Overview of project

Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) seeks to provide clean energy access, Digital education and Livelihood access through solar power for the remote unelectrified Himalayan communities, located in the higher reaches of the Himalaya above 13000 ft, by providing energy access through DC solar micro-grids. Energy access intervention has acted as a tool for further development and growth in these remote areas and has led to an increase in income and livelihood creation through promotion of Eco Tourism over the years.

The project plan is to leverage Astronomy as a means to further develop the economy of the region by promoting Astro Tourism in these rural Himalayan solar homestays that have been setup by GHE. These 30 solar Himalayan homestays are run by local village women, and are promoted as off- beat destinations for the tourists who travel to these villages to experience local cultural and traditions. This helps the women to earn additional income from the incoming trekkers during the tourist season. Our plan revolves around educating these local village women entrepreneurs and training them on basics of astronomy, providing them each with a telescope, which they can promote as an additional feature of the homestay and help bring additional tourism and income. The plan is to leverage astronomy as a key tool for creating a holistic development model for these communities in a sustainable and scalable manner.

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