Today's guest is Arjun Bologndy who is the head of Technology of Strategic Projects at Pollinate Energy, a social enterprise that aims to tackle energy poverty and the lack of access to sustainable technology in low income urban communities in India.  We will be discussing how they utilize renewable technologies to help people out of poverty from the slums of India.

Arjun manages the portfolio of strategic products which looks into niche areas that need improvement. He also monitors social impact, community needs, fellowships and new project implementation.  Some products include solar lanterns, solar fans and cook stoves.

Arjun used to work at a multinational corporation.  They was another section of the organization, a foundation that provided energy management. This was his first experience with renewable energy and creating impact for communities of need which he found to be extremely fulfilling.

He decided he wanted to dedicate his time to organizations whose missions was to serve those in need. At a local event, he ended up meeting people who work at Pollinate Energy and was eventually hired to take over one of their portfolios.

In India it’s most people's aspirations to work at a multinational corporation. But Arjun knew helping those in need was more important, even with a few people raising their eyebrows at him.  For a man in India, leaving a high paying job to do mission focused work goes against tradition.

One of the challenge he identifies, for those living in poverty in the slums of India include the type of work they are able to get, which are low paying, erratic construction work.  Also, their living conditions have a lack of basic amenities and their homes are not much more than a tent.  

A big issue is the lack of access to electricity.  Few lightning options leads to the use of kerosene which is quite hazardous for a person's health and the environment. Since there is limited lighting people need to sit close to the kerosene and they end up inhaling the fumes which can cause the body to develop cancerous cells. Kerosene is the second largest premature killer of children and women in the world and one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world.

Due to the lack of light, a child can’t study after dark which prevents them from having better grades and access to a university. This only perpetuates the cycle of poverty, leading them to become a laborer like their parent.

Other elements behind the causes of the poverty are the capitalist culture and enormous population. A lot of people are working in jobs that require labor in nature. It becomes much more difficult to break out of poverty once a person begins working these erratic construction jobs that provided minimal payment. This also leads to a lack of aspiration because people don’t realize what their true potential is due to living paycheck to paycheck.

Pollinate Energy was told by their customers that they want cell phones, which will provide access to technology and information.  Their customers like how they can pay Pollinate Energy over the span of 12 weeks, which makes it much more affordable.  Luckily data access is very cheap in India and most cell phone carriers do not provide the option to pay over 12 weeks.

The ability to have people pay the cost of a product over several weeks is a big factor to Pollinates success, they looks to meet people where they are at.

Pollinate provide solar lanterns which illuminate the entire house and allows children the ability to study after dark.  Also, they are no longer breathing in the fumes from the kerosene which lead to fewer doctor visits.  The water filters they sell also reduce water born disease providing similar health impact.

Pollinate looks to hire women and men from challenging background who are not considered employable by other organizations. Most of these women had to drop out of school because they had to start a family early in their lives. This is another level of impact Pollinate provides, an income for those who wouldn’t normally have access to employment.

They also work to make social business, mainstream. Nonprofits often have a hard time making as big of an impact they would like because of constant issues with fundraising. Social business look at everyone as people who can afford things. When you give someone something for free, that can make people feel less than and it makes it difficult for the organizations to continually provide a service that helps others. Social business looks to see how those with minimal funds can afford something. The goal of the organization is to create financial stability and reinvest the profits back into the organizations.

Regarding their environmental impact, 92% of people who purchase solar lanterns stop using kerosene and which means those people are no longer emitting carbon into the air. As of the recording over 4,000,000 liters of kerosene has been saved which is 10,000,000 kilograms of Co2 emissions.

Pollinate also provide fellowship programs which are ways for people to get involved, students and professional alike. There are 10-15 people a year who volunteer 2-4 weeks and work on designated projects which will be beneficial for Pollinates progress.

For those in extreme poverty, some things you can do to have a better life is to work to make sure your amenities are taken care of, it’s foundational. Also look to get an education as best as you can, no matter how little progress it may be. You can talk to educated people, look into getting books, attend local meetings, whatever you can do to get educated.

You can reach out to Pollinate Energy to see how you can get involved. Also you can donate, do fellowships and find a variety of other ways to get involved.

Arjuns shares how we all can do a better job of being mindful about how we can utilize our resources on a daily basis.

 Pollinateenergy.org

 [email protected]

 Music by Blazo, Introducing