Cover Story

Barefoot College Impact Report

Direct employment creation

• Since 1984 direct employment for 20,000-plus people.

• Between 2001-2009, 2,000-plus artisans (blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers and women making handicrafts) from 50 neighbouring villages earned $100,000 (Rs.51 lakh) as wages.

• Sales revenue (2000-09): $600,000 (Rs.3 crore)

• 289 barefoot solar engineers electrified 12,000 homes in 600 villages in eight states.

Primary & vocational education

• 714 night schools in 673 villages for 235,000 children including 170,000 girls in five states.

• 3,140 barefoot teachers in five states.

• 130 rural children-members of Children’s Parliament.

• Physically challenged trained entrepreneurs include artisans (67), teachers (78), technicians (17) and 650 traditional communicators.

Women’s empowerment

• 3,095 rural women’s groups with 62,500 members in 1,834 villages in eight states.

• 76 women solar engineers, 39 handpump mechanics, 665 traditional midwives, 20 barefoot vets.
Child & maternal health

• Network of 605 traditional midwives; 231 barefoot doctors; 14 barefoot pathology lab technicians; 2,500 tests.

• Reaching basic health services to 170,000 people in 165 villages.

Environmental sustainability

• 599 villages in 14 states generating 550 Kwp solar electricity per day.

• 289 including 76 women barefoot solar engineers trained.

• 274 night schools distributed 4,736 solar lanterns saving thousands of litres of kerosene from being used for lighting.

Drinking water and sanitation

Nearly 1 million people supplied potable water through rooftop rainwater harvesting, installation of handpumps and piped water supply.

• 1,486 schools constructed by 1,200 barefoot architects collecting 94 million litres of rainwater for 500,000 children in 16 states.

• 100 million litres of rainwater recharging groundwater through 93 open dug wells in 37 villages.

• Trained 1,050 barefoot village hand pump mechanics in 1,000 villages.

• 10,000 BC trained mechanics maintaining 75,000 handpumps in Rajasthan.