June 25, 2021
In the last three years, since the Energy Ministry began giving nomad families small solar panels to allow them to tap the sun for electricity, 16 percent of all the nomad families have applied for and received the panels.
“Of the total 250,000 nomad households, 40,000 in the remote areas now have access to electricity during their journeys,” Shapour Alaei-Moqaddam, deputy head of the Nomadic Affairs Organization, was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry.
Portable solar panels are small gadgets. Usually, they come with a kit that includes additional tools like a stand, cable, storage case, solar charge controller, inverter and a battery.
“Mobile solar panels generate enough power to help families meet their needs like charging emergency lights and cellphones and to watch TV in the deserts and plains,” Moqaddam said.
Nomads made up almost one-fourth of Iran’s population a century ago. Today, the number is below 2 percent with most living in South Khorasan, Fars, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari and Kohgilouyeh va Boyer Ahmad provinces.
Nomads in Iran produce more than a quarter of all of Iran’s red meat per year. Iran has 1.2 million nomads, breeding 22 million light livestock.
Nomads also have a 35 percent share in Iran’s carpet output and a similar percentage of handicraft production.
