NWM’S SOLAR LANTERN DONATION AT SAMAD ROCKCHAN

This August, NWM went into the remote hills of Samad Rockchan to fulfil its promise of providing wool-shearing machines for the nomadic sheep-rearing families there. These machines make the shearing process faster and more efficient so that sheep are shorn with fewer cuts or injuries. (The families of Samad Rockchan that rear Pashmina goats also often raise sheep for wool. While the goats are combed with a special comb for pashmina, the sheep are sheared traditionally with shearing scissors.)

Upon reaching the site, however, we learned an important lesson that we had overlooked while theorising this plan: Samad Rockchan shepherds do not have access to conventional power lines because of their itinerant lifestyle, whereas the machines that we were planning to donate run of conventional electricity. So, we launched a new search for wool-shearing machines that run on solar power. But we had no luck.

Deferring our plan to give away wool-shearing machines, but not wanting to come away without offering the families something useful, we donated solar lanterns to 69 Samad Rockchan families instead. These lanterns usually last a year or two with a steady supply of 3-4 hours of light per night and will improve the quality of life for this community which often braves long nights without any light.

Of course, we still want to keep our promise of providing wool-shearing machines to Samad Rockchan, so our search for solar-powered shearing machines continues.