These amazing inventions are powered by the sun! For over two decades, Indian entrepreneur, Georgekutty Kariyanappally, has invented solar-powered devices to improve the lives of rural people living in poverty. Let’s take a look!
Solar-Powered Rickshaws & Mobile Kitchens
Georgekutty Kariyanappally — founder of Lifeway Solar Devices and founder-secretary of Kerala Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs and Promoters Association ( KREEPA) — has been working with solar power for over twenty years! Kariyanappally’s inventions are simple, but life-changing. His solar e-rickshaws, are able to be fitted with mobile kitchen facilities. The solar rickshaws themselves are pollution-free, noise-free, and are able to travel around 80km on a full charge.
As part of the Food On Wheels project, people living in rural areas around Kochi can access the mobile food e-rickshaws and enjoy hot meals, snack items and tea! The e-rickshaws can also be retrofitted with food-vending units and solar-powered freezers. The Food On Wheels initiative is operated by women, which is a great way to improve gender equality in India.
Endless Possibilities Powered By The Sun!
When we think of the possibilities of solar power, we usually think of solar panels and the abundance of clean, green electricity it can provide. But that’s not all! Pioneers, inventors and entrepreneurs in the solar power industry — like Georgekutty Kariyanappally — are proving that small-scale solar-power inventions can dramatically improve the lives of people living in poverty.
This directly plays into Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals: To ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Presently, around 3 billion people rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating, which obviously leads to respiratory illnesses and broader health impacts. That’s why small-scale rooftop solar, backed up with battery storage, is an ideal option for rural and remote communities in developing nations — because it’s cheap, clean, reliable and sustainable.
Georgekutty Kariyanappally’s work through Lifeway Solar is changing lives and lifting rural Indians out of poverty. We love that his inventions are simple, sustainable and reliable — and completely powered by the sun!
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