The residents of the villages will provide porters for the transportation of the systems from the end of the road, unskilled labor to help with the installation of the systems, as well as food and housing for the installation team. Trained locals will perform basic system maintenance. Benefit Solar electricity offers a clean, bright alternative light source for monks, children, and families to study and perform religious rituals. Solar electric lighting systems convert the energy from sunlight into electricity. This energy is stored in batteries, and can be used at night to power efficient compact fluorescent electric lights.
Solar lights have no smoke or flame, so they are healthier and safer than kerosene and wood.
Many Lamas are overjoyed by the fact that no insects are killed by the light as is the case with open flame light. Short-term goals for the project include improving the light available in the main monastery rooms for evening activities including study, prayer, and religious ceremonies. The solar electric lighting system will reduce expenditures for kerosene and health hazards from exposure to kerosene smoke and flammable fuels. In the long term, this project hopes to expand to include other monasteries throughout the Himalayas in Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Tibet. Since monasteries play a central position in many Himalayan communities, renewable energy technologies that are successfully adopted here will facilitate the appropriate adoption of renewable energy technologies for household use.