The Siddi tribal community residing in and around the hilly forest terrain of Uttara Kannada have had little access to basic amenities and have eked out a living largely by collecting and selling minor forest produce or by working as labourers in agricultural fields.
Most thatched huts of Siddis, had no access to lighting until Ramon Magsaysay award winner Harish Hande’s Solar Elecric Light Company (SELCO) started building a service network in rural areas and introduced the solar lighting system in 2003.
The company celebrated its 20th anniversary at Alliance Francaise in Bangalore recently and screened a documentary on lighting up the houses of Siddis through solar lighting systems on the occasion.
Michael Siddi, a resident of a Siddi settlement in Janashetty Koppa in Yellapur of Sirsi taluk, featured in the documentary, said the lighting system had greatly helped children of the community study.
SELCO’s marketing manager Meghana Nair said Siddi families were forced to depend on lamps fuelled by kerosene bought from the black market before introduction of solar lights. Their settlements in remote areas had no electricity connection, she said.
An estimated 1,000 Siddi families live in Yellapur, Ankola and Sirsi taluks of Uttara Kannada.
“We also treat the farmers as micro entrepreneurs by providing them with various jobs like repairing mobiles and solar lighting systems,” said Sarah, an employee of SELCO.
