This article is created by The Better India and sponsored by WingifyEarth

Dr Lal Singh, scientist and founder director of Himalayan Research Group in Shimla, innovated the Solar Hamam to help people across villages have access to warm water throughout the day.

It all started when Dr Lal Singh decided to use his scientific knowledge — from years of research in analysing issues in rural and geographically difficult areas of the Himalayas — to offer grassroots innovative solutions.

With this intention in mind, in 1997, he founded the NGO Himalayan Research Group (HRG) in Shimla.

On interacting with the women living in the Maigal village, located in the remote areas of Himachal Pradesh, he realised that they were in dire need of cash in hand. So, supported by KVIB and SEED-DST, the HRG’s team of scientists set up mushroom compost units in the year 2000, helping the women earn quick money.

But despite availing of sustainable employment, the women would often be late for the training sessions and sometimes be absent.

“It became a frequent scenario across villages. They said they were collecting firewood from the forest or seeking fodder for cattle. The case was particularly concerning for villages located 2,000 metres above in the mountains,” says Dr Lal.

After digging deeper into the issue, he realised that the absence was, interestingly, connected to the inaccessibility of hot water.

Dhaneshwari Devi, a resident of the village, explains, “At any given time, the water temperature is between 7 and 12 degrees Celsius. We need warm water not just for chores and bathing, but also to feed the cows, cook, and even drink throughout the day.”

This situation is what eventually led Dr Lal to come up with the Solar Hamam, which warms water within minutes and works all day, providing much-needed respite to the villagers.

Women in remote areas of Himachal previously walked to the forest often to collect firewood to heat water in extreme cold.

A harrowing struggle for warm water

Elaborating on the need for this innovation, Dr Lal says that in these remote areas, there is little to no electricity at all times. So the villagers chop down forest trees to gather wood to use as fuel to heat water.

“The fire at the chulha, a traditional stove, was always burning with a water heating pot that kept warm water. The women would remove the pot and replace it with other utensils while cooking. Then, the pot would go back on after the meal was complete. The family members would use the warm water from the pot for drinking, washing hands, and making tea,” he says.

Further research revealed that only 30 to 40 percent of the wood collected was used for cooking purposes, while around 60 percent was used just for heating the water and space in their homes.

“The village residents did not use LPG apart from warming food or preparing tea. They entirely depended on the fireplace,” says Dr Lal, adding that even though they could afford to buy solar water heating systems, “The water in the pipes would freeze and burst the channels. New parts of the branded solar heating system would require almost a month, and there were additional expenses to maintain and repair.”

The Solar Hamam was innovated by Dr Lal Singh to help the villagers to get access to warm water all day.