kandha and Damba.

School info

  • There are 164 students studying in this School.
  • Staff Strength: Including Pradhan Acharya, 8 Acharya and 4 nos.of non-teaching staff are serving in the institution during 2014-15.
  • Academic Status: 8 members of the teaching staff teach in the Class 1st to 7th in the school.
  • Issues Faced by Students

  • More than 150 students are living in the school Hostel without having access to power and clean drinking water. This has a significant impact on the education and health of Students. In the evening they have to depend on the kerosene lanterns to study.
  • Scarcity of Drinking water for students is a big concern. The only source of water is River Indrāvati and one hand pump which dries most often. Villagers surrounding the school also collect water from the school.
  • Problems solved by new Solar Plant

  • Requirement of energy for lighting and fan for class rooms and hostel rooms will be done through solar power plants. The Power Plant will operate 36 numbers of CFL bulbs and 36 numbers of 70 watt Fans.
  • The RO based water Purification system of 1000 Liters Per Hour will not only cater to the needs of the students but also it will be the source of clean drinking water for the villagers.
  • Construction of the overhead tank for sanitation purposes. Supplying water to toilets and bathrooms through solar water pumps.
  • 2) Krishna Devi Vanvashi Balika Awasiya Vidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh

    Background

    It is a residential school for tribal girls situated in Majhgawan, Madhya Pradesh. The project was started and supported by Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) which was founded by Late Nanaji Deshmukh. The school aims at all round development of the downtrodden scheduled tribe’s students through education, vocational training and good conduct. Extension and dissemination of education in tribal villages so as to join them with the national mainstream. The school has been developed in a way so that it can stand as a role model for the other educational institutes.

    However, despite all efforts the school was struggling to have a trusted and reliable source of power to support all its regular activities. In most of the years the school was experiencing more than 8 to 10 hours of power cut. Even the voltage level of tMB1he available power was below the standards. The Frequent power cuts in the evening caused problems in the education of girls. Schools were struggling to provide clean lights to students and alternate sources of power like diesel generators were getting expensive day by day. Sewa International Clean Tech Initiative volunteers surveyed the school and identified the critical load of 1.2kW, which includes lights, fans and computers. The team also identified 24 sq.m. free space on the roof of the admin building. Based on this a 2kWp solar power plant was installed at the school with 5 hrs battery backup. The total cost of the project was raised as donations by volunteers and kind help from people like veteran technocrat Shri Naresh Sharma, California.

    3) Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions Cultures and Heritage (RIWATCH)

    After the success of the project in Chitrakoot, volunteers of the cleantech group selected RIWATCH for the next project. The total critical load identified which includes lights, fans and computers was 2kW. Here a canopy based structure for a 3kW solar plant was constructed by RIWATCH. A 3kW solar power plant with battery backup was installed for the Campus and also had a scope for future plans to add another 2kW which will make RIWATCH 100% powered through solar. The total cost of the project was again arranged through individual donors.

    Background

    Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions Cultures and Heritage (RIWATCH) is a non-profit, non-governmental, community based research organization with a mission of empowering ethnic communities to prosper sustainably by strengthening their value system. It is situated in Lower Dibang Valley district, Arunachal Pradesh (India). RIWATCH has collaborated with various international organizations. It carries philosophy of all round development of the society through Education, Sustainable Development and Research. However, this part of Arunachal Pradesh is still struggling to get a reliable source of power. The only source of power is through transmission lines from Assam which gets washed by various rivers including Brahmaputra from time to time. As a result, during rainy seasons, power is not available for a few months. Using diesel was very expensive and it was not a permanent solution.

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