2026 Winner: Barefoot College International
Barefoot College International (BCI) tackles climate change and rural poverty by training underserved women as Solar Engineers, Educators, and Entrepreneurs, and equipping them with the knowledge and tools needed to access renewable energy, and to leverage this access into long-term educational and economic growth. They train rural women worldwide as solar engineers, educators, and entrepreneurs, expanding renewable energy access while advancing economic and energy independence.
What does Barefoot College International do?
What social challenge are they addressing?
Over 675 million people globally lack electricity, most in remote communities where centralized grids are financially unviable. Energy poverty reinforces cycles of low income, poor health, and limited educational access, particularly for women and youth. Women bear disproportionate burdens through unpaid fuel collection, exposure to indoor air pollution, and exclusion from decision-making in energy systems. Additionally, up to 35% of rural infrastructure projects fail due to a lack of local technical capacity and ownership. The root problem is not only infrastructure scarcity, but an absence of community-led, self-sufficient systems.
What is their solution?
BCI partners with rural communities to train women as fully qualified Solar Engineers through a three-month residential, hands-on program at Regional Training Centers. Women learn to assemble, install, and maintain solar home lighting systems from scratch so that they are fully equipped to solar electrify their communities. Women are also trained in digital and financial literacy, reproductive health, civil and human rights, leadership, and entrepreneurship training. They return home with the knowledge and skills to implement educational and vocational courses and support or start microenterprises.
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Communities simultaneously establish a Rural Electronic Workshop, install a Village Solar Committee to manage governance, and set up a Revolving Solar Fund, financed through savings from fossil fuel expenditures. This integrated model transfers technology, knowledge, and governance capacity directly to communities, ensuring long-term energy ownership and economic self-sufficiency.
“The real impact of our work is felt beyond implementation in the fact that after we exit, the community does not feel abandoned. Instead it feels strong, it feels empowered, and it is capable of managing its own systems. That’s what sets us apart.”
-Karina Sar, Regional Coordinator for BCI Africa
What is their impact?
From 2022 to 2024, BCI trained 3,800 women Solar Engineers and electrified 212,500 homes, reaching 205,294 direct beneficiaries and 509,763 indirect beneficiaries across the Global South.
Communities achieve on average a 90% reduction in fossil fuel usage, a 78% reduction in respiratory and ocular illness, a 50% increase in household income, and a 35% decrease in energy costs. Educational attainment also rises by approximately 30%.
In 2024 alone, installations generated 75,466 MWh of clean solar energy annually, avoiding an estimated 132,000 tons of CO₂ emissions.
BCI measures impact through a structured Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework with baseline data collection and 6, 12, and 18-month follow-ups, ensuring systems are updated beyond installation and remain durable.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
How is Barefoot College International aligned with the Lipman Family Prize’s four key criteria?
Leadership
BCI demonstrates strong sector leadership by delivering transformative training skills to marginalized rural women who can expertly manage and maintain solar infrastructure. This community-driven model reframes energy as a shared asset rather than a commodity, accelerating adoption, improving system reliability, and delivering broader social and economic benefits across vulnerable rural communities.
Impact
BCI delivers measurable, multi-dimensional outcomes across energy, income, health, and education. With 212,500 homes electrified and a documented 90% fossil fuel reduction and 50% income growth, results are both scalable and sustained. Longitudinal MEL tracking up to 18 months strengthens credibility and demonstrates durable transformation.
Innovation
BCI innovates through a cross-literacy, multisensory pedagogy using hands-on learning, color coding, and peer instruction to rapidly upskill women with no formal education. By integrating solar engineering with financial literacy, health, and entrepreneurship, BCI reframes energy access from infrastructure delivery to holistic systems transformation.
Transferability
Operating in over 90 countries through Regional Training Centers, BCI’s model is adaptable across cultural and geographic contexts. Core components remain consistent: community selection, women-led technical training, local governance structures, and revolving funding. Standardized yet customizable curricula allow replication while maintaining local ownership and contextual relevance.
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