The sixty-minute 'Docu-drama' was seen on 'Wasaib', a local Seraiki channel and other local languages TV channels by the USAID, seeking to educate its audience about the benefits of adopting energy-efficient practices. USAID has developed an innovative approach to create awareness about energy efficiency and conservation through a week-long media campaign entitled 'Hafta Bijli Pani' (water & Power week).
This includes testimonials of actual beneficiaries of USAID's Tube Well Efficiency Improvement Program (TWEIP), TV commercials advertising the 50 percent subsidy available on energy-efficient pumps and for the first time in Pakistan a docu-drama that seeks to educate its audience about the benefit of adopting energy-efficient practices.
USAID through TWEIP is not just encouraging people to save electricity but showing them how they can actually do it. TWEIP seeks to make Bijli-Pani Week a quarterly activity aimed at farmers, advocating the adoption of energy-efficient practices. By replacing their old, energy-inefficient pumps with new, energy-efficient ones, farmers can experience substantial savings on their electricity bills while easing the load on Pakistan's already over-stretched grid.
The drama seeks to persuade local farmers and landowners through the lead character Karmoo. He is a relatively poor farmer who is nevertheless progressive in his thinking. The drama is based on the real-world challenges that many farmers like Karmoo actually face, like hiked electricity prices and inefficient tube well motor pump sets. Karmoo takes a leap of faith and replaces his pump with a new, more energy-efficient one, availing USAID's 50 percent subsidy offer. While other farmers are sceptical of his investment and initially think it's a scam, they soon notice Karmoo's thriving, lush fields and reduced electricity bills, wanting the same for themselves.