Tajik mountain women leading the solar energy just transition
About
In the remote Yagnob Valley of Tajikistan, The Little Earth supports mountain-dwelling women to break isolation and implement a just energy transition. 40 women from 11 villages, who rely on kerosene and firewood, have been trained to use and maintain solar devices and resource efficient technologies.
This shift reduces environmental degradation in fragile ecosystems and improves communities’ health and safety by eliminating harmful fumes. By strengthening women’s technical skills, easing their unpaid workload, and integrating them into decision-making at local and national levels, the initiative promotes gender equality while opening new opportunities for income and leadership.
Climate impact
- Solar systems reduce CO, emissions by up to 3 tons per year per household.
- Contributes to the global goal of tripled renewable energy capacity, focusing on out of grid communities.
- Protects ecosystems, preventing soil erosion and conserving biodiversity in the Yagnob National Natural-Ethnographic Park.
Gender impact
- Illiterate women have raised their technical skills on installing and maintaining solar devices.
- 40 women are asserting their right to take active roles in local decision-making, reducing isolation, and raising their social status.
- Improves household sanitation needs, reduces indoor air pollution mostly affecting women and children.
Scalability/replicability
- The focus on low-cost, easy-to-operate technologies ensures affordability and accessibility, making it a sustainable model for other remote communities.
- The decentralized model of providing clean energy solutions to rural, off-grid communities can be replicated in other mountainous regions of Tajikistan and beyond.
- The empowerment of women as leaders in energy and environmental sustainability creates a multiplier effect, promoting further social and economic
development.
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