Salt Farmers Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP)
Location
SWEEP will improve economic opportunity and empowerment for women salt farmers by replacing inefficient, "dirty" diesel pumps with high-capacity electric pumps driven by sustainable solar and wind energy technology. Serving up to 30,000 women, SWEEP will lower production costs, raise profits and give marginalized women farmers access to green innovation.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Caleb
Last Name
Shreve
Website
Country
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
Organization Name
The Global Fairness Initiative
Organization Website
Organization Phone
2028989022
Organization Address
1225 Eye Street Washington, DC
Organization Country
United States
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Your idea
Name Your Project
Salt Farmers Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP)
Describe Your Idea
SWEEP will improve economic opportunity and empowerment for women salt farmers by replacing inefficient, "dirty" diesel pumps with high-capacity electric pumps driven by sustainable solar and wind energy technology. Serving up to 30,000 women, SWEEP will lower production costs, raise profits and give marginalized women farmers access to green innovation.
Country your work focuses on
India, GJ
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
Too often "green" innovation and opportunity has remained the domain of wealthy nations and communities. Whether it’s an issue of infrastructure cost or simply a failure to value the market, there has been limited deployment of large-scale clean technology to poor communities. Yet, some of the highest energy costs, be it for fuel or electricity, are carried by the poorest communities. The SWEEP program is unique because it leads with the direct economic benefit of sustainable technology as opposed to just the environmental benefit as is the norm. Using solar and wind energy combined with efficient pumps, SWEEP replaces ongoing energy costs for salt farmers with a single debt funded investment that creates local ownership of energy production.
India is one of the largest producers of salt in the world employing close to a million salt workers across 9 states. As with most agriculturally related work in the world, the majority of the salt production in India is handled by women. More than even traditional agriculture, the salt “farming” process is physically intensive and working conditions severe. Yet, out of tradition or limited opportunity, women salt farmers toil in the most marginalized conditions that exist.
SWEEP does not introduce new technology, but instead deploys existing new technology to create both economic empowerment and underlying environmental benefits for women salt farmer. The fact is that no technology is worth much in addressing empowerment and poverty unless it is effectively deployed and this combination of technology and deployment is the SWEEP innovation.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
Economic empowerment of women farmers has a well documented set of social impacts ranging from stronger community level investment to
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
Small holder women salt farmers in Gujarat quite literally live their lives around the operation of diesel pumps. Without pumps there is no way to fill salt pans and without filling salt pans there is no salt and thus no livelihood. This reality has been exploited by fuel dealers who take advantage of the isolation and fuel consumption requirements of salt farmers and sell their diesel at prices that far exceed market rates. This reliance on inefficient energy technology and the predatory vendors that fuel it has forced women salt farmers to spend a full 60% of their total potential profit on on the diesel fuel and maintenance required to operate pumps. This is the problem that the SWEEP innovation aims to solve.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. What might prevent that success?
The immediate next step of the SWEEP program, or phase 1, is the launch of a feasibility study on the use and deployment of solar and wind energy technology in the salt pans of Gujarat. The study is due to be launched in the spring of 2010. With the results in hand decisions will be made in collaboration with the woman salt farmers about what technology solutions and deployment strategies will best suit the community and the existing physical, social and economic environment.
Following the feasibility study a will be the phase 2 pilot program, will be develop and deploy the technology over 100-200 demonstration farms for one year. Evaluations will be made on the impact of the technology solution across multiple indicators such as input cost, productivity, etc. and these results will inform the final program.
Based on the analysis of the pilot program the final phase envisions a large-scale deployment which will be deployed based on available support and development of lending facilities for farmer investment in the technology solution. With 30,000 women salt-farmers in the SEWA network and another 30,000 in the community as a whole, deployment of a successful program has a meaningful scale built-in.
The greatest barrier to success that is seen at this point is an issue of regulatory constraints. The salt pans used by the farmers are leased from the government and deployment of a fixed or long-term energy technology would require approval and lease agreements that enabled the local energy ownership goals that the program envisions. Regulatory engagement are often a challenge for development programs that work with marginalized communities which are by definition undeserved by the governments that represent them.
