powering the poor

8/10/2019 Powering the Poor

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POWERING THE POORProjects to increase access to clean energy for all


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Contents

ii Foreword

1 IntroductionPowering the Poor

5 Women Become Solar WarriorsSemi-literate women in Bhutan are pioneering a community-based approach to provide remotevillages with solar lighting.

12 Micro Hydro Lights up a VillageAn innovative scheme in a far corner of central Philippines has cut energy costs andengendered a new community spirit.

20 Pumping Life into LandA southern Negros Occidental community in the Philippines has improved crop and livestockproduction after receiving water from a nearby river through a ram pump.

28 Boosting BiogasBy helping Vietnamese farmers convert animal waste into clean energy, an ADB project willimprove health, cut fuel costs, and raise agricultural output.

36 Agents for ChangePrivate franchisees are managing electricity networks in rural Assam, Indiaand are bringingbetter service, bigger revenues, and a prot.

45 Credit to ConnectSri Lanka is building upon a successful pilot project to provide loans for poor households to jointhe electricity grid.

This publication was conceived by Samuel Tumiwa, coordinated by Shaanti Kapila, andfacilitated by the South and Southeast Asia Departments.

The publication was nanced through the Energy for All Initiative regional technical assistancefunded by the Government of the Netherlands.

Ian Gill wrote the stories and took the photographs.

Note: In this publication, $ refers to US dollars.

Acknowledgements


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Foreword

Energy fuels economic growth and poverty reduction. Reliable and efcient energy services underpin theexpansion of economic and employment opportunities, the continuing progress in social development, andthe sustained improvement in standards of living.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) actively supports its developing member countries (DMCs) to develop andimprove energy services. From 1990 to 2008, ADB has lent over $24.5 billion for energy projects, extendingelectricity and modern fuels to hundreds of millions of people in Asia and the Pacic.

The effort to increase access to energy must continue. Today, many of the poorest and most vulnerablecommunities in Asia and the Pacic still live without access to modern energy. Through its Energy for AllInitiative, ADB is committed to helping achieve energy access for all people in the region. This commitmentis in line with ADBs corporate strategy (Strategy 2020) focusing on inclusive growth, and is reafrmed inADBs 2009 Energy Policy.

We seek to work with other partners to identify and develop new approaches for extending access tomodern energy to the many peopleespecially in poor and remote areaswho remain off the grid. We aresupporting the formation of a new regional partnershipthe Energy for All Partnershipwith the objective toexpand access to energy to an additional 100 million people in Asia and the Pacic by 2015.

The past offers useful insights as we move forward toward the goal of universal access to affordable andreliable modern energy services. Indeed, there are valuable lessons to be learned from energy accessinvestments in the past, including innovative projects that ADB has nanced. In these pages, we presentstories from six projects implemented in ve countries. They illustrate the challenges of extending access toenergy through nontraditional approaches. They underscore how simple innovations can overcome persistentenergy poverty. They reveal the power of modern energy to transform lives and communities, often inunexpected ways. Together, these stories shed light on how access to energy could be extended to millionsmore people around the region by expanding and replicating similar approaches. We hope that the projectsfeatured in this publication will provide useful guidance and inspiration to our ADB colleagues and otherpartners in the region.

Xianbin YaoDirector GeneralRegional and Sustainable Development Department


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Ingenious solutions are needed to bring access to energyto a billion people beyond the reach of power grids.

The shopping malls, ofce towers, and high-

end apartments in the capitals of developingAsia and the Pacic mask the dark fact that,in the rural areas, almost a billion people

in the region still do not have electricity. Most livein far corners beyond the reach of power grids. Forsuch communities, off-grid and environmentallyfriendly solutions need to be found.

The stories in this volumetold through villagersand those helping them on the groundportrayresourceful ways of giving marginal communitiesaccess to clean and renewable energy.

The case studies look at different types of energy

projectssolar, micro hydro and biogasas wellas innovative approaches in implementing andnancing projects. We hope that governments mightnd some of these innovative solutions suitable forreplication or upscaling in their country.

To be sure, the outcomes are exceptionally positive.As the villagers movingly attest, electricity hasmade lives safer and easier. In the forest or themountains, an electric light offers protectionagainst potential predators, human or animal. InBhutan and Sri Lanka, for example, villagers report

Poweringthe Poor

In Bhutan, Nim Pem is one ofseveral barefoot warriorsbringing solar energy to remote

villages

This village elder is benetingfrom a micro hydro schemethat has brought electricity toan isolated corner of Negros

Occidental in the Philippines

Introduction


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that snakesoften venomousleft theirhomes after electricity was installed.

Among major health benets, electricityenables mothers and midwives to deliverbabies at home more easily. Cookingwith cleaner fuel also reduces the risk of

respiratory disease caused by the smokeof kerosene, wood, or straw. Health clinicsoperate more efciently with electric lightthan with torches.

Overwhelmingly, villagers report signicantsavings in money and time when they nolonger have to search for rewood or woodresin or travel to the nearest town to buycostlier kerosene.

Electricity eases a hardscrabble life byallowing men to use solar-powered lanterns

to nd straying animals, women to cook andclean, and children to study or play afterdark.

Through television, cell phones, andeven computers, electricity increasesconnectivity, bringing marginal communitiesinto the mainstream with information andentertainment.

Signicantly, too, power enables villagersto engage in income-earning activities to

augment a subsistence living from the land.Women tell of making candles in Bhutan orconical hats in Viet Nam.

Providing remote communities with accessto energy is no easy matter, however. Thesmall size of the communities and theirlack of access often make it uneconomic toinclude them in a power grid.

In the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, where

a visit to a settlement can involve a trek ofup to 3 days, one answer is to provide solarpanels that can be carried up mountains andacross rivers by back. To take care of thetechnical issues, one project has trainedvillage women as barefoot engineers whocan assemble components as well as installand maintain panels. To instill ownershipand ensure continuity, a system is in placefor villagers to contribute to a fund forspare parts and to pay the homegrownengineers for repairs.

So far, the project has benetedslightly more than 500 households.With modications, the approach couldbe expanded to cover more than4,000 off-grid households and communityinstitutions.

In the countryside of Negros Occidental inthe Philippines, one project has installeda micro hydropower scheme in a riverto transmit power to nearby villages. Inanother scheme, a ram pump, powered

only by water pressure, carries water froma river to irrigate the elds of a rice-growing settlement. In both cases, the

PHOTO

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his girls elder sisters areoing to college because aam pump system is irrigatingand in Tara village in the

entral Philippines

In Viet Nam, vegetable growerHoang Dang Phach will raisecrop production after switching

to biogas


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community has taken over the operation andmaintenance of these energy systems.

In Viet Nam, a biogas project sprang out ofa need to meet growing environmental andhealth problems caused by the proliferationof untreated animal waste on small farms.

The result: by using household plants thatconvert pig manure into clean gas and slurry(organic fertilizer), tens of thousands ofsmall-scale farmers have lower health risks,reduced energy bills, and higher crop yields.

In examples of ways to improve servicedelivery to rural consumers, this publicationlooks at two projects in South Asia. Withmanpower and resources in short supply, theelectricity authority in the state of Assamin India has found a novel way to improvecustomer services while increasing revenues

and cutting power losses. It has outsourcedthe running of rural networks to business-oriented, community-based franchisees whotake better care of grassroots consumersand improve billing and collection services.

