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special edition
Outstanding Achievement Award presented to International Development Enterprises – India (IDE-I)
... the simple treadle pump, lifting farmers out of poverty ...
IDE-I, award winners from 2006 for their human-powered irrigation system, the “treadle pump”, have continued their emission reduction programme and since lifted more than 750,000 farmers out of poverty. They have focussed on distribution across India and diversification of their product line into a range of efficient irrigation technologies including drip irrigation systems.
Image: HRH The Prince of Wales
congratulates Amitabha Sadangi
from IDE-I, by Julian Dodd
ClimateCare have supported IDE-I and the treadle pump through carbon offsets since their initial Ashden win and are delighted to see them achieve this highest of sustainable energy accolades from the Ashden Awards.
Read on to learn about the effects and reach of the treadle pump project, presented in more detail in our Ashden Winners story below. The benefits, brought to 3.9 million people across 15 Indian states, are also discussed in ClimateCare's news where you can also view an Ashden project video.
The Ashden Awards; promoting sustainable energy solutions since 2001
Originally part of the Whitley Awards for Nature, the Ashden Awards were founded in 2001 by Sarah Butler-Sloss and became a separate awards scheme in 2003 with the addition of UK awards. The organisation’s overall mission is to "encourage the greater use of local sustainable energy to address climate change, alleviate poverty and improve quality of life" and in helping over 100 examples of 'green energy in practice' to date, they are doing just that.
In founding the Ashden Awards, Sarah Butler-Sloss hoped to raise awareness of the often overlooked role that local sustainable energy (efficiency measures and energy generated close to the point of use) has to play in tackling climate change. In expanding the awards to include UK projects, the benefit and reach of sustainable energy enterprise has contributed to the growing interest in sustainable activity, critically important in reducing emissions worldwide.
As a registered charity, funding for the Ashden Awards comes from a variety of trusts, foundations and corporations, including ClimateCare. Their work, alongside the awards themselves, includes supporting past winners through seminars, conferences, reports and work with the media on raising their profiles. Additionally, on occasion the organisation awards small grants to unsuccessful award applicants who would benefit from the financial assistance to move their enterprise forward.
Local action with a global reach
Crucially important for successful Ashden Awards is the potential for growth and replication on a large scale. The Ashden panel of expert judges (including representatives from Oxfam, the New Economics Foundation, Green Futures and ClimateCare’s Mike Mason) look for projects that have been successfully up and running for at least a year, reducing emissions, improving quality of life and contributing to improved health.
In a 2008 report commissioned by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), “Scaling up low carbon energy for the poor: learning from the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy” , it was found that ten Ashden Award-winning programmes alone were serving more than nine million beneficiaries. The report, produced by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), highlighted the significant potential for Ashden winners to provide accessible low carbon energy to poor households on an impressive scale. It proved that well-designed carbon finance can be the key to unlocking affordable low-carbon energy for the poorest communities.
Many existing programmes, operated throughout the developing world by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), now need funding to scale up and transfer their successful and innovative technologies. There are staggering volumes of people in need of energy services; according to the IIED, 1.6 billion people still rely on fuelwood and open fires for cooking and 2 billion have no access to electricity. The network of SMEs, using a range of business models, show a social orientation to bring low carbon energy to the people using local expertise and supply chains. Striking a careful balance of incentives between emission reduction and community benefits, access to international carbon finance could have an ever greater impact on local, sustainable action. The report goes on to convey that "international finance institutions and national governments have important enabling roles" in fostering entrepreneurship and continuing the success of these programmes.
ClimateCare’s partnership with the Ashden Awards
ClimateCare has been a proud supporter of the Ashden Awards for the last eight years, and this year saw J.P. Morgan ClimateCare as their official Carbon Finance Partner. Our sponsorship and support has enabled many of the winners to implement and develop their sustainable projects further.
Sustainable ventures we have supported through the Ashden Awards include efficient ‘Justa’ stoves in Honduras (2005), the fuel efficient Patsari stove in Mexico and the human powered treadle pump in India (both in 2006), Daxu stoves in China designed to burn crop waste (2007), Sunlabob Renewable Energies’ solar power bringing electricity to rural villages in Laos (2007) and the Kisangani Smith Group in Tanzania developing fuel-saving stoves (2008).
