The best innovations come from the ground up. We say that a lot at BCI. But we want to do a better job of explaining just what that means. Here’s some quick-hitting updates happening right now.
Madagascar
In April, 48 local women joined a sustainable farming training on campus, learning how they can begin to generate income using these practices.
The BCI team held a community engagement event called Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28 May in the village where our regional center is located. Activities included culturally rooted dialogues, songs, and performances to raise awareness around menstruation, followed by an educational session at the local school for 200 girls. For just $2 per girl, we can give them three reusable menstrual pads.
Take a look at this amazing video produced by our partner WWF Madagascar about the Barefoot Solar Engineers who electrified their village in Madagascar that is almost surrounded by water. It’s an amazing story.
A new cohort of Solar Engineer trainees have started this summer.
Zanzibar
A cohort of 12 women graduated their training to become Solar Engineers. Each will soon be electrifying their villages with their newfound knowledge.
Zanzibar’s Menstrual Hygiene Day included 351 girls. The center’s tailoring team created more than 3,000 reusable menstrual pads over the past year.
We are especially excited about our regenerative agriculture projects under way in Zanzibar. Over a 16-day training, participants learn hands-on techniques such as composting, agroforestry, water conservation, and post-harvest management, alongside sessions on gender equality, entrepreneurship, and financial management. To date, 48 women have completed the training in communities like Kilimanjaro, Unguja and Pemba
Recently 60 women participated in Spark Solar Initiative training, focused on starting a social enterprise. The regional center implemented five agroecology workshops with the Solar & ENRICH trainees, focusing on family gardens, bio-input preparation and soil conservation techniques.
Photo: ENRICH Program for Cohort 3 during my time in Senegal. A practical activity focused on building a tippy-tap — a simple, low-cost handwashing station made from locally available materials.
Senegal
Senegal is the first region to install our expanded capacity solar equipment. In total 19 woman have been trained in the Kédougou region. These BCI Solar Engineers will begin electrifying the village and a birthing center once the shipment arrives. This activity is a significant expansion of BCI work in Africa and will be the catalyst for more rapid growth in all of the regional centers.
Pictured above, practical activity focused on building a tippy-tap — a simple, low-cost handwashing station made from locally available materials.
When individuals feel safe, seen, and valued, they begin to unlock their true potential. My ambition for the Life Skills (ENRICH) program
is to nurture that inner shift- to create spaces where mindset becomes the starting point for economic empowerment, climate consciousness, leadership, and social change that lasts for generations. To guide people from self-doubt to self-agency, from silence to Leadership.
Light spreading outward
We often say it all starts with light, which is exactly how Barefoot College International has grown. Starting with our Solar Engineer trainees in new communities and new countries, working through our regional centers, we can reach thousands of people and homes through a single cohort.
When we think about these various programs, creating opportunities and improving the health of so many people, we see the power of BCI’s model of partnering on the local level, listening to the women’s aspirations and turning them into viable solutions with direct improvement on their lives.
If you’d like to support any of these programs, please click here to make a donation today.