In Sri Lanka, many poor households arewithin a power grid but cannot afford thecosts of wiring their home and connectingto the grid. A pilot micronance scheme hasenabled nearly 15,000 households to takeout small loans to pay for these costs and

make repayments in affordable installments.This project, too, is now being rened andexpanded.

In poor communities, the nancialsustainability of projects can be a majorchallenge. In these case studies, ADBprovided the capital outlaythrough a grantor loanto get the projects off the ground.Some were nanced from ADBs Japan Fundfor Poverty Reduction, set up specically

to explore innovative methods of ghtingpoverty.

Once initiated, however, the projects aremanaged and maintained by communitiesmotivated by gains in quality of life, incomegeneration, and sense of empowerment.

Electricity has not, traditionally, been ashigh on the list of poor peoples prioritiesas shelter, safe water, or other healthsafeguards. But it enhances life in so manyways that it quickly becomes essential.

Once a family has electricity, it doesntwant to lose it.

As developing countries seek to provideuniversal electrication in the comingdecades, they will need ingeniouswayswhich are economically andtechnically feasibleto help marginalizedcommunities and hard-to-reach areas. Thispublication aims to help them nd suchsolutions.n

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I n t r o d u c t i o n

This school girl gets morereliable power since an Indianstate utility outsourced rural

networks to franchisees

In Sri Lanka, a mother andchild live in a community wheresmall loans are available to

connect to the grid


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In the struggle to acquire technical skills, the women had to

overcome a language barrier as well as an unfamiliar diet and

hot climate.

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Women BecomeSolar Warriors

Semi-literate women are pioneering a community-based

approach to provide remote villages withsolar-powered lighting.

JANGBI, BHUTAN: Not long ago, Seldenwas a typical teenager in rural Bhutan.Shy, and without much schooling,she knew little of the world outside

Jangbi, a tiny settlement perched 1,350meters above sea level and a 2-hour trekfrom the nearest road.

Today, after a 6-month course in India, sheis an engineer who assembles photovoltaic

panel components and installs and repairssolar systems. She is among 35 womendubbed solar warriorsin the front lineof a pilot community-based project to bringsolar lighting to the furthest reaches of thisHimalayan kingdom.

Last year, the women were chosen to takepart in a Rural Electricians Training Program,nanced by a $1 million grant from ADBs

W o m e n B e c o m e

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Engineer Selden checks a solarpanel in Jangbi: A shy womanwith a sense of empowerment


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Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, and

carried out by Indias Barefoot College, aneducational nongovernment organization(NGO) that promotes development of thepoor by the poor.

Introducing a bottom-up approach inBhutan, Barefoot College visited severaldozen non-electried villages over3 months, explaining the project andinviting communities to choose candidatesfor training in India.

In the struggle to acquire technical skills

at Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan,the Bhutanese women had to overcome alanguage barrier as well as an unfamiliardiet and a hot climate. The women alsobattled self-doubt. I am not very educatedand I wasnt sure I could do it, says PemChoden, from the southern village ofTshangkha.

The result, however, confounded skeptics.Within 3 months of returning home, the

barefoot engineers set up workshops in

their villages and installed panels on therooftops of 504 households in 46 villagescovering 13 districts. They also rehabilitatedunits that had fallen into disrepair from anearlier scheme.

I am astonished that these women, facingculture shock and without advantage of thewritten word, were able to learn somethingcomplicated and come back to do somethingvery useful, says Chime P. Wangdi, directorgeneral of the Tarayana Foundation, aBhutanese NGO that is interested in helping

Barefoot College with the training. Therespect that these girls gained from theirtransformation is terric.

The government is watching the projectkeenly. With modications to make itmore sustainable, the project could bemainstreamed and replicated, says MewangGyeltshen, head of the Renewable EnergyDivision of Bhutans Department of Energy.

Barefoot engineer PemChoden: Set up a workshopin Salamji village

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Hydropower drives 100% of Bhutans

electricity grid and is a major exportto India. But some 4,000 householdsrepresenting about 400 villagesare in suchisolated locations that the only economicsolution is to provide them with off-gridpower systems like solar home lighting andmicro hydropower systems.

Some of these villages are reachable onlyafter a 3-day drive and a 3-day hard trek,says Gyeltshen. The government supportssolar programs, but lacks manpower andresources. We need grassroots NGOs to help

implement and monitor projects in the leastaccessible areasand to enhance a sense ofownership.

The issue has become more urgent sincethe new government, after the countrysrst democratic elections in March 2008,has decided to advance its target forelectrication for all to 2013 from 2020.

Community ownership is key to the project

and Barefoot College inked agreementswith villages to make monthly contributionsto a fund to buy spare parts, especiallybatteries, which need to be replaced every35 years. Villagers also agreed to pay theengineers for repairs.

Beyond question, beneciaries widelyappreciate solar power. One major benetis that the cleaner energy has replacedkerosene and wood resin, which producesmoke that damages lungs and blackenshomes. Its easier to keep the home clean as

kerosene fumes made everything dirty, saysMon Maya Rai, a mother of eight in the villageof Salamji, in the southern district of Dagana.We even save on soap for washing clothes.

Fetching and carrying kerosene alsoconsumed a lot of time. It would almosttake a day to walk down the mountain andclimb up with ve or six liters of kerosene,

Young engineer NimPem in Gogona

Villagers and monks at Gogonavillage: Head man JamyangDorji (front) says solar powersaves time and money



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says Phuuntsho, a resident of Phumzorvillage, near Jangbi.

Farmersmostly sharecroppers, paying partof their crop as rentuse solar-poweredlanterns to nd straying animals after dark.Sometimes, a bull arrives in the middle

of the night and starts a disturbance withone of my cows, says Lal Bahadur Rai,of Salamji, as he watches his son wield aplough behind a pair of bullocks. I have toget up and take the bull back to where itbelongs.

Lighting helps women to cook and childrento study in the evenings. Teachersgrumble less about getting untidy and dirtyhomework done in sooty conditions, notesTarayanas Chime.

Life has also become safer with solar power.The midwife said it was much easier todeliver our son with solar light rather than

a smelly kerosene lamp, says Shamdal Lal,whose wife delivered one of Salamjis rstbabies since solar power was installed in2008.

The risk of getting bitten by snakessomepoisonoushas also dropped. We used to nd

snakes in the home, says Sang Dorji, a Jangbifather of four young children. But we haventseen one since we have light at night.

At Jangbis clinic, health worker JambayDorji says, Its much easier treating peoplewith cuts now that we have electricityitshard to hold a torch and stitch a wound atthe same time.

By extending the work day beyond nightfall,electricity is also allowing women to makebaskets, rope, and other items for domestic

use or for sale. In Langthel district,Tarayana, under its own project, organizedincome-generating activities such as nettle-

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Two mothers talk at Salamji:Expectant mothers have foundit easier and safer to give birth

with solar-powered lighting

We would like enough solar energy to run computer

labs in remote schools because our rural children are

falling behind.

Chime P. Wangdi

Director-General, Tarayana Foundation

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weaving or making candles and soap oncesolar lighting arrived in 2006.

Tshengdu Choden, of Beling village, joineda self-help group to weave place mats,runners, and towels out of nettles. At rst,she wove in the evening after a day on

the farm, but now that she can earn upto 30,000 ngultrum (Nu) ($610) in a goodmonth, she is weaving full-time.

