Kopernik

This week we have been travelling around Biqueli’s community to interview to users of the d.light S250. Along with the NGO Move Forward, we distributed 200 solar lights, so now it was time, after one month, to get some feedbacks and see the impact of the lights in the families. It was also a great opportunity to get to know Ataúro a little bit more, because we went to some remotes areas that probably I wouldn’t have seen otherwise! Our first stop was Accrema. For those who have already been in Ataúro may think: “Lucky you!” And you are totally right, lucky me!

During my stay in Mumbai, I visited another village called Shedashi, where Rural Communes (RC) is going to distribute Greeway Smart Stoves.

The village is located between Mumbai and Pune (the second largest city in Maharashtra) and it took around 2 hours from the center of Mumbai by car. The village is just 15 minutes away from RC's office, where all trainings for beneficiaries are conducted.

The distribution of Solvatten water filter in Vila, Ataúro island, was followed by some interviews to the users, which allowed us to discover some great stories, like the one from Mateus Da Costa. Mateus was born and risen in Macadade, but he has been living in Vila the last three years. He is a pastor in the Protestant church in Vila, and his wife sells clothes at Beloi’s market every Saturday. They have two children, aged 5 years, and 5 months.

As a Kopernik fellow, I was based in Chattarpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Delhi to conduct rapid impact assessment of the Smarter Cooking for Indian Women project and to do some other assignments. One day, I was told that the new stove project has become fully funded so I flew to Mumbai to meet a new partner NGO, Rural Communes (RC), who consequently will receive 200 unitst of Greenway Smart Stoves.

By Olga Permanyer, Kopernik Fellow

Earlier this month, I visited a village called Chandanpura in Madhya Pradesh to conduct more follow-up survey of the cookstove project. After almost 4 hours of exhausting travel by car, we reached the village. With the help of Haritika staff, I received user feedback from the same beneficiaries I interviewed for the baseline survey one month ago.