Empowering the Unexplored

My experience at Sriyoul was the most fulfilling experience in 2018 and through this blog, I hope you get an idea of what we managed to achieve as a team along with the community in a short span of 9 days.  

Global Himalayan Expedition has made the impossible not just fun but also an enriching experience. So far, GHE has electrified 80+ villages/hamlets in Ladakh over the last 3-4 years. One may ask, why do they have to do it? 

A village is usually a settlement of at least 100 households. Villages are considered electrified if 10% of its households and public places have access to electricity. No doubt, this is great work and progressive. But then there are these Hamlets. A hamlet is smaller than a village consisting of much less than 100 households. And there are enough number of hamlets in every state in India. So the question is, when do these hamlets get at least the similar benefits of a village.

Transport and prep before the trek to Sriyoul

Sriyoul is a hamlet located not very far from Leh, but far enough for us to have been the first tourists to ever visit. Far enough to be missed on Google maps, far enough for the central resources to not reach and far enough for Global Himalayan Expedition to add it to the list of villages that need to be electrified.

A five-hour drive from Leh to Nur Nis, a 1000-meter climb and a few pitstops to recuperate from the lack of oxygen, takes us to this beautiful settlement Sriyoul/Seyul. A few hundred years old and inhabited by 12 families, Sriyoul, was probably part of the silk route but is certainly home to some of the most hospitable people. We were welcomed by approximately 15 villagers with traditional khatas which are usually presented as a sign of respect/gratitude/affection or celebration. We were given a few of them through this trip, possibly as a show of gratitude.

Weather-wise, it was bitterly cold with sub-zero temperatures.  All of us, approximately 20 members, including the staff, were split-up to stay at each of the 12 homes.  We were all seated in the living room of one such villagers’ home. Their traditional heating system – the Bukhari was running for us. It burns dried goat excreta and is the only source of heat that exists here. Wood fire is not an option in this part of the world. The whole village had only 5 Bukharis in all. The villagers let us sleep in their bedrooms and use their Bukharis while they slept in their kitchens. Extremely humbling.

The next few days were spent in trying to figure out where the light sources need to be fixed at each of the homes. The residents were consulted before we finalized the locations, taking into account the purpose the room was used for, shadow of the internal pillars, frequency of use etc.

Most of the homes were given seven 3W LED lights and these were more than sufficient. We also needed to figure out the capacity of the Solar Panels which needed to be on the roof, the wiring and the location of the charge controllers and batteries. Without going into too much detail, this is a graphical representation of the entire set up.The charge controller is the heart of the system regulating the power to the house and ensuring the battery is charged.

What is critical and important for the system to run for a long time is that the villagers need to know that they need to take care and own the set up.

How did we ensure this?

1. The villagers were tasked with getting enough mules to carry the panels, batteries and other equipment from Nur Nis to the village. The cost for this was borne by them.

2. We also got our electrician to train 2 people from the village on basic troubleshooting.

3. The villagers also opened a bank account and will deposit Rs. 100 per house hold every month. This acts as a corpus for the village to dip into when required.

All the equipment used – LED, Panels, Batteries and wires are of either reputed brands or are manufactured and custom assembled by GHE to ensure that all of them function well in extreme temperatures. They have been tested to work in temperatures upto -40 degree celcius.

The batteries will last for 5 years, the solar panels for 25 years and the LED bulbs will last anywhere between 5-10 years depending on usage. The entire system works on DC (Direct Current) and therefore regular appliances such as phone chargers etc. will not work on this system. However, GHE themselves have started manufacturing appliances like TVs that run on DC for the villagers to upgrade to, over time. 

Above the centrally located homes in the village, we installed four 12 watt street lights to help the villagers move around in the evenings and more importantly, to keep the wild animals at bay.

This village has always been in the dark. Kerosene lamps and torches were used to navigate in the evenings. At the end of the second day, we finished the set up and testing and were ready to take the village live!

The villagers had a small prayer at the first house for the light to guide them through the darkest hours. We hiked up a small hill to view the village from a distance. The lights automatically switch on at sunset and switch off at sunrise.

From darkness to light                                                                            

Despite this small success, there is another issue with these hamlets. There is no education system beyond primary school that exists here, therefore kids leave home and move to bigger villages or Leh on completing class 5. They do not come home often, and the village slowly disappears from the face of this planet. Giving them light now ensures that some of these youngsters come back to the village.  As a means to earn a living, we have encouraged them to start home stays for tourists looking for places far from the regular commercial options. Would you want to stay at Sriyoul? You must!

Did I mention? There is a primary school here. One teacher and two kids. And it is better than some of the government run schools in the city!

This is as much your story as it is mine. It is not so much about the brutally cold trek or the nights we struggled to stay warm in temperatures of -10°C. It is about the fact that you and I have made a difference in the lives of a few people. For life.