It is a similar story with a candle-makinggroup in nearby Encholing. Rinchen Wangmoused to make candles after dark. But theactivity has become protable enoughsome candles nd a market in high-endhotelsthat she and other women use theirworkshop during the day as well as at night.

Communicationsa lifeline in inaccessible

areashave strengthened as solar poweralso charges cell phones and computers.

We would like enough solar energy to runcomputer labs in remote schools becauseour rural children are falling further andfurther behind in this new information age,says Chime, with an eye to the future.

To be sure, the project has made apromising start in empowering communities,but concerns about its sustainability remain.

One issue is that many of the rst batch ofengineers were younger women who might

Solar power enabled RinchenWangmo to take up candlemaking: Now she works

during the day as well

Health worker Jambay Dorjitends to a child at the clinicin Jangbi: Easier havingelectricity than usinga torch

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marry and move away from their villages.Three women in Salamji and Gogona, for

example, married and became pregnantsince completing the course.

Barefoot College had aimed to attractmature women who are anchored to theirvillages, but found it difcult to persuadesuch women to leave home for severalmonths.

One solution would be to provide traininglocally. Tarayana is willing to sharetraining with Barefoot College and haseven earmarked a facility for this purpose.

Training in the local language and reducingthe stress of going abroad should also drawmore settled candidates.

Financing is another challenge to long-term viability. Barefoot College had signedagreements with communities to contributeNu50Nu100 ($1$2) a month to a fundto buy spare parts, including batteries.But such amounts are too low to ensuresustainability, according to Ilaria Caetani, an

ADB social development specialist workingon the project. If people contributed at

least what they had previously spent onkerosene, they would still be gaining if youcount the time saved as well.

Solar systems, though provided free underthe ADB project, cost from Nu26,000 toNu36,000 ($530 to $735). Batteries are alsoexpensive, costing from Nu4,000 to Nu5,000($80 to $100).

In spite of the agreement, at least onecommunity has stopped monthly contributions.Moreover, some families are not paying the

solar warriors for repairs. It makes me feelbad. My parents scold me when I do repairswithout getting paid because they say thereis work to be done at home, says NimPem, a young engineer in Gogona, WangdueDistrict. Apart from not being paid, Nim saysthat she, like others, has not been told whatto charge for spare parts.

One solution to the nancing issue would becost-sharing, says the Energy Departments

A child at Jangbi communityschool: More hours forreading at night

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Gyeltshen, with the government shouldering70% and villagers 30% to begin with.

In addition, to strengthen communityinvolvement, he suggests enhancing theprofessional capacities of the governmentsdistrict engineers, who might then liaisewith village representatives to make theservices more responsive to the changingneeds of rural people.

To augment the income of the barefootengineers, whose work is part-time,Gyeltshen says they could branch out intoother activities and become commerciallyviable general service providers.

Resolving such issues is challenging ina country where physical access can bedifcult and manpower and capacity are inshort supply.

In the end, success will depend on thevillagers and how much they value their newresource. To be sure, the incentive is strong.As one analyst observes, Once people getelectricity, they dont want to lose it. n

A government ofcial usesa cellphone at Trongsa:A vital communications linkfor isolated communities

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Tshengdu Choden startednettle-weaving in the evenings:Now she does it almostfull-time



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An innovative scheme in a far corner of Negros Occidental has cutenergy costs and engendered a new community spirit.

Micro HydroLights Up a Village

BALEA, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL: Whenresidents of Balea, a remote hamletwithout electricity in the hills of NegrosOccidental, were asked if they wanted

their own power system, they were skeptical.

They werent swayed by the fact that a microhydropower system would be installed forfreefunded under a $1.5 million grant fromADBs Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction. Norwere they impressed that the power they wouldreceive would be cheaper than the kerosenethey used or the electricity charges of powergrids.

People were hesitant and even the communityleaders were asking so many questions, recallsMayette Gersaniva, a community organizer

tasked with mobilizing support for the project.The people didnt believe the project wasgenuine. They thought we were using it to makemoney at their expense. Some even thought,especially when we were doing the surveying,that we were looking for hidden treasure.

That was in 2005. Four years later, the residentsof Balea own and manage a 7.6 million pesos (P)($170,000) micro hydropower system that not

only makes life easier but has also created acommunity spirit.

The hydro system temporarily diverts waterfrom a nearby river to turn a generator andproduce up to 32 kilowatts of electricitybefore returning the water to the river. Thescheme is part of an innovative RENEWNegros project to provide renewable

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The micro hydro unit: Plans toextend transmission lines toanother village

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Balea Falls on Lat-Ason Creek:Source of energy for a microhydro scheme

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energy to isolated villages that lack accessto the electricity grid. The project also hasa revolving fund that provides small loans tohelp increase villagers livelihoods.

In Balea, the most important outcome maycome from the communitys experienceof working for a shared goal. Before theproject, people concentrated on survivingand did not have much time for each other,says Gersaniva. But they came togetherfor training in all aspects of managing theproject. Now they have morepakialam(social responsibility) and are more sociable.People use occasions like birthdays to throwa party and invite everyone.

The project is signicant because, ifproven nancially sustainable, it could bereplicated and scaled up in other isolatedareas with appropriate hydropowerconditions. It also represents an example

of the private and public sectors workingtogether.

The biggest challenge was to enlist supportfrom a community that was long accustomedto life without electricity. Electricity is nota top priority among the rural poor, saysJim Orprecio, project director for WinrockInternational, a nonprot rural developmentagency that is implementing the scheme.Rural people attach more importance to

Bookkeeper Dodie Patubay(left) and other members of tcooperative: Pride and a senof ownership

The biggest challenge was to enlist support from

a community that was accustomed to life without

electricity.

Jim Orprecio

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As evening falls, Balea turns into a much livelier place

than it was a year earlier.

food or health or childrens education. They

buy kerosene, battery-powered torches, orcandles only if they have extra income.

Despite this, at an orientation meetingattended by residents of Balea and twoother sitios(hamlets), many understood,that the opportunities offered by theproject far outweighed the costs. Over40 households signed up to join cooperativesthat would run the project. Others followedas leaders were elected, committeesformed, and training programs organizedon topics such as leadership, nancial

management, and policy formulation.

Several people received technical trainingand are operating the power house that lies3 kilometers from the village at the base

of the Lat-Ason Falls within the barangay

(district) of Laga-an, Calatrava.

Nearly two thirds of Baleas residents41 out of 67 householdsare members ofa cooperative that runs the generatingunit as well as the transmission anddistribution system that carries power toindividual households. After fees to jointhe cooperative and a one-time connectioncharge (nanced through a loan providedby the project), members pay a at rateof P5.60 ($0.12) per kilowatt-hour, lessthan the nearly P7 ($0.15) charged by the

agencies that operate the national grid.A at rate of P50 ($1.07) is charged forthose who consume 10 kilowatts or less amonthenough to power a light bulb or two.But the average member pays from P100

Members of the Baleacooperative outside theircenter

A rice mill that runs onhydropower: A cooperativeventure that could be protable

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($2.14) to P150 ($3.21) a month, says thecooperatives bookkeeper, Dodie Patubay.

By late February 20098 months after theproject became operationalit becameapparent that groups as well as individualswere beneting.

