Take our much-loved cook, Lalita, whose extensive culinary talents were proven again this evening when an array of dishes from Daal to Spinach Paneer and several other local delicacies were ready for us at the end of a long day. Lalitha’s smile and singing lights up the Pollinate Energy house on a daily basis, and she has come to consider the Pollinators (the Pollinate Energy Entrepreneurs) as brothers. The relationship Lalitha has formed with the Pollinators demonstrates the special stage the Pollinate Energy business is currently at. While the not-for-profit has employed enough people for its operations to ramp up, it is still small enough for those involved to feel like they’re part of one big family.

The Pollinators have come to Pollinate Energy from varied professions. Some are former farmers, some were personal assistants, Airtel phone credit salespersons and cleaners. Regardless of where they’ve come from, all Pollinators seem to really enjoy their new roles with Pollinate Energy and, like anyone with a job, all like pay day!

Today is pay day, and excitement is in the air. Some of the Pollinators have been working for Pollinate Energy for six months, and the regularity of income (they’re paid monthly) is a welcome change from previous roles, when there were no such guarantees.

You see, income can be a constant source of worry for the people in the slum communities. Some residents are construction workers, while others create their own businesses as ‘rag pickers’ – separating rubbish into materials to sell on. Some pay a small amount of rent for the privilege of staying in the communities. One woman I was speaking to, who has a relatively modern dwelling, still lives in fear of eviction if she can’t make rent, and that’s after living there 20 years!

To an outsider, the situation might seem desperate, but the people we have met have been incredibly open and warm. There is a remarkable sense of community spirit in the slum communities. These places are a melting pot of economic migrants from different places and different religions. 80 percent of Karnataka’s population is Hindu, for example, with Muslims and Christians making up 13 percent and 2.3 percent respectively. Out of necessity as much as anything else, they must try to get along.

The Indian contingent of our Young Professionals Program has sometimes been critical of our ability to communicate and understand the cultural norms, but despite our cultural differences, there is more that connects us than separates us.

Sitting around the cookstove for tea this evening, the ladies in the community laid out a mat for us to sit on, and I cuddled one of their babies. Asking the few questions of Kannada I have picked up along the way, we drank tea and laughed with them, recognising a common joke made about wanting us to adopt their children. They have come to Bangalore to make a better life for their families, and it’s a wonderfully humbling experience to sit and share tea and try to begin to understand the daily pressures they face. We’re loving this city and its people more and more each day – and it will be hard to leave – but the memories of the people we’ve met here and the friendships we’ve made will stay with us forever.

-Belinda

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Our first few days working with Pollinate Energy here in Bangalore has cemented my high opinions of this organisation and the incredibly inspiring and clever people committed to its cause.

Pollinate Energy’s aim? To eradicate energy poverty in India.

So how does a small start-up achieve such an ambitious feat? It all starts with training local people as entrepreneurs – ‘Pollinators’ – to sell affordable clean energy solutions, which include solar-powered lights and fuel-efficient cook stoves.

Rosanna in the field.

There’s an obvious economic incentive for those selling this equipment, but for the buyer, the main benefits include healthier homes with less smoke and less reliance on unsafe fuels such as kerosene.

Pollinate Energy has already installed over 6,000 of these solar lights, but there is so much more to be done, and that’s where the Young Professionals Program comes in.

A demonstration of one of the cookstoves.

The program has been cleverly designed. Pollinate Energy gets to benefit from the fresh ideas provided by young professionals taking part, and the young professionals (that’s us!) get to develop new skills and hone existing ones that will be useful back home.

We have been partnered with a ‘Pollinator’, and are accompanying them to communities, helping develop sales strategies to improve and grow their respective businesses.

Rosanna and Johannes at the office.

Our work also involves working bee projects that develop an aspect of Pollinate Energy’s operations so they can continue expanding their good work.

So what’s a typical day at Pollinate HQ?

Well, it starts off with the essentials: cups of tea and reading the Bangalore Times! But don’t assume we aren’t working hard! Some mornings consist of a lecture by an inspiring speaker in the realm of social enterprise, others with introductions and presentations of the many people and facets of the business. Energised and enlightened by this, we then move on to our working bee projects.

Johannes accompanying a local Pollinator with a fuel-efficient cookstove.

The current program sees us introducing fuel-efficient cook stoves into the community. Having discussed our approach for the day, we head out as a team to a poor community to do demonstrations – making chai and explaining the benefits of the product. It is difficult with any new product to convince the community that it does all it is said to, but it only take one person to give it a go to gain the trust of a community. One woman cooking chapati tested the cooking time on both their traditional fires and the new fuel-efficient cook stoves; the benefits where obvious with the cook stove taking far less time and using far less wood. So it’s just a matter of time before they infiltrate the communities on a large scale.

A Pollinator bringing the energy!

There are so many incredible stories to tell about this program and the experiences we have had in the communities. Watch this space for more great stories from our Indian adventure.

-Belinda.

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