Solar Panel Project

In the late summer of 2006, Val Pitkethly travelled with 3 volunteers from UK and Australia to install Solar Panel lights in a small village in the Spiti area of northern India. They were granted a donation of $2800 by the Juniper Trust to complete the work. They took 2 days to drive and 6 days to trek to reach the village of “Mud” which was at an altitude of 3900m. The team spent 3 days putting the lights together with the villagers and explained to them how to keep the lights clean and how to do minor repairs etc. The volunteers also spent some time with the children in the village school.

This area is cut off from the outside world for up to 5 months of the year depending on weather conditions and it snowed heavily the last 2 days the team were in the village. The volunteers were lucky not get stuck on the return journey.

The villagers mainly live off pastoral farming with a few small herds of sheep, goats and some yaks. This area of India is a high altitude desert area and very poor agriculturally. There are plans to extend the road from Keylong to the village over the next year or so and also plans to have a small hydro scheme installed. However the problem for the villagers is that during the winter months, the temperatures are so low that everything freezes and the electricity system closes down. The villagers spend the spring and summer months mostly in their high pasture land so they need a portable system which is the design we gave them everyone were delighted with the lights.

Kinles Dorje, a representative from the area, will oversee the lights and will report back 4 times a year. The volunteers left batteries and LEDs for replacement for 10 lights should they need replacing.