About the Community
Odisha (formerly Orissa) is a state in eastern India on the Bay of Bengal, and consists of many tribal cultures and ancient Hindu temples. Despite the rich culture in the region, countless residents in villages did not have access to electricity, which limited many daily activities to daylight hours only and decreased the villagers’ overall quality of life.
The local community of Badakamandara, which our chapter partnered with for this project, is one such village, and is home to 750 residents.
The Odisha (formerly Orissa) Project started in 2003 and was completed in 2011. We partnered up with the local community Badakamandara and directly benefitted 750 members of the community with this project.
Project Overview & Results
The Odisha (formerly Orissa) Project started in 2003 with the aim of providing the Odisha community with electricity.
In 2005, the project team installed a 7.5 kVA generator modified to burn vegetable oil, together with a solar drier, a decorticator, a manual oil press, a rice huller, a spice grinder, and screw oil expeller. All equipment was installed in a newly constructed building to ensure the longevity and safety of the system. When used in a system, the equipment can produce substantial amounts of spices and rice at a much lower cost. A committee was put together by the village with members of different genders, classes, and jobs in order to have designated individuals to upkeep and use the implemented system. This committee was given instructions on how to use the new equipment with additional training being provided later by Oriya speakers and AID Orissa in the project.
The Odisha Biofuel Electrification Project closed out after implementation in 2005 and was successful in bringing stable and reliable electricity to several villages and 750 members in the Odisha, India community.
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Engineers Without Borders - UIUC 