Empowering Women with Renewable Energy

By: Molly Barnett

In honor of International Women’s month, it is only right to do a topic on ways in which sustainable energy can help/empower women. 

How can renewable energy empower women? Well in southern Nigeria they have found out how to do that. Most women there rely on working roadside serving food. These machines are ran by kerosene lamps. This is not only bad for the environment but for ones health. With these types of power sources it causes women to not only develop bad health but to slow down their ability to work. This article follows the story of a women. Habiba worked on the side of the road selling food and personally have been in contact with these energy sources. She was able to attend a renewable energy workshop. From here she was inspired to come up with the idea of “solar lighting”. After pitching the idea she was able to provide affordable and a healthier energy source for her community. As people got a hold of her brilliant idea, she began taking bigger projects. 

With this product women are able to produce dried crops, that not only dry more efficiently, but also produce longer shelf life. One user of these products say that people in the village seek her out for her dried food, brining in more opportunities and finances. 

Because of a women who was inspired by helping her community, she created a product using solar energy that empower women to work and create their own way of earning an income. 

Sources: 

https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/panorama/empowering-women-in-nigeria-with-solar-energy-20180308