Girls4rurals initiative

Country / jurisdiction: Nepal · Year: 2018 · Status: In force · Level: National · Type: Voluntary

The “ Girls4rurals ” initiative was launched in 2018 by the social enterprise group Rural Development Initiative and its implementing partner, Himalayan Innovations, to bring together young girls to build cleaner and greener communities. The initiative trains young Himalayan girls on adaptation of renewable energy technology, notably by working as distributors of solar PV systems for transforming rural lives. Girls4rurals uses a digital platform to connect Nepalese girls who live in rural communities, enabling knowledge exchange and experience on skills and ways of living.

Local, bottom-up education, training and women’s empowerment are crucial factors in providing the skills necessary for jobs in the clean energy economy, focusing on climate action. The group’s actions are focused on three primary objectives: increasing awareness on renewable energy and climate activism, allowing market development for renewable energy products and creating an environmental impact through young girls. Girls4rural is currently running a programme teaching teenagers about the benefits of renewable energies on their health, so youth can become impactful advocates for their communities. Another programme focuses on Green Entrepreneurship by teaching women tailors to transform their manual sewing machines into automatic ones, and to maintain them; 6 000 Nepalese tailors are beneficiaries of this programme. The initiative also runs a programme on promoting induction stoves in rural areas, including training on the use of induction stoves, which save rural women from respiratory health problems and are important for young girls to promote as part of good practice of adapting renewable energy uses for families.

Official source: https://www.girls4rurals.com/