Help Farmer-Monks Teach Children by Solar Power

Region: Nepal
Author: As Promosed by Lotus Energy Pvt. Ltd. (Nepal).
Consortium Member: Peter Riggs (Rockefeller Brothers Fund)
Status: Fully Funded and Completed
Budget: $1,496
Donated by: Mr. Nanei Tamura (to the right)
What Have Actually ChangedFTwo Gompas in Helambu - a VF Japan report
Needs: $1496
Comment: International aid often misses remote villages in Nepal. Although they have very little, villagers will match your VF donation by providing shelter and food for technicians while they install the equipment.

Project Need

Throughout the Himalayan region are hundreds of remote Buddhist gompas (monasteries). As well as being spiritual centres, they are also often the centres of a community, attracting people from the surrounding villages. Traditionally, monasteries provide education for the children of the area; they maintain this role today particularly in areas where access to schools is difficult or expensive. However, these communities and their monasteries rarely have any electricity or light to study by. They commonly obtain light from kerosene or wood.

Burning these fuels indoors causes numerous health problems, including lung and eye diseases, and the dim light they produce leads to sight problems in many older monks. Tashi Chhoiling Gompa and Pema Chhoiling Gompa serve the inhabitants of 7-8 villages. Tashi Chhoiling Gompa is run by farmer-monks who work during the daytime and perform religious practices in the early morning (5:30 am) and in the evening after dark. Since the monasteries have no windows, it is always fairly dark inside the rooms. The gompas are also used for religious festivals and for religious teachings that often continue for several days. Several hundred people attend these teachings, and some nights the main hall has over 200 occupants.

Lighting in both monasteries is provided by kerosene. Purchasing and transporting kerosene is a high expense for the monasteries. A single litre of kerosene costs 35 NRs - more than double the cost in Kathmandu. Like most remote Buddhist monasteries, the Tashi Chhoiling Gompa and Pema Chhoiling Gompas receive no funding from aid projects or international donors who give money to Nepal. Instead, funds for the maintenance and operation of the monastery are collected from the community itself.

Location of Monasteries

Both monasteries are located to the north of Kathmandu in the Sindhupalchowk District. The nearest village accessible by road is Melamchi, which is a three hour drive; from Tashi Chhoiling Gompa is a 6 hour walk and Pema Chhoiling Gompa is an 8 hour walk.

Project Implementation

This solar lighting project will provide a solar electric system to each of the monasteries. The solar electric lighting system will be installed by Lotus Energy. The company will provide training to the monks for maintenance and basic repairs of the solar electric system, and will warranty all system components. The company will also make one follow-up visit to ensure proper system operation. Lotus Energy is a Nepal-based company that manufactures, installs, and services solar electric equipment and provides training for solar electric systems users throughout the Himalayas. They have installed over 550 solar electric systems in over 65 districts in Nepal.

Each system will include the following components: One 36 watt solar electric panel, one 70 Ampere-hr (C/10 rate) 12 Volt deep cycle lead acid battery, one SYSCON10 charge controller, three compact fluorescent lights, and wiring and installation materials.

Maintenance and Beneficiary Contributions

The residents of the villages will provide porters for the transportation of the systems from the end of the road, unskilled labor to help with the installation of the systems, as well as food and housing for the installation team. Trained locals will perform basic system maintenance.

Benefit

Solar electricity offers a clean, bright alternative light source for monks, children, and families to study and perform religious rituals. Solar electric lighting systems convert the energy from sunlight into electricity. This energy is stored in batteries, and can be used at night to power efficient compact fluorescent electric lights. Solar lights have no smoke or flame, so they are healthier and safer than kerosene and wood. Many Lamas are overjoyed by the fact that no insects are killed by the light as is the case with open flame light.

  • Short-term goals for the project include improving the light available in the main monastery rooms for evening activities including study, prayer, and religious ceremonies. The solar electric lighting system will reduce expenditures for kerosene and health hazards from exposure to kerosene smoke and flammable fuels.

  • In the long term, this project hopes to expand to include other monasteries throughout the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Tibet. Since monasteries play a central position in many Himalayan communities, renewable energy technologies that are successfully adopted here will facilitate the appropriate adoption of renewable energy technologies for household use. This, in turn, is expected to improve the conditions for health, education and well-being, without negatively impacting the fragile Himalayan environment.

    Time Frame

    Upon receipt of funds for this project materials will be prepared and two systems will be installed, one in each gompa. Approximately four days are required for the installation itself.

    Budget

    Expense Cost (NRs) Cost (USD) US$1 = NRs. 64
    2 Solar electric systems $1064
    Transportation from Kathmandu (two porters + bus fares for equipment and people) $ 32
    Installation (one technician per site, four days per site) $ 152
    Follow-up service and project evaluation $ 112
    VF Administrative Cost (10%) $ 136
    Total $1,496


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