Featured Citizen Philanthropist: Ariadne Scott

by Jenny van der Heyde

Tuesday August 11, 2009 at 10:18am, EST

Meet Ariadne Scott, Bicycle Program Coordinator at Stanford University. Through 1Well, Ariadne partnered with Jogad Village in Gujarat, India to provide clean energy to salt farming families. Using bake sales and an e-card campaign to reach out to friends and colleagues, Ariadne raised $8,247 to provide 135 families with solar lanterns. Read more

Jogad Village borders the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India, where most of the community relies on salt farming for their livelihood. During the 8-month salt season, families migrate out to the desert to work the salt pans, where there is no electricity. Ariadne’s Solar Lantern project will replace the carbon-intensive, expensive and often dangerous kerosene lamps farmers used to use with a clean, renewable source of light. At night, a solar lantern lets mothers cook and allows children to study while keeping the family safe from insects and wild animals.

1Well’s pictures and village narratives helped Ariadne understand Jogad’s need for clean energy. “The photo of Jogad Village captivated my imagination of how the villagers were living and what they had to overcome—the challenges of the salt flats, wild animals rampaging their homes during darkness—the need for light, sustainable light.” Ariadne’s project ensures that community members are taught how to maintain and repair the lanterns and creates lantern assembly jobs for women in the village who are members of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), our field partner in India.

Interested in becoming a Citizen Philanthropist? You can partner with Haji Bhachudiwandh Village in Gujarat, India to provide clean light to a village without electricity and increase the work hours and safety of Haji Bhachudiwandh families.  As a 1Well Citizen Philanthropist, Ariadne states that 1Well “motivated [me] with constant feedback on the projects, sending photos and blogging live from India on a visit to many of the projects, sending video clips etc. The project website was constantly updated with news and photos. I couldn’t wait to get the updates and see them posted.”

You can read more about Ariadne’s Solar Lantern Project here or get involved and pick your own project here.

Curious about 1Well’s Clean Energy projects? Dan Morrison, 1Well’s CEO and founder will be speaking tonight (Tuesday, August 11th) at Gazuza in Dupont Circle during the Green Drinks DC Happy Hour event from 6:30-9:30 PM. We’d love to see you there!