Quality of Education Grant – Project Proposal Form
Part A: Information to be filled by Project Partner
1. NGO/project objectives [be very brief.. one paragraph is adequate]
The project aims at improving the quality of education of the students by addressing the health concerns caused by the use of kerosene lanterns in areas with no access to electricity and addressing a holistic need for growth of the students in Sundarban area. The purpose of the project is to replace use of kerosene by that of solar lanterns for group study for the students in remote areas of rural West Bengal (Sundarban to be exact) and thus increasing study time and reducing health risks generated by the CO and CO2 emission from kerosene lamps.
2. Quality of Education proposal
a. what ‘quality of education’ issue is the proposal addressing?
Inhabitants including students in many villages in Sundarban area have no access to electricity. In the evening from 4:30 pm onwards they have to use kerosene lamps for study purpose. This has an adverse effect on the health of the students. Low intensity of kerosene lamps effects student vision. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emission raises health concerns.
b. how does the proposal address the issue?
The proposal aims at addressing this issue by replacing kerosene lamps with solar lanterns for group study at a much reduced cost than what the student’s family currently spends on kerosene every month. At present the families spend around Rs 170 to Rs 280 per month on kerosene consumption. With the solar lanterns and the sustainable distribution model that our NGO will be implementing, their expenditure on lighting will reduce from Rs 280 to only Rs 60 per month and that too resulting to better lighting for the students and leading to environmental sustainability in the long run.
c. how do you define ‘success’ for the proposed initiative? how will you measure the effectiveness of the proposed initiative?
Success for the proposed initiative would be defined by the number of student families shifting from kerosene consumption to solar power usage through solar lanterns. A maximum of 60 student families can be brought under the fold of the project with each solar unit which has 60 solar LED lamps. Feedback of the students and the increase in study hours of students can be a factor for measuring the success of the project.
d. how does the proposal address requirements/concerns/interests of (a) children (b) teachers (c) parents (d) community?
At present the major problems faced by the students are
1. Lack of proper light after 5pm for studying
ii. Low illumination of kerosene lamps which directly affect the vision of students
iii. Carbon di oxide and carbon monoxide produced from the kerosene lanterns harm the health of students as well as their families.
iv. Low light for women and housewives for working at night
So the Solutions to the above problems will be provided by the project by use of solar lamps.
For students they can do group study (each group can have 3 to 5 members) and would get better illumination from solar lamp. This will reduce the adverse effect on vision caused by kerosene lamps. Health hazards by carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emission will be reduced.
For teachers, in coaching centres it will be easier to teach in groups and gives better lighting, thus leading to better quality of education.
For parents, the lamp can be used for various other activities in the household and eases the work. They can give more time at night for various work activities.
Community will be developed in the long run by bettering the quality of education and living at the same time for the villagers. On a short term basis it has a huge impact. Expenditure of villagers on lighting will decrease from Rs 280 to Rs 60 a month. This is an important aspect as most of the families earn a mere Rs 700 to 800 a month.
Thus this project will help us with the overall development of the students and their families.
3. Budget
Please list itemized budget request for the proposal above, that you are requesting Asha to fund. If the overall budget is above $1200 (~INR 55,000), please suggest which specific items you would want funded for upto $1200 (INR 55,000)
Budget details for the project:
i. Set up cost of 1 solar charging model with 60 lanterns- Rs 50,000/- (Only 33% of setup cost)
ii. Project implementation and administrative charges Rs 3000/-
iii. Set up maintenance charges Rs 2000/-
Total Project budget for each set up-> Rs 55000/-
It is a one time project funding required for 1 set up.
(The full set up cost is Rs 1,50,000/- for 60 solar lanterns and the supporting equipments. Mukti will be collaboration with TERI for the 66% of the corpus for the project. So only 33% is required by Mukti from Asha For Education to implement the project, in addition to the administrative costs for the project. )
Pictures from this project:
The Setup
Solar Lamps used for studies
Part B: Information to be filled by Asha chapter that is recommending this proposal to be funded.
1. Meeting minutes for discussion of the proposal. (please include chapter comments on project’s response to QED questionnaire: such as aspects of quality that project is already addressing well, and those that can be improved)
2. What is your view on success of the proposed initiative? How will the chapter evaluate the effectiveness? If successful, is your chapter willing to fund this initiative after 2 years?
3. Do you intend to continue funding the project for next 2 years? Can a site visit be arranged between June 2011 and Dec 2011?
