Empowered by Light and Empower Generation announce new project in World Heritage Site, Chitwan National Park

LARKSPUR, Calif. - This fall, rangers protecting rhinos, tigers and other endangered

wildlife in Nepals famous Chitwan National Park will get a solar system that will

light and power an isolated ranger outpost deep in the jungle. At the same time,

local women will get the training and tools they need to sell low-cost clean energy

technologies to people living in the buffer zone that surrounds the park. This is all

part of continued collaboration in Nepal by Empowered by Light, which helps

remote communities throughout the world develop renewable energy projects, and

Empower Generation, which empowers women to become clean-energy

entrepreneurs.


This project will continue the organizations efforts in Nepal, which are detailed in a

fascinating 20-minute video, Bufferzone, that explores the unique challenges of

living in a place where the wild animals that make the region unique—from tigers to

sloth bears to elephants—can attract tourists, and can also attack villages and

people. For a preview, please visit our website.


"Remote communities around the world are embracing renewable energy because

the benefits are real, immediate and life-changing," said Moira Hanes, Empowered

by Lights co-founder and board chair. "In Nepal, renewable energy is providing

these communities with steady, reliable access to electricity, in many cases for the

first time, all while helping to support their critical efforts to protect endangered

wildlife and create economic and job opportunities that werent there before."

To help rural communities thrive without draining the parks natural resources, this

falls effort will train 10 local women, whose economic opportunities have

traditionally been limited, to sell a range of clean energy technologies such as solar

home systems and improved cookstoves.


Inside the park, rangers working to prevent poaching rely on solar power to stay in

touch with park authorities and power spotlights that help protect them at night. On

a previous visit, Empowered by Light also helped install solar power at tourist

towers that allow visitors to stay in the park overnight, generating income for

conservation projects and for people-protection efforts designed to minimize

conflicts between villagers and wildlife.


Empowered by Light and Empower Generation are seeking to raise $50,000 to help

support the new project, which will assist hard-working people in Nepal in their

efforts to:

● Protect Chitwan National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage Site

● Protect single-horned Asiatic rhinos and Bengal tigers from poachers

● Train Nepali women, who have a particularly difficult time securing formal

employment, to sell clean energy and start their own businesses

● Reduce dependence on dirty and dangerous sources of energy, including

diesel generators and kerosene burners that put the communitys health and

safety at risk

● Kick-start eco-tourism in a place where economic development options are

limited


To learn more or to donate to the next project in Nepal, please visit

http://empoweredbylight.org/projects/project-nepal/empowered- by-light-

returns-to- nepal-with- more-solar- for-chitwan- national-park/