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
Phase 1. The result of the feasibility study, or phase 1, will result in a report on the costs and benefits of 3 different renewable energy technologies.
Phase 2. Once the technology of choice is identified by the women salt farmers a pilot program will be launched with the expected result of generating real data on the economic, social and environmental impact of the deployment of renewable energy technology in the salt farming communities.
Phase 3. With the pilot results in hand a large-scale deployment of the renewable technology solution will be implemented with any necessary changes revealed through the pilot program. Overall the program is expected to do deliver these core results:
1. Lower input costs related to diesel fuel purchase by 35%-50%
2. Reduce carbon emissions by approximately 477 kg of CO2 per year per family with a potential reduction of up to 9540 tonne CO2 per year by year 5 of deployment (20,000 farms) and 23850 tonne CO2 per year by year 10 (50,000) farms).
3. Create community based investment fund through carbon offset credits to subsidize technology maintenance and investment as well as other livelihood investment needs (up-skilling, market access initiatives, salt quality enhancements, etc.).
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
The land that is used by salt farmers in Gujarat is leased from the local governments at set terms that are often not to the economic advantage of farmers who work at very narrow margins. To deploy a robust, fixed technology for salt farmers will require the engagement of local government to address lease and land access issues. An ideal public policy engagement for see favorable terms established for the long-term lease of land being used by the participant salt farmers and on which energy technology was deployed.
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Idea phase
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your innovation
The most important partnership to the SWEEP project is the one we have with the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) of India. SEWA has been engaged with the women salt farmers of Gujarat for over 10 years and have helped provide technical assistance, organizational capacity building and direct farm level services for salt worker families. It is through the partnership with SEWA and their direct connection with the salt farmer community that the SWEEP project would be implemented. Local ownership and long-term sustainability requires a local partner that represents bottom-up knowledge and capacity that is complimented by the top down technology deployment and financing structure. The partnership with SEWA ensures this transfer of knowledge, support and long term investment in the program and the community it supports.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
We have have received foundation funding for the feasibility study phase of the SWEEP project and will be deploying a team of clean energy experts to Gujarat in the spring of 2010. Based on the field study of this team an appropriate technology will be sourced and deployed. The funding for this study was generated through a proposal submission and grant defense process.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
What has been said about invention, or innovation, is certainly true in my experience, most it is all about perspiration. If there has to be a defining moment to point to then I guess it is when I took a risk and joined a small, upstart NGO committed to creating a more equitable, sustainable approach to globalization. This broad mission offered an opportunity to approach development work from a mindset of what can work and not just what do we work on. Working with this NGO I have come to believe that while we may have all the problems imaginable in the world, we also have all of the leadership and innovation that we need to solve them. Knowing this, I have begun to see that the pieces of the puzzle are all there in the box and all we need are the right resources of people, knowledge and and opportunity to put them all together correctly. No easy task to be sure, but here and there one finds a corner piece and the rest starts to fit. With this program, the corner was the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and the problem was diesel pumps. The rest just fell into place from there as I developed an approach to this problem drawn from some knowledge, some creativity and mostly by far from strong input, support and collaboration with an awful lot of people.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
Caleb is the Executive Director of the Global Fairness Initiative (GFI), a not-for-profit international development organization committed to improving livelihoods for the working poor. Before joining GFI, Caleb was founder and lead partner of the Tidewater Group, a Washington, DC based organization serving non-profits and foundations on the forefront of international development. During his 7 years at Tidewater Caleb worked with clients around the globe to implement initiatives targeted at helping vulnerable communities gain access to essential services, knowledge and core financing.
Prior to his work with Tidewater, Caleb served on the White House staff of former President William Clinton and on the leadership team of New York University's Wagner School of Public Service. He has also held senior positions with the Corporation for National Service's Americorps program, the International Broadcasting Bureau and the Democratic Presidential Campaigns of Senator John Kerry and Barack Obama. A native of Washington, DC, Caleb received bachelor’s degrees in degrees in Political Science and English Literature.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Friend or family member
If through another source, please provide the information
ICRW
Does your project address any of the following barriers to women’s technology access and use?