In this rice-and-corn growing region, onecooperative project is a P307,000 ($6,578)rice millusing funds borrowed under theprojects credit componentthat started inNovember 2008. The mill, which removeshusks and bran frompalay(unmilled rice),has the capacity to process 18 sacks (800kilograms) a day. By charging P1.50 ($0.03)per kilogram, it could become fairlyprotable. To fully utililize the mill, thecooperative proposes borrowing P600,000($12,857) for an enterprise to purchase

palay, process it, and sell white rice. Theplan includes buying a second-hand truck focollection and distribution.

Electricity has brought big savings forsome. Our electricity is much cheaper

Josefa Mahinay with kerosenelamps that precededelectricity: A potential dangerif they fall

Balea children attend thisnearby school: Parents need to

monitor TV-watching

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than using kerosene, says Baleas biggestindividual consumer, Vicente Maquiller,who runs several enterprises as well asgrowing rice and sugar cane. Even with hisrelatively heavy use, Maquiller, who is alsochairperson of the cooperative, reckons hismonthly electricity bill averages only P600

($12.86).

As evening falls, Balea turns into a muchlivelier place than it was a year earlier.There is singing in the villages rst karaokebar, which opened 2 months after electricityarrived. This is a venture of JessetteCalandingan, who also runs a sari-sari(convenience) store next door. I bought thevillages rst color television and karaokeequipment last July and lots of peoplestarted coming, she says. Sales at her

store have risen from P100 to P300 ($2.14to $6.43) a day to P500 to P1,000 ($10.71to $21.43). A noted local entrepreneur,Calandingan used to operate a generator thatsupplied power to 10 households for3 hours a daybut says it becameunprotable when the generator began

needing repairs.

A few doors away, Daisy Maquiller, Vicenteswife, is serving a customer at one ofBaleas three general stores. We bought arefrigerator last December to serve cold beerfor the rst time, she says. As a result, thestore has become a meeting place and staysopen for longer hours. Villagers dont have tond their way home in the dark, eitherthehamlet now boasts seven street lights.

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Rice and sugar cane farmerVicente Maquiller: Fuel bill is

much lower

We bought a refrigerator last December to serve

cold drinks for the first time.

Daisy Maquiller

Sari-sari store owner

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Children are better able to do homework

with electric light rather than strain theireyes with a kinky(kerosene lamp), saysJosefa Mahinay, demonstrating how lampsoften have to be tilted to enable the wickto absorb more fuel. However, electricityhas also brought a dozen or so televisionsto Balea over the last few months and thiscould have an adverse impact on studying.If children are watching more television,they may study less, says Nellie Gemida, ateacher at nearby Lagaan Elementary School,which Balea children attend. Electricitymostly has a positive effect, but parents

have to motivate the children to study.

Even the local pastor, Epifanio Cuizon, aBaptist, says he gains from electricityhehas started prayer and fellowship meetingsin the evenings.

There are plans to extend power lines fromBaleas hydro scheme to another sitio,Calapnusan, 3 kilometers away. Eager toparticipate, many Calapnusan residents

have already paid to join the scheme.

Moreover, Winrock has played a key role innegotiating with provincial and municipalauthorities for funding towards theP2.4 million ($51,428) cost of theexpansion. This underscores the importanceof cooperation between private and publicpower entities.

The biggest headache facing the projectwas delays in implementation, often dueto bureaucratic paperwork. We needed toget all sorts of approvals. For example, thegovernment had to approve the design for

the power operation. We also needed toensure that the installation of the systemwould not have a negative effect on thewatershed and the environment, saysWinrocks Orprecio. Such delays led somepeople to wonder if the project would everget off the ground.

These delays led to the project beingextended for a year. Even so, the projectis struggling to disburse loans through the

Community organizer MayetteGersaniva sings at a karaokesession: Power scheme hasbrought villagers together

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revolving funds before it closes

in July 2009. One lesson welearned is that the disbursementsystem has to be up and runningmuch earlier in the projectcycle, says Orprecio.

Overall, however, results so farindicate that the project is ontrack to achieving its main goals.

I am happy and condent thatthe community can continue tomanage the project once our

work is nished, says Gersaniva.

As Orprecio notes, Balea andother sitiosnow have sustainablesystems that bring them all theconveniences of electricityand,importantly, they have pride anda sense of ownership because itstheir system. n

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A child of Balea: Reading isless strain on the eyes

Jessette Calandingan at theconvenience store beside herkaraoke room: Sales havejumped

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TARA, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL: Littlewonder that Erlinda Pronto wants

more for her daughters than herhardscrabble life in Tara, an isolatedsitio(hamlet) in the heart of sugar canecountry, 85 kilometers south of the NegrosOccidental capital of Bacolod.

At 48, and one of several children oftenant farmers, she knows well the cycleof seasonal employment, low income, andhigh indebtedness that trapped generationsof farm workers. But she has also seenthe start of diversication from a sugar-dominated economy into rice and corn

and the slow shift from a feudal societyinherited from a colonial era.

In the early 2000s, Erlinda and her husbandNoel were among the 70% of the Tara SmallFarmers Association that received smalllots under the Philippine governmentsComprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.From a half-acre lot beside the dirt trackthat is Taras main road, they extract tworain-fed rice harvests a year to feed theirfamily of ve.

The big break for the Prontosand theassociationcame with the installation of

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A southern Negros Occidental community has improved crop

and livestock production after receiving water from a nearby river

through a ram pump.

Pumping Lifeinto Land

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Willie Granada (left) and cooperative member monthe ram pump system: Wafrom the river is divertedthe collection tank (top land down to the pumps


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a hydraulic ram pump in March 2004 thatbegan piping water from the Bingig Riverthat runs below the hamlet.

This extra irrigation water has enabled

the Prontos to harvest a third crop of riceyearly, as well as grow vegetables like okra,string beans, and malunggay(moringa).Importantly, the income from selling theadditional 60 cavans (3,000 kilograms) ofricea net 37,000 pesos (P) ($792) afterdeducting P5,000 ($107) for expenseslike fertilizerhas helped them give theirchildren new opportunities.

We use the vegetables to improve thechildrens diet and the rice income to

send our older daughters to college,says Pronto. One daughter, 21, is due tograduate this year in law enforcement fromBinalbagan College and the other, 18, isstudying to be a teacher at West Visayas

State University.

The Prontos are among 43 memberhouseholds of the Tara association thatagreed to take part in a RENEW Negrosproject, funded under a $1.5 milliongrant from ADBs Japan Fund for PovertyReduction. The project, which closes inJuly 2009, has a dual purpose. One is topilot renewable energy schemes with thehope of making them replicable elsewhere.The second, building on the work of

Erlinda Pronto and her husbandNoel: More water provides an

extra rice harvest every year

We use vegetables to improve the childrens diet

and rice income to send our older daughters to

colleges.

Erlinda Pronto

Farmer

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nongovernment organizations (NGOs) andchurches, is to use a community-basedapproach to encourage self-reliance anda sense of empowerment in a regionwhere lack of opportunity has engendered

widespread poverty, dependency, andhopelessness.

Under the agreement with the Taracooperative, RENEW Negros offeredto install a ram pump system, sharingcosts with the Alternative IndigenousDevelopment Foundation (AIDFI), an NGOthat promotes hydraulic pump systems, andthe farmers, who would contribute labor byworking for half-pay at P50 ($1.07) a day.

To ensure the pump system would last,

Winrock International, a nonprot NGOimplementing the project, organizedtraining for the farmers, not only to manageand maintain the system but also to improveskills such as nancial management andlivelihood development.

