SOLAR SISTERS - FINALIST
INDIA
Barefoot Women Solar Engineers of Africa
These Barefoot Solar Engineers are bringing solar power to Africa's countryside, lighting up the bush.
"They come as women, and they go back as tigers - they are so confident - oozing with confidence" Bunker Roy, Barefoot College
It's hard to imagine that in parts of Africa south of the Sahara as little as 2% of the villages have access to electricity - that means no TVs, no microwaves, no fridges, and no electric light at night. Now the Barefoot College in India is training a small cadre of women to install solar panels in areas far away from any electricity grid. And Bunker Roy, the man behind the project, sees the engineers he has trained spreading the know-how across the continent. Roy is not satisfied with just brining light to Africa - he now wants to bring women from Latin America to his college for training.