About this Blog

This is the blog for Lincoln's EWB-UK placement in Ujire in Karnatica in Southern India. I am working for SELCO, a solar lighting social enterprise, on the development of a solar food dehydrator, a device used to increase the life of foods. The aim of the placement is to make it fully functional, more efficient and to conduct market research in order to help market the product to customers living in rural areas enabling them to break the poverty cycle.

Monday, 5 July 2010

Busses, Auto's and Ujire

The last 2 days have been such an experience.

On Saturday lunchtime, I visited the SELCO Head office and saw their examples of the solar lighting systems which they install in areas all over Karnataka State. Some of the financing mechanisms which help people gain access to solar lighting was also explained to me.

On Sunday morning after a very good nights sleep, I took an auto-rickshaw to the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens before navigating my way through Cubbon Park and to the MG Road area. I have found Bangalore is very difficult to navigate through, but the backup is to jump on board one of the many auto's which hurtle up and down the cities streets.

I was conned by one of the rickshaw drivers who initially said he would show me to some of the tourist sights and then drive back to my hotel. After taking me to a few sites he insisted on taking me to a number of shops and once you've entered a shop it is expected that you buy something.

Bangalore's 'Majestic' bus stand was huge. It took some time to find the right platform as it was not signed. I travelled in a Rajahamsa Executive overnight bus (sounds more comfortable than it was.) Once again, I had no real idea where to get off but knew it would be about 5.45am when I should have arrived in Ujire.

This morning, I got off the bus in the dark and in the rain after I had seen the engineering college from the road. Kiran, another intern at SELCO picked me up on his moped taking me to the lodge.

I have now settled in to where I will be working for the next few months, and am trying to learn everything I can about Solar Drying from the previous interns I have a lot of reading to do over the next week.

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