Impact Spotlight

Trained 131 rural women as solar technicians across nearly 40 remote villages in Madagascar

Expanded solar electricity access to nearly 2,230 households in remote rural communities

Built a community-based program training local women to install and maintain solar systems

About

Communities throughout rural Madagascar lack access to basic services, including electricity, healthcare, and education. Constrained by these fundamental barriers, many communities experience high rates of poverty – an issue that also disproportionately affects women.

Barefoot College Madagascar (BCMada) is dedicated to empowering rural, remote, non-electrified villages in Madagascar through sustainable and accessible energy solutions. By training women to build, install, maintain, and repair their own solar electrification systems, BCMada empowers communities and provides long-term and sustainable solutions with positive impacts on overall well-being. BCMada's unique community-driven approach and its mission to demystify solar technology create effective access to sustainable energy through community-based solutions, ultimately promoting long-lasting social and economic development.

With a collaborative effort, BCMada and partners aim to soon reach more than 6,200 households.

“Our partnership with the Honnold Foundation has helped us demonstrate that investing in women is also an investment in communities. By equipping rural women with solar skills and confidence, we are creating local capacity that can bring lasting access to clean energy far beyond the initial installation.
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— Razafindralaisa Harinaina Léon, Chairman

HF Partnership

Since 2023, BCMada and the Honnold Foundation have supported hundreds of rural women and communities in Madagascar with job training and access to energy. Through the Barefoot College National Program (PNBC), BCMada has reached 131 rural women across 39 localities through eight cohorts. The program promotes a community-based model for expanding access to clean energy while strengthening women's technical skills, leadership, and local capacity.

Ultimately, the partnership has supported 224 women across 90 program locations to date, demonstrating the value of an integrated, women-centered approach that combines clean energy, technical and life skills, sustainable livelihoods, and local leadership.

As the partnership enters its next phase, BCMada will build on the progress so far by continuing to strengthen women's technical, agricultural, entrepreneurial, and leadership capacities while expanding opportunities for rural communities. By investing in women as technicians, farmers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, the Honnold Foundation's support is helping BCMada build local capacity and create pathways for long-term social, economic, and environmental impact across rural Madagascar.