Most notable of this list is the 2006 award for IDE-I’s treadle pump initiative which has progressed and developed so successfully as to win this year’s Outstanding Achievement Award. We continue our support of the low carbon treadle pump with its inclusion in various of our portfolios of emission reductions available to fund through the purchase of carbon offsets.
The Awards Ceremony
Image: Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai
Image: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, by Julian Dodd
His Royal Highness gave a thoroughly inspiring keynote speech to the 15 finalists and ceremony attendees, remarking that, "the major value of these awards is that they demonstrate what is possible, not only for small scale projects, but what is achievable for the whole world".
2009 Ashden Award Winners
The Ashden Awards have three categories under which they support innovation; UK, UK Schools and International. All UK-based awards this year demonstrated the enthusiasm that businesses, organisations, teachers and children have for the introduction of sustainable and environmentally beneficial projects. They continue to see the bringing together of communities and business specialists turning their ideas and interests to tackle the roots of climate change. Full case stories and project videos are available at www.ashdenawards.org. The emission reduction work undertaken by ClimateCare maintains a focus on projects outside of the UK, where they offer potential to receive funding from within the carbon finance arena.
This year’s international winners, chosen for their innovative, scalable programmes are:
Aprovecho Research Center (ARC) and Shengzhou Stove Manufacturer (SSM), USA/China
Since the 1970s ARC have pioneered the design of efficient stoves for high volume production. Today their work, in partnership with SSM of China, has been recognised by the Ashden Awards as invaluable practice in the efforts to curb climate change.
The stoves, sold globally since 2008, bring major environmental benefits through a 50% reduction in the fuelwood required for use; a significant gain when set at scale. But they also offer a dramatic improvement in health to their users, cutting 70% of carbon monoxide and particulate emissions compared to a traditional fire.
The mass-produced, portable, cheap and durable stoves are in use across Argentina, Chile, India, Madagascar, South Africa and Tanzania. Dean Still, Chief Executive of ARC commented; “our product is carefully tested in order that SSM can produce efficient stoves fit for purpose”. But the user coverage itself is a notable achievement given that some programmes in different parts of the world have failed where a stove design, despite being efficient, was not liked or accepted by local users.
View full Aprovecho case study (PDF)
ECAMI (Empresa de Comunicaciones, SA), Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, 31% of the population are without electricity. Where mains grid is missing, solar power is an obvious choice for operating many systems used for everyday life. The work of ECAMI in covering the provision of renewable energy systems was driven by, and has now overtaken, their original line of business, communications.
ECAMI, a family business founded in 1982, is a diverse business providing high quality photovoltaic (PV) energy solutions for a range of applications. The company has a strong commitment to improving the lives of the rural poor and they work closely with NGOs and community organisations.
Over the past four years' rapid growth ECAMI have installed over 400 kWp of PV through solar home and larger service systems. Their work has brought light and communications for schools and police stations, village water pumps and power to mobile phone masts. The Commercial Manager of ECAMI, Max Lacayo Cortes gives the example of the benefit their work can bring, saying "the solar-powered water pumps we installed to bring clean water to one village have eradicated cholera there".
View full ECAMI case study (PDF)
GERES, Ladakh, India
High up in the North West Indian region of the Himalayas, temperatures can fall to -25C in winter, at which point fresh vegetables have to be imported by air or truck. This leaves many locals unable to afford vegetables at all.
With some pioneering thought and cooperation with local organisations, French NGO GERES has harnessed the potential in the readily available sunshine by establishing simple solar greenhouses. The project has allowed people in Ladakh access to improved nutrition through the production of a year-round crop.
The villagers' gain extends beyond nutrition to a boost in income, as they are able to sell their excess fruit and vegetables as well as exchange them within local communities or extended families. Mrs Sonam Angmo, a local GERES farmer, tells how the increase in income supports her daughter's studies in Jammu, "and infact there’s such a demand for fresh food that we’re now planning on building a second greenhouse" . It is estimated the benefits are reaching one quarter of the local population, or 50,000 people.
