This project is working in the shifting street markets of Bhopal, in northern India. The project, run by MPGVM (Madhya Pradesh Gramin Vikas Mandal), is hiring solar lanterns to market vendors and street hawkers who work at night. The idea is to provide them with a cleaner, cheaper, and safer form of lighting for their stalls.
The vendors have traditionally hired kerosene lamps or electrical lamps, powered by diesel generator sets, to light their wares. These are expensive, and, in the case of the kerosene lamps, polluting. This project is giving the vendors the option of hiring solar lanterns at a cheaper rate. It delivers the lanterns to the vendors each evening, and collects them again at around 11.00pm for recharging.
The idea has been widely welcomed. With their wares being better lit, the vendors are selling more products and they don't have to spend so much money on hiring lights or buying kerosene.