The ram pump system, devised over200 years ago to raise water in a Frenchpaper mill, is an ingenious, simple, andinexpensive method of using the force of alarge amount of water falling from a small

height to lift a small amount of that waterto a greater height.

At Tara, this involves using a weir to divertpart of the Bingig River to a collection tankthat is higher than the ram pump. From thetank, water ows by gravity to the pumpsystem. It pushes open a valve to force airand a smaller amount of water, throughanother valve, up a pipe to a distributiontank on a hill. From there, water is fedto four subsidiary tanks and the lots ofcooperative members. Using no power

other than owing water, the system isself-perpetuating. Since it uses few movingparts, it also requires little maintenance.

Although only 20% of Taras 240 householdsare members of the farmers cooperative,

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Jim Orprecio (left) and RosePeruelo (third from left) indiscussions with cooperativemembers Fely Talatala (secondfrom left) and Willie Granada:The community manages and

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the project benets the wider community.Over the past 5 years, it has transferrednearly 450,000 liters a day to Taras landsand has signicantly raised the groundwaterlevel.

With higher moisture content, the whole

area becomes lusher, promoting bettergrowth not only for plants but for animalslike snails and insects which, in turn, are asource for animal feed, says Jim Orprecio,project director for Winrock International.

Wells that were dry now have water, saysWillie Granada, the 61-year-old formerchairperson of the cooperative. Peopleused to take their carabao(water buffalo)to the river once a day for drinking, nowthey can do it in the village. Its a big helpfor the community.

Just over half of the cooperative membershave gained directly from increasedirrigation of their farm land, says Granada.His own rice production has jumped 80%,and he is producing new crops of ampalaya(bitter gourd), beans, eggplant, and papaya.

Fely Talatala, vice chairman ofthe cooperative: One ofthe goals is increasing self-reliance

A water buffalo by theBingig River: A higher levelof groundwater means somecarabao can drink onvillage land

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Many families in Tara started piggeries as a result

of the project.

Rose Peruelo

Livelihood Officer

Even members whose farm lands lie beyondthe systems current distribution networkderive substantial gains. Ninfa Agenga,secretary of the association, has a wellthat is working again and a thriving piggeryas a result of the extra water for herhome garden. The well water is used for

washing and, when boiled or chlorinated, isdrinkable. Under a credit component of theproject, she took out a small loan to starther piggery.

Many families in Tara started piggeries asa result of the project, says Rose Peruelo,a livelihood ofcer employed by RENEWNegros to provide livelihood training. Theyhave discussed other activities but swine-raising has been the most popular.

Sitting in their dilapidated wooden center,members of the cooperative reect onwhat they have achieved and debatethe future.

Although the cooperative has P50,000($1,071.42) in savings from members

capital contributions, it is reluctantto invest in pipes to extend the waterdistribution network to some membersoutlying farms.

Local politicians provided funds for somesatellite distribution tanksstill unusedand this led the cooperative to hope thepoliticians will also help expand the 700-meter network of pipes. This reectsthe traditional dependency on politicians,

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Feeding the pigs: River waterhas encouraged more membersof the Tara cooperative to raise

swine



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26

who make promises but dont always keep

them, explains Orprecio.

On lessons learned, Orprecio says the Taracooperative still needs strengthening insome aspects of community organizationfor example, in becoming more self-reliant.One difculty in this area was that, whenRENEW Negros introduced the project, theTara association was inuenced by a churchNGO that was wary of the new scheme.

We had to go through the existing NGO to

organize meetings and training programsand this caused delays, says Orprecio.This meant that our community organizingwork fell behind.

On the technical side, too, Orprecio saysthe distribution system could be improved,with more gate valves to optimize water useand ensure that water is directed more toareas where the need is greater.

Members of the Tara SmallFarmers Association at ameeting: Irrigation water fromthe river has raised crop andlivestock production

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The Tara Cooperative needs strengthening in some

aspects of community organizationfor example,

in becoming more self-reliant.

Jim Orprecio

Project Director


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Despite such aws, no one in Taraor

the ve other sitioswhere RENEW Negrosprovided ram pumpsquestions the benetsof increased water supply.

Demand for such systems remains strongdespite the economic downturn, saysGilbert Quirido, an ofcer with AIDFI,the main fabricator of ram pumps in thePhilippines. Based in Bacolod, the NGOprovides a package that includes pre-project surveys and training programs.

After installing 20 ram pumps systems in

2008, AIDFI put in a further eight pumpsin the rst 2 months of 2009, says Quirido.Underscoring the replicability of the system,the NGO has installed ram pumps in otherparts of Asia, including Afghanistan, andSouth America.

As well as raising productivity on smallfarms, the pumps are helping a newgeneration, like the Pronto children, to havemore choice in how to lead their lives. n

2

Er alit velesed tate ea consedmodolutat luptatem dui blanulla feuguer cidunt la cortin

Pigs eat better: Highermoisture content producessnails and insects

Ninfa Agenga, secretary of theTara cooperative: Has a piggeryand a well that has water again



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GIA BINH DISTRICT, BAC NINHPROVINCE, VIET NAM: Two

neighboring farmers show howanimal waste is contaminatingViet Nams soil and waterand how thegovernment is helping farmers tackle thisproblem.

For 30 years, Nguyen Duc Dam has beenraising pigs at his home in Dong Cuu village,Bac Ninh province. The pigs manure createsa stench and draws ies and mosquitoes.Some of the waste is disposed of througha pipe, which empties into a nearbycommunal pond. As a result of toxicity, sh

have long vanished from the murky pool.We used to eat sh from the water, butI havent seen any sh around for severalyears, says Nguyen Thi Thanh, a youngmother who lives beside the pond.

A short walk away, in contrast, Tran VanDinh maintains two spotlessly clean pigsties by his house. There is neither smellnor ies. The reason: Dinh feeds the wastefrom his pigs into a biogas digester, a

BiogasBoosting

By helping farmers convert animal waste into clean

energy, an ADB project will improve health, cut fuel

costs and raise crop production.

small underground plant that converts rawmanure, through fermentation, into a clean

gas and slurry. Dinh and his family use thegas for cooking and lightingand the slurryto fertilize their rice and fruit crops.

Eight years ago, a complaint about the odorfrom a neighbor prompted Dinh to invest ina 5 million dong (D) ($280) household biogasunit. By using biogas instead of other fuels,Dinh reckons he saves as much as D500,000($28) a month.

Moreover, his wife, Vu Thi Huyen, no longercooks with straw, which took time to gather,

and which hurt her eyes with smoke. Sheuses the time saved to work on the farmor home or to make conical hats for sale.With electricity from a biogas-poweredgenerator, daughter Huyen also has moretime for homework.

Dam would like a biogas digester but,like most of Dong Cuus 600 households,cannot afford one. These days, a householddigester runs to between $520 and $550.

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B o o s t i n g B i o g a s

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Construction of biogasdigester at Giap Ngo village:Small loans will help morefarmers install one


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The issue of contamination has becomemore urgent as Viet Nams livestock sectorof which pigs make up 80%has beengrowing at around 14% for the past severalyears. Each year, an estimated 70 milliontons of waste is composted or washed away

through rivers or ponds.

This contaminates groundwater, soil, andair and affects the quality and safety ofagricultural products, says Nguyen ThanhSon, deputy director general of the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentsLivestock Production Department, which isimplementing Viet Nams biogas program.

