In the Hindu Kush Region, there are more than 16 million people without access to basic energy mainly due to their geographic remoteness. Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) is the one of the world’s first organizations using the force of tourism coupled with technology to bring solar energy to these remote communities, as recognized by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
GHE conducts “Impact Expeditions” to remote Himalayan villages and uses a portion of the expedition fee to fund the capital cost of the hardware, transportation, installation and training of village-scale solar micro-grids. The micro-grid infrastructure set up by GHE is owned and operated by the community.
Key facts
- To date, Global Himalayan Expedition has solar electrified more than 131 villages in 3 regions of India, directly impacting the lives of more than 60,000 villagers.
- More than 1,300 travellers from 60 different countries have been a part of these expeditions.
- Enabling livelihood through homestay tourism has generated over USD 114,000 in income for the villages, which represents a 45% increase in the annual household income.
The challenge
According to ICIMOD, more than 80% of the 240 million people living in the Hindu Kush region lack primary access to electricity and modern sources for cooking, mainly due to their geographic remoteness. Due to lack of basic facilities, these communities living in the mountains end up burning fossil fuels for their lighting needs that produce a lot of harmful toxic fumes for the young and the elderly. In addition, the carbon emissions end up polluting the local fragile environment, creating localized warming of the communities thereby reducing the water generation from the glaciers.
The solution
GHE is the one of the world’s first organizations that has been using the force of tourism coupled with technology to bring Solar Energy to these remote Himalayan communities as recognized by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), G20 Ministers and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
GHE conducts “Impact Expeditions” to remote Himalayan villages and uses a portion of the expedition fee to fund the capital cost of the hardware, transportation, installation and training of village-scale solar microgrids. The micro-grid infrastructure set up by GHE is owned and operated by the community. GHE trains the village members to maintain and troubleshoot the hardware.
Travelers from across the world sign up for these expeditions where they not only get to experience an authentic culture and remoteness of the Himalayas, but are able to leave behind a tangible impact of their visit to the communities by setting up solar grids. The financing of the Solar Grids is done by the travellers as part of the expedition costs.
Helping the planet
To date, GHE has solar electrified more than 131 villages in 3 regions of India, directly impacting the lives of more than 60,000 villagers through its Impact Expeditions. More than 3,200 households are now CO2-free as kerosene oil has been replaced with solar energy. A total solar capacity of 360 kW has been set up in some of the most remote villages of India. This has cut an aggregate of 35,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from these communities by eliminating the need for kerosene. In addition, there has been a 70% reduction of respiratory problems faced by the villagers.
Helping people
Enabling livelihood through homestay tourism has enabled over USD 114,000 in income for the villages, which is a 45% increase in the annual household income. GHE has also been strengthening the village primary health centres by powering them with solar power and equipping with basic medical equipment to make the communities resilient towards pandemics.
Installed digital education centres are providing 7,500 students with access to digital education, powered up by solar energy.
To ensure sustainable development of these villages, GHE has created livelihood opportunities in the local indigenous communities through tourism and local handicrafts. This innovative approach has enabled women to become actively involved in their village’s economy creating USD 135,000 in income generation over the past seven years.
While the solar grids are financed by the travellers, universities or corporate organizations that join the expeditions, the villagers are asked to set up a development committee which looks into scaling up the grid infrastructure of solar energy. Each household contributes USD 2 a month into the community bank account, which serves as the funding organization, enabling the locals to be self-reliant and truly empowered. This ensures that the development is not just maintained, but the community can scale up the energy access ladder.
Spillover effect
GHE’s model of tourism with an impact is an easily replicable model because of the simplicity in approach. Currently the team has already surveyed multiple communities in the Island region of Sumatra, the mountains of Nepal, the forests of Madagascar and the deserts of Namibia, where the communities are still facing the problems of geographical remoteness and deprived of basic development.
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