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Figure 12: A store owner selling groceries under SHS-powered light
to keep one light for themselves and rent out three lights to their neighbours, earning about $8 per month (or more than three-quarters of their monthly installment fee). Others utilised their SHS to charge mobile phones, making $0.14 per each phone charged. Still others have started rural commercial enterprises at the household scale, by converting their home into a restaurant or building a SHS tea stand on their property (See Figure 10), refrigerating vaccines for local health clinics, starting mini-cinema halls (think a TV, DVD player, and six plastic chairs), creating studying areas for students at night, pumping water for farmers, sewing in the evening, or selling goods after dusk (See Figures 11 and 12). As one respondent put it succinctly, “the biggest advantage of a SHS is its ability to generate income for families and communities, its ability to increase working hours, learning hours, productive hours, SHS is a revolution to these communities, a quiet revolution in their social and economic structure.” Indeed, these benefits have even been confirmed by a recent REB survey of more than 11,000 residential, commercial, and industrial energy users, including those with SHS and without, and those with electricity and without (Chowdhury 2010). The survey found that the biggest differences between SHS users and non-users was more income earners per household, with non-SHS-
electfrified homes having 1.5 to 1.6 but SHS-electrified homes boasting 2.4 to 2.5. Following through with a qualitative study of six districts — Barisal, Bagerhat, Moulavibazar, Manikganj, Rangpur and Comilla — the study also found that before grid connection or reliance on SHS houses were dependent on kerosene lamps and hurricane lamps which emitted soot and fumes indoors, causing pollution and health problems, constrained the ability for children to study and shops to stay open after dark, and limited the networking and income generating abilities of women. These communities had limited use of mobile phones and did not receive timely information about current events and news. Electrified homes, by contrast, were cleaner and more prone to children studying and staying in school. Electricity enabled shops, stores, rice mills, and small traders to remain open for longer hours and women to feel more secure when traveling to hospitals, schools, and learning centers. Women became more involved in community activities such as sewing at night and running shops, and were able to rely on mobile phones and televisions to become more aware about issues relating to reproductive health, children’s health, family planning, early marriage, dowries, and forestry. Many were even able to talk directly to doctors during medical emergencies. Indeed, the survey found