Raw manure contains parasites, bacteria,and salmonella that contaminate peopleand animals. The fermentation process

destroys most of the pathogens, saysJeroen Kruisman, a senior adviser with SNV

Netherlands Development Organisation,which has the helped the governmentdevelop the national biogas program since itbegan in 2003.

In addition, using clean biogas for cooking

reduces the respiratory diseases caused byusing smoky fuels such as wood or strawinkitchens that are often poorly ventilated.

The SNV-supported national program built60,000 biogas plants by the rst quarter of2009, and plans to add 106,000 by 20112012. If the target is achieved, the programwill have reached at least 55 out of VietNams 63 provinces.

We had a few small-scale biogas projectsin the 1990s, but SNV put our national

program on a scientic and systematicbasis, says Son. The training and quality

The issue of contamination has become more urgent

with rapid growth in the livestock sector.

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Health is top priority forNguyen Duc Thuyen: Hisgrandchildren and friends playoutside

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of the construction of the biogas units arevery good.

Building on this, ADB approved a projectin March 2009 that includes a $19 millioncomponent to provide credit to construct

16,000 biogas units by 2010and 40,000units by 2015in 16 provinces. Theassistance is part of a much larger loan tobroadly improve the quality, quantity, andsafety of commercial food crops as Viet Namdiversies crop production and increasesfood exports.

According to a recent survey conductedby SNV, the credit component shouldboost the program signicantly, as morethan 80% of 260 households surveyedsaid that a shortage of capital was the

biggest constraint in buying a biogas unit.Under the national program, SNV and theprovincial governments provide a subsidy ofD1.2 million ($68) per unit, or 13%15% ofthe cost, but many farmers cannot affordthe balance.


3A Dong Cuu piggery withoutbiogas unit: Stench,ies, and mosquitoes

Pig breeder Tran Van Dinh:Odorless sty has stoppedcomplaints

Mason Do Hoang Anh Chau:Supervising construction of abiogas unit in Que Vo district


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To handle the credit, ADB plans to usenancial intermediaries with experience inthe rural sector. The annual interest ratewill be xed at 55% of prevailing marketratescurrently about 11%says Son, who isalso deputy director of the ADB project.

Signicantly, the new project will not onlyexpand the national biogas program to venew provinces, but will also upscale thebiogas units. As well as providing householdunits, the ADB project will consider how toincrease the size of biogas units to servelarger and more commercial end-userssuch as community projects and smalland medium size enterprises, says MahfuzAhmed, the ADB principal natural resourceseconomist who processed the project. Thiswill include developing pilot demonstrationunits.

To be sure, the national program alreadyhas a sound foundation. The northernprovince of Bac Ninh, for example,constructed 4,538 biogas units from 2003to the end of 2008. We estimate eachunit saves an average of D1.2 million ($68)

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Farmers wife Nguyen Thi My:Wont have to bicycle to townto buy rewood

Fish breeder Dang Viet Chuong:Pig manure provides nutrition forhis pond

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for each household per year that wouldotherwise have been spent on rewood,straw, coal, or kerosene, says Nghi QuangToan, vice director of Bac Ninh Agricultureand Rural Development Department. By thiscalculation, the units built in the provinceare saving D5.4 billion ($306,450) a year, he

adds.

Besides this, the program uses slurry forfertilizer, which reduces environmentalpollution; saves labor for women andchildren in nding and chopping wood; and,thirdly, it provides jobs for masons andconstruction workers, says Toan.

As elsewhere, activities in Bac Ninh includepromoting the biogas program throughtelevision and various farmers, womens

and youth groups, training masons andworkers in building biogas systems, andteaching households to use and maintainthe units.

In 2009, Bac Ninh plans to build 1,000unitsbut still cannot keep up with demand.

We have a long waiting list, says Toan.

In Dong Cuu village, Nguyen Thi Vu got theidea of a biogas unit from a neighbor andborrowed, mostly from relatives, to buyone. She gets just enough gas to cook forher family and her livestock, but wishes shehad enough gas to process rice wine, forwhich she still uses charcoal.

She says she found it easy to understand theinstructions on operating and maintaining

3

A eld in Que Vong district:Slurry is an organic fertilizerthat increases crop yields

Women save an average of 1.8 hours a day by using

biogas, according to an SNV report.



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the system. Dong Cuu village comes underthe purview of project technician NguyenHong Quang, who has been sensitizingfamilies with awareness programs since2003.

With varying educational backgrounds,some families nd the system hard tounderstand and others are unwilling touse biogas, says Quang. But there hasbeen increasing acceptance, shown in thegrowing number of units we have built.

Farmers have different priorities whenchoosing biogas. Health protection is themain reason cited by Nguyen Duc Thuyen,a 60-year-old farmer who used to haverespiratory problems when he smoked. Ourliving quarters and the piggery are close toeach other and the ies and smell from thewaste would be unbearable, he says, whilewatching his grandchildren play in his yardat Trai Duong village, Que Vo district.

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Mother Nguyen Thi Thanh:Hasnt seen sh in the pondfor years

Farmer Vu Thi Huyen:Biogas gives her moretime to make hats

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Saving time is especially appreciated bywomen, who save an average of 1.8 hours aday by using biogas, according to a report,says SNVs Kruisman. I have to go twice amonth to a shop 5 kilometers away to getrewood for cooking and the round triptakes the whole morning, says Nguyen ThiMy, who is having a unit constructed at herhome in Giap Ngo village near Truc Son. Mygoes by bicycle, loading the rewood intoa wire basket attached to the back. Herhusband, Hoang Dang Phach, plans to useslurry to fertilize their nearby vegetable

farm.

Organic fertilizer can increase crop yieldsfrom 5% to 20%, compared to chemical-based fertilizers, says Kruisman.

In appropriate quantities, slurry can alsobe used for aquaculture. In nearby LuongXa village, sh breeder Dang Viet Chuongsays he puts all his slurry into a large pond

where he grows carp, bream, and dory.The shpond is big enough to take all theslurry I give them, he says.

This unique project has many win-windimensions, notes ADBs Ahmed. It startedout as an environmental project to improvefood and water safety. But it also dealswith health and labor issues for women, forexample.

On the environmental side, it is estimatedthat the installation of 40,000 biogas

digesters under the ADB project willreduce CO

2emissions by 40,00060,000

tons a year. ADB is mulling developingClean Development Mechanism projects togenerate carbon-derived revenue.

Such ideas will become more feasible asViet Nam, which has established the biogasmodel at the household level, readies toscale up the project for larger end-users.n

Nguyen Thi Vu making ricewine: Still uses charcoal butwishes she had enough biogas

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for Change

Agents

Private franchisees are managing electricity

networks in rural Assam, Indiaand are

bringing better service, bigger revenues,

and a profit.

36

Powering the Poor India

The state utility, with insufficient manpower to service

thousands of scattered consumers, has outsourced the task.

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SUALKUCHI, ASSAM, INDIA: Tenantfarmers Nilima Baishya and herhusband, who eke out a living aftergiving half their crops to a landowner

for rent, took advantage of a governmentoffer to connect their home to theelectricity grid free of charge in 2005.

With evenings illuminated for the rst time,by four light bulbs, they have invested intwo spinning looms to earn extra incomefrom weaving. Their children can alsostudy longer. We used to go to bed earlyto reduce stumbling around at night,says Nilima, who lives at Tokradia village,

A g e n t s f o r C h a n g e

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Agent Kumud Medhi talks toNilima Baishya: Close linkswith the community


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Hajo district, an hours drive north of theAssamese capital of Guwahati. We payaround 190 Indian rupees (Rs) ($4) a monthfor electricity, but this is much less thanwe paid for kerosene, which was sometimeshard to get.