4. How is this proposal different from other proposals? (in case your chapter received more than 1 proposal for this grant)
(Answers to each question are given below )
Answers and follow up for Q1:
Q (Padmanava, Asha For Education)/A (Koel, Mukti) on 12/23/2010:
i What is the future plan after initial setup.
After initial set up, the set up will be used on the basis of a sustainable model and lanterns will be given out to students and villagers every day at a low cost of Rs 2 per day.
ii Also, how long solar lanterns last?
Solar lanterns last for 2 to 3 years, but can last longer depending on how it is used. The set up has a 1 year warranty.
iii What is the plan for 2nd year (Do you go to another village?)
We have plans to expand in more number of villages in the 1st year itself. But since the Asha fund will help us to buy only 1 set up so we will try next year for more set ups. We have already run 2 pilot projects in 2 villages with the solar lantern and we have seen very good results in both of them. Fast conversion of people from use of kerosene to solar was one of the major results. The demand for solar lanterns has also grown. So we wanted to implement the project in the area where we have the coaching centres we are running in collaboration and support from Asha for Education.
iv How do you make sure the solar lanterns are secured and used properly?
1 person is responsible for the full set up. He is given training on proper handling of solar lanterns. He communicates the techniques and process to each lantern user whenever he/she is interested to take one. Awareness is created in the grassroot level itself. Thus better care is taken of the lanterns by the villagers. Moreover each lantern has been given a unique number. Every day whoever takes the lantern, his name is registered in the register with the lantern name. So in case the lantern is returned in bad condition, the villager is liable to pay for material damage. Mukti is collecting a percentage of the rental cost to replace the lanterns or pay for repair services in the future. This ensures the sustainability and security of the lanterns.
Conference Call Minutes (9th January):
Attendees: Hitten (Yale), Sabyasachi (Yale), Padmanava (Atlanta), Koel (Mukti), Sankar (Mukti)
Koel has described the project and how it is working well against the initial challenges. The model is scalable and has a sustainability counterpart as well. Koel explained the technical details about the solar lamps and the background of the community getting the benefits. Then everyone discussed about the project. Q/A and discussion threads during the call is as follows:
a) These areas in Sundarbans lack electricity mostly because of paralyzed infrastructure in remote areas and problems with stealing electrical wires (Govt stopped placing new lines after it happened multiple times in G-block)
b) There is entrepreneur taking care of the lamps so that they are not misused and charged in time. The 2 Rs collected /day /lamp takes care of the monthly salary.
c) The battery for solar lamps last 3 years on average. After that, may cost 700-800 Rs replacement cost.
d) It can function even in Monsoon time and tested during 2010 Monsoon. Usually it is fully charged from 6 am to 12 noon/1 pm and give lights for 7-8 hrs. During Monsoon time, after a full day charge it will give lights for 4 hr or more. , it can still – Morning 6 to 12/1 ….raining means all day charging but not more than 4 hrs.
e) Right now, among all the lamps in the bigger project, 1/3rd is used for education 1/3 for entrepreneurs/shops and 1/3 for all other household activities.
f) Around 20 lanterns are used for 20-25 study groups out of 100 lanterns.
g) Sankar and Koel mentioned the effectiveness of such lamps in a hostel. Also, it has a very good environmental aspect.
h) The lamps are very popular among local people because they cost less than kerosene as well. The kerosene obtained via Ration Card (~15 Rs/Ltr) is not enough and they have bought it from black market (Rs 30-35 Rs/lt). The per month cost goes upto 180-200 Rs compared to 60 Rs in this case.
i) The cost per lamp will be around Rs 5000 including the Government subsidy, 5000 (WBRETA)
j) Yale will separately consider 1-2 units in future if permitted by Chapter funds
k) Evaluation criterion is discussed as well.
Answers for Q2:
The proposal highlights an initiative that is scalable and can change the quality of education in those areas given students can study after sunset with the help of Solar lamps. Also, at very low cost, group studies are possible. The project has already started and with Asha’s support, they can grow.
Evaluation can be community based and education based (marks and drop outs). It will be discussed every 2-3 months as the project evolves.
Yale chapter is considering some units separately and will consider after 2 yrs as well.
Answers for Q3:
Mukti is supported by Yale for many years and as required, this will be considered apart from the existing project.
A site visit will be arranged in June and Dec 2011. However, due to the remote nature of this area, they may be few months’ delay.
Answers for Q4:
This is a very good initiative and the initial support from QED will get Asha involved in this effort. The success of this project will help future project in remote parts of India where Solar Lamps can change the lives of many students.