In Gudda, a village with very little, residents are literally beaming. Just two years ago, villagers had never seen light after dark, unless it came from the moon. Then, solar light arrived and changed everything.
About Gudda
• Location: Gudda is about 300 miles southwest of Delhi
• Population: About 500 people live in the village
• Work: Most residents are farmers and sheep breeders
• Main crop: Millet
• Other facts: Water is scarce and there is no power except for solar electricity
The light is powered by a solar panel on the roof that charges a battery. Panels can be seen on almost every rooftop in Gudda. Ram, the man credited with the transformation, doesn't have a high school degree. But he did attend an institution about an hour away called Barefoot College, established 35 years ago with an emphasis on helping India's rural population find solutions for their problems among themselves.
On a recent visit to the main college campus, a group of village women was hard at work making solar cookers, which can boil a liter of water in eight minutes. They are part of the "Women Barefoot Solar Cooker Engineers Society" -- six women who came together and started their own business.
People of Gudda say the Solar lights have allowed them to increase their business by a third. The panels also have powered up the only DVD player and television in the village. The villagers say that they now feel empowered and less reliant on a far-off government.
Nobody in the village knew what artificial light was, and now, every home in the village has Solar Lanterns.
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