Another neighborhood family decided tostart a chicken-rearing enterprise whenpower supply to the village began improving4 years ago. This business relies onelectricity to power a large lamp that hangsover the chicks as they scurry around thecoop. The lamp provides warmth as wellas light and the chicks are active when it ison, they eat and drink more, says PramilaKalita, mother of the household, as shefeeds the tiny birds. If there is a power cutand it is dark, they hardly move.

In the nearby hamlet of Nampara, ricefarmer Khagen Lahkar recently switchedto using electricity instead of diesel for hisirrigation pump that provides water duringthe long dry season. The extra water helpshim grow three crops a year of rice andmustard seed. My fuel bill has come downto nearly a third and I dont have to go

38

Planting rice in the dry season:Electricity-powered pumpprovides water

Pramila Kalita distributes food:The chicks eat and drink morewhen the lamp is on

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around looking for diesel anymore,he says.

These villagers in Indias northeasternstate of Assam are examples of thousandswho are beneting from better electricitysupply and services since the Assam

State Electricity Board (ASEB) appointedfranchisees to manage rural networks ontheir behalf.

With insufcient manpower to servicethousands of rural consumers scatteredover an elongated area the size of Ireland,the state utility decided to outsource thetask of managing and servicing networks toprivate agents.

These agents and their staff manage thedistribution of power at the local 400-volt

network level through a so-called singlepoint power supply (SPPS) scheme.

Their job is to enhance the efciency of theow of power between transformersthesingle pointsand consumers by reducinghuge system losses. They are also taskedwith improving schemes for billingconsumers and collecting revenues.

If it works well, this publicprivatepartnership arrangement produces win-winoutcomes for all parties: more revenuefor the government, better service for theconsumers, and prot for the entrepreneur.

ADB helped create an enabling environmentfor private sector involvement through itsAssam Power Sector Development Programin 2003. Around the same time, ASEB beganits publicprivate partnership distributionfranchising scheme.

So far, ASEB has appointed 752 SPPSfranchisees across the state in areas with

Their job is to enhance the flow of power between

transformers and consumers by reducing huge

system losses.

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Sualkuchi street: Improvedelectricity services since 2005


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40

low or no operations and maintenance,irregular billing and revenue collection,and high technical and commercial losses.

Their ambitious goal is to provide accessto electricity for all. Currently, over 20%of Assams 25,000 villages are withoutelectricity and many of the rest receivepower for a couple hours a day or less.

Clearly, the franchise model dependsheavily on nding suitable agents. This isno easy task. Agents must have enoughcapital to pay a large security deposit toASEB and, to be successful, must possessbusiness and technical skills, and be trusted

members of the community. Success alsodepends crucially on power generationin a state where peak demand greatly

outstrips supply. As one franchisee notes,We provide a service. If there is no power,there is no service.

One area where the model is working wellis Sualkuchi, a semi-urban settlementknown for its cottage weaving industry.In Sualkuchi, 35 kilometers northwest ofGuwahati, ASEB manages distribution forover 40% of the 5,500-odd consumers buthas farmed out 57% to three franchiseessince 2005.

Farmer Khagen Lahkar:Switched to electricityfrom diesel to irrigate his land

An agent should be someone people trust and who

can respond to their concerns.

Kumud Medhi

Head of Youth-Care

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4

Within months, the agents achievedstartling results. They reduced commercialand technical losses from 60% to 19%.

Most commercial losses were caused bypilferingrigging wires to bypass meters.Agents reconnected the meters and sealedthem to prevent tampering. This broughtcommercial losses to almost zero. Thefranchisees also brought down technicallossesmainly through low-cost measuressuch as moving transformers to betterlocations, balancing distribution, andremoving branches from wiresto anaverage of 13%.

Under ASEB, many consumers have to travel

some distance to pay bills. As a result, manybills are paid lateif at all. In contrast,Sualkuchi agents, through their staff in thecommunity, have increased billing efciencyto 81% from 47% and raised revenuecollections by 214% since 2005.

Achieving these outcomes hasnt been easy,however. Some people physically resistedefforts to reconnect the meters. Otherconsumers call with complaints at all hours

of the day and night. Agents handle suchissues according to their personality. Welisten to their complaints nicely and this will

satisfy them until we solve the problem,says Kumud Medhi, a mild-mannered agentwhose father was a well-known teacher inthe community.

In contrast, Mridul Bharali, who has a sternvisage and whose father was a mouzadar(land revenue collector), runs his franchisewith a stricter hand, not hesitating todisconnect those who cheat the system orfail to pay on time.

Its an important part of our strategy

to have agents who are part of thecommunity, says Champak Barua, deputygeneral manager of the Lower AssamElectricity Distribution Company. An agentshould be someone people trust and whocan respond to their concerns. Kumud,who heads the Youth-Care franchise, saysintegrity is another important attribute.There are many loopholes for abuse foragents and their staff, he says.

Weaver Anita Das: Workingtill late at night for festivals



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Despite the challenges, Kumud, whomanages networks in several communities,says he is interested to expand. The mainobstacle, he says, is the capital requiredagents need to place a security depositequal to 2 months bills with ASEB. Inreturn, agents earn their money through

buying power from the state at a 10%discount and receiving commissions on extrarevenue.

Given the need for leaders with capital aswell as nancial and technical expertise,it is hardly surprising that Sualkuchifranchisees may be the exception ratherthan the rule. Many franchises south of theBrahmaputrathe mighty river that dividesAssamare not operating as well as thosenorth of the river, says an ASEB ofcial.He often encourages agents to consult and

learn from their Sualkuchi counterparts.

Such agents would also be encouraged byenterprises, schools, and hospitals in andaround Sualkuchi. In a weaving factory inBangsor, Bina Sarania is among 20-plusweavers who often work long hours to

produce silk garments, especially thetraditional Assamese mekhalaand chadar.During the Bihu(harvest) festivals andDurga Purga, we work till late at night andwe need light to operate the looms, shesays.

At Sualkuchi College, principal BilashChandra Das says staff and pupils needreliable power in the science laboratoriesas well as to operate computers. We alsoappreciate the fans when the temperaturesoars in summer, he adds.

The superintendent at Sualkuchi ruralhospital, Dr. Kartik Ghandra Medhi, saysuninterrupted power is important for neo-natal treatment, including photo-therapyfor babies with jaundice, and for ultrasoundprocedures.

With such obvious benets, Assam wants toextend the franchise model throughout thestate. ADB plans to support a $1.1 billionproject with a loan of up to $250 million,expected to be approved late in 2009. Thisproject will increase Assams generating

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Weaver Bina Sarania at Bangsorfactory: Needs light whenworking at night

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capacity by providing access to hydropowerand natural gas outside the state, notesLen George, an ADB consultant in theeld. It will also improve transmission anddistribution systems.

As importantly, it will scale up the SPSS

franchise in other rural areas. This modelbenets the poor and has shown it can benancially sustainable, says Naoki Sakai,an ADB energy specialist (private sectorparticipation). The project will includetraining as well as hardware to expand thefranchise system.