View full GERES case study (PDF)
International Development Enterprises, India (IDEI)
The 'Farmer's Friend' (or 'Krishak Bandhu') is actively changing the lives of the poor in India, and on a considerable scale. Three quarters of a million treadle pumps (human powered irrigation systems) have now been sold through International Development Enterprises-India (IDE-I). This simple system offers growing stability to the 98 million small-holding farmers who otherwise rely on monsoon water for their land.
As a result of regular irrigation from inexpensive treadle pumps, farmers have seen production increases and incomes treble, reducing the need for them to migrate and enabling them to send their children to school. IDEI originally won an Ashden Award in 2006 for its treadle pump supply chain network, and with recent expansion plans to sell in the region of 2 million pumps by 2010. They are also diversifying into other irrigation technologies.
Since 2006, newer versions of the treadle pump include horizontal transfer systems to different fields, one with higher flow rates for use where the water table is shallow, and a coastal model with anti-corrosive parts. Most recently IDE-I's innovation team have produced low-cost drip-irrigation systems to further reduce the amount of water needed, as well as delivering it efficiently.
View full IDE-I case study (PDF)
Kampala Jellitone Suppliers, Uganda
Born out of the need for an alternative fuel for their coffee-roasting business, Kampala Jellitone Suppliers (KJS) invested in equipment to make briquettes from agricultural residues. The successful story that KJS presented to the Ashden panel is one of true diversification to meet renewable demand. The organisation now produce briquettes for sale as well as install efficient cook stoves for the purchasing institutions to use them.
Their briquetting machines have a capacity of around 2,000 tonnes per year, and by March this year they had installed 1,309 institutional stoves within 36 organisations. The briquettes produced replace wood and charcoal, fuels previously used by the institutions, thereby reducing deforestation, an activity which is directly threatening high concentration regions for biodiversity across Africa.
The emissions savings accumulating thanks to the enterprising KJS team are in the region of 9,300 tonnes CO2 per year, or 6.1 tCO2 per tonne of briquettes. But in addition to this valuable saving the cooks enjoy reduced smoke, heat and charcoal dust when using the KJS stoves, as well as faster cooking times due to increased efficiency. The project offers significant potential for expansion across Uganda, using the readily available agricultural residue.
View full KJS case study (PDF)
Saran Renewable Energy, India
People in Sarah District, a rural region of Bihar in India, people live with a basic and poorly maintained infrastructure, seeing frequent black-outs of electricity and an unreliability of power. Saran Renewable Energy (SRE), a family-owned business, set up to smooth over this irregular supply, by building a biomass gasification plant that produces electricity for sale to small, local businesses.
Biomass used for the gasifier is all locally supplied, the bulk of which comes from a native woody plant called 'dhaincha' which is a rapid growth plant. At present the company are converting their supply to generate electricity between 10:00 and 21:00, and ten of the main customers are people who previously ran diesel generators for their power production.
SRE have seen demand double since last year, with electricity customers now including grain and oil mills, a sawmill, a welder, a battery-charging station and the villages' generators. The benefits seen include additional incomes from the sale of agricultural waste to the plant and increased employment in the area.
View full SRE case study (PDF)
Solar Energy Foundation, Ethiopia
Much like the base scenario in Saran District (SRE project above), reliable electricity supplies are not available across many rural regions of Ethiopia. The Solar Energy Foundation (SEF) has been installing solar home systems (SHS) using photovoltaic technologies to provide a small supply of electricity to individual homes and workplaces.
Due to the lower cost and simpler maintenance structures established by the SEF, villagers in rural Ethiopia are choosing solar energy over diesel generators. The SEF has begun an international solar school to train technicians in the installation and maintenance of solar systems, who can then provide support to their local solar users.
Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are about 650 tonnes CO2 per year, from the 2,100 SHS installed to date. The organisation plans to install a further 8,500 systems by December 2009, with the advent of four more Solar Centres, run as franchises, within Ethiopia.
View full SEF case study (PDF)
Visit the Ashden pages on the ClimateCare website where you can read the Ashden background and link out to other ClimateCare projects including the IDE-I’s treadle pumps.
The Awards, photographs and full case stories are available on www.ashdenawards.org
References
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