alone we can do so little; togather we can do so much!!.

Narrative Description of the Project: 

District Kalat is one of the least developed districts of Balochistan1. As per Government of Pakistan, District Kalat Profile 2011, Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) provides electricity in District Kalat through four grid stations, including 4,891 domestic and 1,762 other type of connections.2 About 95% of primary and 14% high schools in the Union Council (UC) are functioning without electricity.3 Economic activities in the district are also very limited; about 75% people are engaged in agriculture, 20% in livestock, 02% in government services, and 03% in other activities.
Though there is electricity and gas facility available in some urban areas of district Kalat and few houses and hotels use diesel generators for electricity generation, still, most of the population including the proposed 4 UC’s  use kerosene lamps for lighting. The major sources of energy for cooking in the project focused off grid areas are fuel wood, bushes and dung-cakes. All these sources carry their own environmental and health hazards.

The project demonstrated that ensuring access of poor households to renewable energy sources can bring a wide range of positive impacts that include improvement in the living standard, better mobility, and decline in use of non-renewable energy sources, availability of additional hours for work, socialization and recreation, personal and livestock security, safety from health hazards, savings and strengthening of purchase power. 

This initiative is mostly benefiting women and children. Women find it easy to do household activities whereas children get enough light to study at night. The beneficiaries of solar system are very happy with the functionality of the system.

The impact of solar energy systems may be measured after two years of investment. This will allow capturing a better picture as by that time multiple seasons would have passed and the functionality of the system would have become time tested too. Meanwhile, some unforeseen issues and innovations might have also taken place. During this period, the behavior of market and demand for solar systems will also become more apparent. At the moment, the households have started working on income generating activities, nevertheless, the real impact will be depending on a number of factors including demand for the goods and access to market for these goods. The possible development and real impact of small and medium enterprises may thus be observed after some period. 

Evaluation Report  District Kalat Report