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Pollinate Energy - Solutions for India's Urban Poor
Tyson Ginn
Pollinate Energy - Solutions for India's Urban Poor
Story
There are millions of people living in India's slums who do not have access to electricity. These people are still very, very poor, getting by on an average of $2 per day.
They use basic methods to light their homes and cook their food, which are polluting, hazardous, costly and impractical. Those are the wooden cookstove and kerosene lamp. Having poor quality light and spending lots of money on fuel is one thing; but indoor air pollution is a big issue that kills a similar number of people (488,000) to water and sanitation deficiencies (454,000) according to the WHO in India each year.
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Pollinate provides access to better, sustainable solutions:
1) Solar-powered lights
2) Improved cookstoves
3) Future: water filtration, womens' hygiene
The Indian arm is a "social business", which makes it financially sustainable - it charges for its products, and provides entrepreneurship for local distributors, but reinvests all profits into serving its customers. It is owned by Pollinate's Melbourne-based not-for-profit entity.
I am participating in the two-week Young Professionals Program run by Pollinate Energy in late March/ early April 2015. These programs facilitate the organisation’s growth. Pollinate was set up in late 2012 in Bangalore. It is expanding to Hyderabad now, and is looking to reach 50 major Indian cities by 2020. My role on the YPP will assist Pollinate's new operations in Hyderabad, most likely via training, strategy, and direct involvement in operations.
If you’re interested to find out more about the program, click here.
How you can help
Pollinate needs donations to expand its operations and set up in new cities. 8 April Update: We have met the $3,500 fundraising requirement of the Young Professionals Program (funds have been contributed separately to this website). As before, any additional donations are transfered directly to Pollinate Energy for use in future and current expansions. Thanks in advance for your support. All donations are much, much appreciated.
Please note that Donations are not tax deductible as Pollinate Energy is a relatively new organisation and is still in the process of obtaining DGR status. If you have any questions on that, please let me know.
Thank you!
For more information about Pollinate, check out their video, or main website.
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Pollinate Energy Ltd
On July 31st 2012 India experienced the world’s largest blackout. 600 million people were plunged into darkness. But what wasn’t reported is that every night in India there are 292 million people still in the dark.
Why is it that mobile phones are no longer a luxury in India, but electricity is?
Pollinate Energy is a non-for-profit startup co-founded by 5 Australians, designed to develop the next generation of leaders and social entrepreneurs while bringing renewable energy to people living in poverty. We work on India with a focus on urban slums – homeless families who live in poverty, in tents. There are 20,000 of these people in our base of Bangalore alone.
These families don’t have electricity – so their kids can’t study at night, and they can’t work, store food, or access information.
What these families do have however, en masse, is drive and determination.
Pollinate Energy taps into this entrepreneurial spirit, using locally manufactured solar systems to provide light to families living in poverty. These renewable systems are designed to cost no more than what these families spend on energy at the moment. We train local entrepreneurs – teaching them how to sell, finance, install and maintain systems.
What these local entrepreneurs need is help to set up these businesses. They need capital, training and most importantly, moral support.
Through a student Fellowship program, Pollinate Energy will help to provide this support, while training the next generation of social entrepreneurs
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