Powering Change Women, Clean Technology & Climate Resilience in Gujarat’s Saltpans

Women salt workers in Gujarat’s Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) region operate within one of India’s most climate-vulnerable and resource- constrained environments, where livelihoods are closely tied to the Rann’s landscape and natural systems and are increasingly exposed to rising temperatures and climate stress. Situated within India’s broader renewable energy transition and global climate commitments, this brief examines how the shift to solar pumps in salt farming is reshaping women’s work, wellbeing, and resilience, while highlighting inequalities that shape access, ownership, and benefits.

The brief positions solar technology as both a climate adaptation strategy and a pathway for strengthening women’s economic resilience. Drawing on a mixed-methods study conducted between 2023 and 2025 with Agariya women salt farmers, the study combines quantitative surveys and qualitative methods to examine changes in energy use, socio-economic outcomes, and women’s lived experiences of adopting solar technology. Women reported reduced input costs, increased production, and higher savings, which were reinvested in housing, education, and health. 

Importantly, women’s ownership of assets and participation in decision-making increased significantly, with many gaining greater bargaining power in both markets and households. However, the study demonstrates that technology alone is insufficient.

SEWA has played a central role in enabling this transition through trainings, financing, facilitation, and collectivisation. The evidence underscores that clean energy transitions can drive inclusive and resilient
development. However, the impact is transformative only when supported by gender- responsive systems that center women’s participation, ownership, and leadership. The key recommendations are as follows:

Centering women in technology design and deployment - Ensuring that women’s lived experiences inform the design, adoption, and governance of clean technologies to improve usability, uptake, and long term sustainability. Expanding access and affordable financing - Scaling gender-responsive financingmodels, including subsidies, flexible loans, and de-risking mechanisms, to enable equitable access to clean energy technologies. 

Building capacities -Strengthening women’s technical and managerial skills in operating, repairing, and
managing renewable energy systems, while supporting collective platforms that enhance leadership and peer learning. Strengthening enabling policy and institutional ecosystems - Integrating gender considerations into climate and energy policies while aligning subsidies and regulatory frameworks and ensuring long-term support for decentralized renewable systems. Advancing women’s agency and ownership -Promoting women’s asset ownership, expanding financial literacy and strengthening women’s role in household and market-level decision-making.