The case study on Barefoot College/Solar Mamas projects in Zanzibar resulted in an article published in Nature Energy. It even made it to the cover, which was the first time a photograph of people was featured on the cover.
“Of course, I am incredibly honoured and thrilled that our article made it to the cover of Nature Energy,” says researcher Kavya Michael. “I also see this as an increasing recognition and a slow shift in mainstream perspectives from viewing energy as a technical solution but as a deeply relational aspect of daily life that shapes and is shaped by people’s lived experiences. Community-driven initiatives like the Solar Mamas program reveal how energy access is interwoven with social structures, personal empowerment, and local realities, demonstrating that sustainable energy solutions must resonate with and be rooted in the communities they serve.”
The study was part of the broader Phase 1 objective of the ‘Empowering All’ (Gender & Energy) project within the Users TCP initiative. The goal was to examine a successful example of gender-inclusive practices integrated into the energy transition process. Following several rounds of scoping interviews and an extensive literature review, the team selected the Solar Mamas program at Barefoot College in Zanzibar as an ideal case study.
“The unique aspect of this study is how it demonstrates the empowerment of women in tandem with shifts in male attitudes and broader community involvement, all working collaboratively toward energy transitions,” says Kavya Michael. “If it can work in Zanzibar, a deeply patriarchal context, this model holds promise for other communities worldwide, offering a replicable approach to gender-inclusive, community-driven energy solutions.”
The article highlights the critical role of women in energy access and climate action through the concept of ‘energy care work’—the essential, daily practices of providing, managing, and sustaining energy at household and community levels.
“By fully valuing this often-invisible labor, our findings emphasize how energy and care are interconnected and call for a just energy transition that supports and fairly distributes care work,” says Kavya Michael. “Recognizing gendered energy care work not only aids sustainable development but also serves as a model for inclusive, community-driven energy transitions.”
She will continue her research in this area – both within the scope of the new phase of the ‘Empowering All’ Task and in other projects at Chalmers University of Technology.
“Looking ahead, my goal is to address the epistemic bias in mainstream climate change and energy transitions scholarship, where techno-economic perspectives often dominate and the voices and realities of the Majority World (Global South) are marginalized.”
Link to the article in Nature Energy: Volume 9 Issue 8, August 2024
Read more about the case study: The Women who Tear Down Power Structures with Solar Energy
