The
establishment of The Barefoot Cooperative capitalises on capacities
acquired by women who trained at the Barefoot
College in 2009 and 2012 for income generation to sustain the livelihoods
of the women. While the core training they acquired was on solar
electrification of rural villages, this project utilises other skills (such as chalk and candle making) that the women
solar engineers acquired at their first and second training at the college.
After the first training course[1]
the women returned to their home villages in the Nuba Mountains[2]
(South Kordofan, Sudan) and solar electrified Mirri village in February 2011
(where two of the trained solar engineers come from and which was one of two
villages that was targeted with the solar electrification project). In addition
to the benefits that electricity brings, the impact of project was also
observed on changing the mindset about women and technology, especially in
rural settings. For the women, the project was an empowering experience and
their achievement was celebrated and cherished by their community. After years
of stability and signs of development, the two ruling political parties
disagreed on election poll counts and war erupted for the second time in June
2011 in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan (South Kordofan State). The Mirri community was displaced as a result
of the conflict; some of their solar equipment was looted in the chaos; and
their triumph and plans for better living and prosperity were quashed after
only a few months.
The effects of war on the Nuba
Mountains region and more specifically on the lives of local women, is one of
the stark and dreadful marks of Sudanese conflicts on its civilian populations.
The Nuba Mountains geographic location, bordering dormant and active conflict
zones e.g. South Darfur and the rich oil fields of Abyei, has inadvertently but
often purposely and directly affected the region’s security and its
development. During the second outbreak of the North/South war 1983 – 2005 and
the involvement of the Nuba Mountains, the region suffered from displacement,
migration, poverty and more significantly deep mistrust was built among the
communities who live in the region where loyalties were split along SPLM and
Government lines. One of the project’s contributions can be summarised in what
Khadiga comment on the day they finished putting up the lights in Mirri. She
said “you know I never been to Mirri before this project, we don’t like them
[pause] but now, I really like them, they are really nice people”. For two
communities who found themselves on opposite sides, the project not only
created solar engineers but also understanding and acceptance of the other.
In 2012, a year after the project
was halted, an appeal to the Barefoot College to sponsor a second training for
the solar engineers and keep the know-how for Mirri and Aldorot to rebuild
their villages when the time is right was granted and the solar engineers
returned to Tilonia for the course of September 2012 – March 2013. This was
indeed a symbol of solidarity and continued support by the College, and the
Government of India. While the war still rages in South Kordofan with no signs
peace returning to that region as yet, the engineers’ lives have become
financially challenging with many other families who lost their livelihoods and
were displaced from their villages. This
project aims to alleviate this burden by establishing a small factory linked
with a cooperative to produce and sell products. The long term plan is to
establish a training centre to engage women from similar situations from the
Nuba Mountains or other conflict-ridden areas in Sudan.
[1]
This first phase of the project was managed by Ruya
Organisation (under the directorship of Zeinab Balandia)
[2]
See Map in Resources & References.
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