Such an innovative community-based approach has been successfully tried in India since 2000. Under this approach, Barefoot College with the affiliation of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) has demonstrated the effective application of solar energy particularly in the rural areas. The CBOs have also pioneered the concept of women barefoot solar engineers working as energy entrepreneurs in remote villages. This approach would involve community level capacity building in installation and maintenance of RE systems through a network of rural electricity workshops (REW) and trained women barefoot engineers at the grassroots level globally.
• They provide community-based expertise and train poor village illiterate women in assembling complete solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
• This successful barefoot approach experience in India could be replicated in rural areas around the world. However, for community managed systems to work and be effective, the specific roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders have to be clearly identified. The pilot project has been demonstrated the role of non-conventional, RE as a vital means for poverty reduction and creation of sustainable livelihoods among low income communities in remote rural areas over 50,000 rural families in 70 least developed countries in the last decade.
• Sustainable human development will be achieved by building local capacities within the community to set up, operate, repair and maintain solar PV generating systems to meet local needs. Solar energy not only provides an appropriate solution for heating, cooking and lighting in rural areas but also contributes significantly to progress in education, health, agriculture, rural industry and other income-generation activities that would result in poverty reduction. The opportunity for lighting provided by solar energy can be used to run literacy and other courses in the evening that would benefit children and adults working in the fields during the day.
• Solar energy programs will also promote the empowerment of women by training illiterate and semi-literate women to become barefoot engineers who could install, operate, maintain and repair solar energy systems, and by freeing them from walking long distances to collect fuelwood and reduced health hazards associated with the indoor burning of firewood. The use of solar energy will also be instrumental in reducing environmental pollution and degradation by reducing the use of fuelwood, diesel, and coal. Community-based ownership and management of the solar energy systems will ensure full participation of local people in all aspects of decision making including design and implementation. In particular, disabled persons who are generally marginalized could be associated with the initiative