00:02A lawnmower that runs without gasoline or a lengthy power cord.
00:07A machine that dries leaves faster than the sun and without contaminants.
00:12And a solar powered pump designed to pull garbage from the village pond back to the water's edge for collection.
00:18All inventions created by high school students.
00:21How is that possible?
00:23We are at the plus 2 high school in Dantoo, a village in the Bokara district of Jharkhand.
00:30Their teacher, Animesh Chandra, is key to their success.
00:34He's passionate about green technology.
00:38If we have a 3.7 volt battery, it won't be fully charged.
00:42It needs to be around 4.1 to 4.2 volts.
00:46Like many villages, Dantoo is often hit by power cuts.
00:49On some days, residents can be without power for 5 to 6 hours.
00:56The children in the villages studying in government schools suffer the most.
01:00They can't charge their mobile phones to attend classes.
01:03And sometimes when it rains, there's no power for 2 to 3 days.
01:10A few years ago, when things in the world changed suddenly,
01:13life became even harder for students at the high school.
01:17More than ever, they were dependent on electricity.
01:20Electricity that wasn't reliably available.
01:26There were two problems for the students.
01:28Because of power cuts, they couldn't charge their mobile phones and they couldn't recharge their data.
01:32So I thought, since green skills were already part of my curriculum,
01:37why not try and teach students to tackle these problems?
01:43That catalyst was the coronavirus pandemic,
01:46when students suddenly had to do classes from home.
01:51It marked the start of the school's vocational training program.
01:59Since then, lessons on acquiring practical skills have been a fixed part of the curriculum.
02:05Included are lessons on electronics, hardware and renewable technology.
02:16As you can see, we have kept moringa leaves out here to dry.
02:24The difference between drying moringa leaves in the solar dryer and drying them outdoors
02:29is that the ones that we have outdoors are dusty.
02:34But these ones that are drying in the solar dryer stay clean.
02:38They are drying in the solar dryer.
02:40They are drying in the solar dryer.
02:42They are drying in the solar dryer.
02:43They are drying in the solar dryer.
02:46They are drying in the solar dryer.
02:46But why are there power shortages here in the first place?
02:49The village of Dantu is actually located in Koyalanchal, the coal mining belt.
02:55This state is home to the country's largest coal reserves, about one third of the total.
03:01So Jharkhand is crucial to India's energy security.
03:10We spoke to the director of the Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency.
03:15He told us Jharkhand has around 1700 villages without electricity.
03:21There might be power lines in some cases, but they still don't get enough electricity to cover their needs.
03:28What began a few years ago in the school's classrooms has grown into a small solar movement in Dantu.
03:36Today, it's common place for students to install solar-powered equipment.
03:41They may develop power banks, emergency lighting, or useful tools to make their village more beautiful, like the solar-powered
03:48pond cleaner.
03:55When we take it to the ponds, we put it into operation.
04:00The idea is that the waste moves from here to here, so we can remove it more easily.
04:06It helps draw all the waste towards it for collection.
04:13Sonali's family is also benefiting from her new skills.
04:17She installed the electronics in her parents' new home.
04:20And they're saving money too.
04:23And she even earns a little extra doing small repairs for the neighbours.
04:27Sonali's father is proud of her achievements.
04:34Even if it's just 5 rupees that we would have spent on a repairman, that money is now saved.
04:39When a bulb stops working at home, she fixes it.
04:42So I save on the repairs.
04:46The whole village has changed over the past few years.
04:50Thanks to the solar lighting, the small shops on the market can continue selling even after dark.
04:58The solar lights were provided by Aparna Kumari and her friends.
05:03After they finished school, they used the skills they had acquired to start their own business.
05:11In rural villages, girls are usually told that they can't do technical jobs,
05:15because they're not suited to it.
05:18But we've shown that we can indeed work in the technical field.
05:23We can earn money from it and become independent.
05:31A number of women in the village now also work as solar technicians.
05:35They were trained by Aparna and current students at the school.
05:41Pramila Devi, for example, a mother of two, is now earning her own income.
05:48My family didn't say anything, but other women in the neighbourhood said it was men's work.
05:54They asked us why us ladies were going out and doing this.
05:59There's no need, they said. Stay home and do farming or housework.
06:05Now, when they see what we are doing, they say yes, we have achieved something.
06:12Life has also changed for Kumud Devi.
06:14As a farmer, she used to be heavily dependent on the weather.
06:17Without rain, watering her crops was back-breaking work.
06:21But that's changed after her daughter was also trained at the school.
06:26There were so many problems with water until we installed a solar pump.
06:31Now, more water reaches our fields.
06:34My daughter and six others are working on this and doing a great job.
06:38Now we no longer have the same problems.
06:44But it's still too early to talk of a solar revolution in the village.
06:49Despite the many solar-powered inventions and lighting in the evenings.
06:54The local government is only just beginning to switch to solar energy.
07:04In schools, we asked for solar panels on the rooftops so that the problem of power cuts can be resolved.
07:13Our village has a temple where we started a primary health centre for delivering babies.
07:21There as well, we are planning to use rooftop solar panels so that there are no disruptions.
07:26We are planning to do it.
07:27We are planning to do it.
07:28We are planning to do it.
07:29We are planning to do it.
07:30We are planning to do it.
07:33Aparna dreams of Dantu becoming a model solar village.
07:38India aims to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.
07:42That means any emissions produced have to be offset.
07:46But it's better not to produce them in the first place.
07:49That's why the Indian government is encouraging people to invest more in solar.
07:55For instance, if you change from a 1 kilowatt to a 3 kilowatt system, the government will give you a
08:0130% subsidy.
08:04Or if someone wants to start a business, there are funding opportunities for start-ups.
08:09So that through renewable energy and green skills, people can move towards green jobs.
08:19Most of the students who have completed Anamesh's technical training program are girls.
08:25Out of 700 students, 80% in fact.
08:30Can Dantu serve as a model for other villages?
08:34Absolutely.
08:35Although not every village has a technical teacher as dedicated as Anamesh Chandra.
08:40Thanks for listening to Anamesh Chandra.
08:41I'm going to go really well.
08:42I'm going to go to the next video.
08:43Maybe the next video.
08:46Bye.
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