Beyond Solar Pumps: What It Takes to Build Climate Resilience for Informal Women Workers
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The World Bank estimates that without effective adaptation measures, climate change could reduce living standards for nearly half of India’s population by 2050.[1] For thousands of informal women workers across India, climate adaptation begins with something more fundamental than clean technology: securing livelihoods, accessing essential services, and having the resources and agency to navigate an increasingly uncertain future.
This was the focus of recent state-level dissemination and consultation held in Ahmedabad, where ICRW-Asia and SEWA shared findings from there collaborative research on the Agariyas, women salt pan workers in Gujarat’s Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) region, a region producing nearly 60% of the state’s salt[2], but increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable rainfall, sandstorms and declining ground water.
The ICRW-SEWA collaborative initiative, drawing on mixed-methods research with over 500 women salt pan workers, found that when climate solutions are designed around women’s lived realities, supported through accessible financing and strengthened by collectives, adaptation becomes more inclusive, sustainable and scalable.
Lessons from LRK
Under the Cleaner Sky (Swachh Aakaash) campaign, SEWA partnered with several key players including financial institutions, the government, and private sector players to ensure that women were able to access affordable credit, undertake training in solar equipment repairing, access government subsidy and sustain the large-scale transition from diesel to solar water pumps in the Rann.
However, despite increased production and a marked ease felt in operating machinery since the advent of solar, several challenges including access to essential services, healthcare and sanitation, education and housing in the Rann persist.
From evidence to action: state-level dialogue on women-led climate action
In her keynote address, Dipa Singh Bagai (Country Director, NRDC India), noted that while considerable attention has been devoted to urban energy transitions, the energy needs and realities of rural women continue to receive far less attention—a gap that grassroots organisations like SEWA have worked to address over the past decades.
Representatives from government departments, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), ReNew Power (CSR), and research bodies pointed towards the role of women collectivisation and skill development in scaling models or prototypes like SEWA’s Hariyali Gram (Green Village) initiative. The transformative potential of these investments was echoed by women representatives from the community, one of whom shared:
“Earlier, I earned ₹4,000–5,000 through salt farming. Now, after receiving training in solar repair work, I earn nearly ₹10,000–15,000 a month.”
At the heart of these conversations lies a broader shift in thinking…
The dialogue reinforced that climate adaptation cannot be measured only by the scale of technology adoption or emissions reduction. It must also account for women’s agency, occupational safety, asset ownership, and access to essential services.
For informal women workers like the Agariyas, climate risks intersect with gender norms, livelihood insecurity, limited infrastructure. Addressing any one domain, in isolation, will not produce lasting resilience. Instead, as India continues to advance its climate ambitions, evidence generation and interventions must recognise these interconnected realities and drive coordinated investment across the ecosystem.