Economic or institutional constraints, Women’s lack of involvement in the technology development process.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how.
The SWEEP program is a woman-focused and woman-led economic empowerment initiative with accompanying environmental benefits. Using clean technology to replace expensive fossil fuels the SWEEP program frees up capital for women salt farmers to invest in gaps which have limited their livlihood opportunities. These gaps include education for young girls, investment in time saving tools and transportation for product, and purchase of basic household goods such as reliable shelter, lighting and private toilet facilities. Additionally, greater local control of the salt value chain will free women from predatory middle-man relationships that currently exploit the limited access and investment capital of women farmers.
By directly engaging women in the entire decision making and implementation process of the SWEEP program, women farmers gain knowledge and direct access to the technology solutions being delivered through the initiative. Women will be presented with energy technologies and given control over the decision-making process to determine the technology most applicable to their conditions and needs. The women farmers and their families will then be trained on the capability, use and and maintainable of the the technology, and servicing and maintainable responsibilities will be designated through a community-led process. This process is designed to build local ownership over determining and deploying the technology.
Finally, the deployment of the pumps and corresponding energy technology will be debt financed so that ownership of the actually hardware goes hand in hand with ownership of the process. To support this program SWEEP will partner with the SEWA Bank (a local women-operated MFI) and will also provide training on accounting and financial management so that economic knowledge can be developed around an applied program.
Does your project involve women in one or more of the following stages of the technology lifecycle? Identification of the problem the technology will solve:
Technology introduction, Technology training, Technology supply and distribution, Assessment and evaluation.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how you will ensure women’s involvement in each relevant phase of the technology lifecycle.
SWEEP is being implemented in partnership with the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) a trade organization serving 1.2 million women. All SWEEP participants are SEWA members and in implementing the program through this partnership the full participation of women is ensured throughout the process. Specifically, the SWEEP program will work with the women farmers to gather data on technology options and with this in hand will have the women decide on the the appropriate technology application. Training will be provided by the technology providers and SWEEP program team on the use and maintenance of the energy production and pumping systems and supply and distribution of the systems will be managed through the SEWA district offices. Finally, the assessment process following the Phase 2 pilot program will be built around data gathering and focus groups made up of women program participants and adjustments or additions to the program will be based on assessment results. Finally, full transfer of the program to the community will include both a the hand-over of assessment tools to be used for ongoing evaluation of the program with outside support provided by the SEWA district office on an as-needed basis.
If women are a focus of your project, how did this focus evolve?
The project focused on women from its conception..
Which type of women will your project reach directly?
Rural, Low income.
In what ways does your project team/leadership involve women?
It is led by a woman/women from a developing country., The core project team includes women., The core project team includes women from developing countries..
Has your organization formed any new partnerships in response to this challenge? If so, with what type/s of organization/s?
Multilateral/bilateral, Non-profit/NGO/community-based organization, Other.
Has your project leadership had prior experience with the following?
Working with women, Working with technologies, Working on innovation.
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 | msarkar said: On May 27, 2010 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers Women Tools Technology: Building Opportunities and Economic Power ... about this Competition Entry. - 609 days ago read more > |
| Salt Farmers Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP) has been chosen as a finalist in Women | Tools | Technology: Building Opportunities & Economic Power. - 617 days ago |
| crshreve said: Sorry for the delay Kirrin, I just got back from India and visiting with SEWA so lots to catch up on. All of the SWEEP beneficiaries ... about this Competition Entry. - 666 days ago read more > |
| kirrin said: Caleb, congratulations for submitting an innovation idea that has the potential to reach so many women. Could you tell me more about ... about this Competition Entry. - 679 days ago read more > |
| crshreve updated this Competition Entry. - 695 days ago |
| crshreve submitted this idea. - 741 days ago |
