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Did you know that India is home to nearly 35 thousand urban slums? These slums house nearly 10 million Indians: this is a population that lacks sanitation, clean drinking water and electricity. If you didn’t know this, you aren’t alone. Most Banks, NGOs and businesses too don’t know this or refuse to acknowledge this. “Nobody believed us when we said these communities existed. They said we were trying to solve a problem that wasn’t there,” says Monique Alfris, a Co-Founder at Pollinate Energy, as she speaks with Lakshmi Rebecca.
Based in Bangalore, Pollinate Energy a social enterprise that is run by a team of young Australians. This is a business that is currently manufacturing solar powered lamps that also functions as a mobile phone charger.
With a background in Micro finance, renewable energy and economics the Pollinate team aims to provide cost effective solutions to those living in urban slums, who in Bangalore alone exceed 14 thousand in number.
In this video of Chai with Lakshmi, we look at a section of Indian society whose very existence isn’t known to the much of the nation. What makes this story even more amazing is the fact these aren’t just solutions that are cost efficient, they are solutions that have a longstanding impact on the 14 thousand plus slum dwellers Bangalore city is unaware of.
To know more about Pollinate Energy and the work they do, watch the video!
About the show:
Chai with Lakshmi is India’s first award winning online talk show. It showcases people and ideas that are positively shaping India for the future. Follow the show on Twitter (@chaiwithlakshmi) and Facebook
Watch more videos at youtube.com/chaiwithlakshmi
Find out more about Lakshmi Rebecca and the awesome things she does at lakshmirebecca.com
