Hybrid Solar System - End Of ‘Power' Struggle For Varanasi Weavers

For many weavers in Varanasi, the home of the fabled silk weavers, life seems to be turning for the better after years of struggle. In this article, Kishor Kumar Choudhary, Jitendra Tiwari, and Swarup Mallik discuss that after fighting grid power supply shortage and paying for expensive diesel generated supply for long, many weavers in Varanasi are now shifting to a hybrid solar system (solar energy + grid) backed by cleaner, smaller, and more powerful lithium batteries.

- Kishor Kumar Choudhary

Hybrid solar system is a momentous shift for weavers in Varanasi as it attacks the central weakness of inadequate and unreliable supply of grid power that has held back the community from prospering as it induced uncertainty in their business and imposed many unproductive hours every day. By adopting solar power, the weavers are experiencing the change: power supply certainty has eliminated possibility of production or quality disruption, work hour management is far more efficient (resulting in fewer wasted hours), local environment is cleaner and less noisy with the disbanding of diesel generators, and most importantly, it is all contributing to higher income for weavers.

Varanasi, Azamgarh, Bhadoi, and Mirzapur in Eastern Uttar Pradesh represent the high traditions of India’s weaving industry. Handloom products from this region as well as from other states, such as Assam and Bengal, have for some time been facing severe challenges from the mechanized industry. Many weavers at Varanasi and other centres have been forced to abandon their craft to walk into professions that offered better income prospects, though had little use for their skills preserved for centuries.