Though the enormous potential for small hydropower (SHP) projects in Kerala had been discussed and written about for 15 years now, the radical plunge from theory to social practice was made only in the last five years. That, too, by a few individuals who dared to challenge the hegemony of the technocrats.

In the hill regions of Kerala, several enterprising individuals and local technicians have set up small home-based power generation units from local streams, with materials that are locally available. The first reported effort came when the Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT), a non-governmental organisation, and the Steel Industries Limited Kerala (SILK) attempted a microhydel project at the Sugandhagiri and Pookode tribal rehabilitation settlements in Wayanad. But conflicts between government departments over who should maintain the systems soon turned this experiment into a total failure.

However, in 1997, a group of Appropriate Technology enthusiasts attempted the first social MHP intervention at Asan Kavala in Kannur district. The plan was to set up a generation station to supply power to 10 houses who would pool the initial cost. But nine out of the 10 houses backed out and the project had to be scaled down to one kilowatt generation at an investment of Rs 24,000. But once this was set up successfully, the other houses joined in the initiative.

The word spread fast. Villagers in Pathanpara, Kannur, teamed up with Samuel Thomas, Anil Kumar and Sahadeven