By helping social services and generatingincome opportunities, greater access toelectricity is sorely needed in a state wherenearly half the population lives below thepoverty line and half the educated youth

are jobless. n

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Schoolgirls at Nampara:Electricity helps with thehomework at night

Injecting a child at Sualkuchirural hospital: Power keepsvaccines at low temperature



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Akalanka packages spices: Anelectric blender would saveprocessing time and money

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HAMBANTOTA, SRI LANKA: HerathRanjan makes a modest livingshing off the southern coastaldistrict of Hambantota. But these

days, he and his wife Ureka are also earningmoney from a small general store, incomethat has grown since they began receivingelectricity.

Their big break came when, soon after theyopened the roadside shop in front of theirhome, a power distribution line reachedtheir neighborhood in Godawaya.

They wanted electricity, but could notafford the upfront cost to wire theirpremises and connect to the grid. So theytook out a loan of 15,000 Sri Lanka rupees

Credit to

ConnectSri Lanka is building upon a successful pilotproject to provide loans for poor households to

join the electricity grid.

(SLRs) ($130) to cover most of these costsand have since been paying off the loan inaffordable monthly installments.

With electricity, they installed a refrigeratora gift from a sister abroadin the shop. As aresult, income from trading, spurred by salesof refrigerated products, is rising faster thanfrom shing. Some of our best selling items

are ice cream and cold drinks, says Ureka.We also use the fridge to store leftover shand sell it over the counter.

As well as enabling the couple to prot fromtheir investment, electricity allows Ureka towatch soaps on television and the childrento study in better conditions than with akerosene lamp.

C r e d i t t o

C o n n e c t

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The family received their loan at below-market interest rates through a pilotproject, Power Fund for the Poor, nancedby ADB through a $1.5 million grant from itsJapan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

The fund targeted poor households whoare within range of a grid but lack theready funds to access it. Connection costsalone these days run from SLRs15,000 toSLRs20,000 ($130 to $170).

From 2004 to 2009, ADBs revolving fund,handled by micronance institutions,brought electricity to nearly 15,000households.

Building on these results, ADB approvedin April 2009 an assistance package of$164 million for a Clean Energy and AccessImprovement Project, which includes a$3.5 million loan for another revolving

micronance fund.

In scaling up, the new credit program aimsto bring at least 15,000 households into thegrid by 2010 and a further 60,000 by 2016.This supports the governments goal to raisecountrywide electricity coverage from 82%to 88% in 2016.

The pilot project was initially implementedthrough two micronance institutions,

46

Fisher Herath Ranjan (right):

Has found a faster-growingincome than from the sea

The new credit program aims to bring

75,000 households into the grid by 2016.

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though one lost interest after deciding tofocus on commercial lending.

Most of the work of promoting the programand handling the loans was undertaken

by Sarvodaya Economic EnterpriseDevelopment Services (SEEDS), a nonprotgrassroots organization with a track recordin rural development.

Using its extensive domestic network,SEEDS at rst implemented the project infour districts, later expanding to eight.It employed two loan recovery ofcersfor each of the districts: Anuradhapura,Hambantota, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matele,Monaragala, Petaluma, and Polonnaruwa.

SEEDS disbursed 7,000 loans and, assistedby a remarkable loan recovery rate of 97%,was able to provide a further 7,000 second-generation loans. Cumulatively, between2004 and February 2009, SEEDS disbursed

14,639 loans totaling SLRs235 million($2 million), according to Alex Jayawardena,SEEDS assistant director for banking.

The main challenge was to identifybeneciaries and assess their ability torepay loans, says Jayawardena. To qualifyfor a loan, families needed to have anincome of at least SLRs6,000 to SLRs7,000($50 to $60) a month and contribute 20% ofthe connection cost.

C r e d i t t o

C o n n e c t

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Rangana Thushara and wifeAyomi at their roadside shop:Staying open longer hours

The main challenge was to identify beneficiaries and

assess their ability to repay loans.

Alex Jayawardena

Assistant Director for Banking, SEEDS


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SEEDS charged an interest rate of 16%per annumsignicantly below prevailingcommercial rateson loans that averagedSLRs15,000. We could also be exiblewhen, for instance, farmers had troublewith repayments after a poor harvest, he

adds. We could waive interest charges orextend the repayment schedule.

As a result of their investment, familiesnow enjoy a better quality of life andsocial status as well as economic gains andsecurity, says Sisira Mohotti, a consultantwho evaluated the project in 2007. Half thefamilies in a survey said they had cut energybills after switching to electricity fromkerosene, according to his report.

A grid connection can also increase personalsecurity. The number of res and burns tochildren caused by falling kerosene lampshas been reduced, says Mohotti. Also,youths with intent to rob are less likely toapproach a home which has a light on.

Another important benet is entertainmentand information brought through television.A TV is one of the rst things a familybuys once they get connected, says NihalWickramasuriya, an additional generalmanager for Ceylon Electricity Board,the state utility. The government seestelevision as an important vehicle forinformation dissemination.

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Farmer ManthilakaGunaratna will pump waterfrom this well: This willirrigate unused land and

grow new crops

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Since we have electricity, we find fewer snakesaround the house.

Mangalika Widyapathige


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A visit to isolated parts of hilly Monaragaladistrict in southeast Sri Lanka underscoresthe benets of having electricityand thedisadvantages of being without.

Living at the end of a grassy track in the

village of Kuda-oya, Mangalika Widyapathigeand her husband Francis took out a loanof SLRs15,000 ($130) to electrify theirhome. They have to nd outside workto supplement a subsistence living fromgrowing corn and bananas in a one-acregarden. Francis works as a laborer in a sugarcompany. Mangalika spent 11 months as amaid in Kuwait before having to return afterbreaking a leg.

Now Mangalikas hard-won comforts includean electric iron that has replaced a clunky

iron that used burning coconut husks asfuel. Holding up the two irons, she says theold one used to overheat and burn holes intheir clothes. She also bought a television

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Mangalika Widyapathige uses anelectric iron: The clunky iron onthe left used to burn clothes

Children in a village in

Hambantota district: Electricitybrings longer evenings


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and enjoys watching dramas, while her19-year-old son Indunil prefers educationalprograms.

Since we have electricity, we also ndfar fewer snakes around the house thanbefore, she says.

In striking contrast, Pushpa Malkanthi,bending over a manual sewing machinein a small, dark dwelling in nearbyKonketiya village, is waiting eagerly for herapplication for a power connection loan tobe processed.

Her son Akalanka is sitting on the oor ina corner, sealing packets of ground chili tosell in the market. With electricity, weplan to buy a blender so we can grind spicesat home instead of taking them by tricycle

to be processed in town, she says. Thereserved, hardworking woman will also beable to sew and make coconut oil in theevenings.

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Pushpa Malkanthi is waiting tobe connected: Will be able tosew in the evenings

Storekeeper Ureka:A refrigerator helps sellice cream and soft drinks

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Beside the main road, Rangana Thusharaand his wife Ayomi run a shop sellingsupplies to pupils and staff at a nearbyschool in Buduruwagala village. Theyopened in December 2007, and appliedfor a power connection loan a few monthslater. Business grew 50% since we got

electricity, says the young entrepreneur.I keep the shop open in the eveningsand I also make money copying CDs on mycomputer and renting out a cell phone.

In Randenigodoyaya village, where rainfallis scarce, farmers are investing in gridconnections so they can use electricpumps to increase irrigation and cropproduction. Pointing to a deep well,Manthilaka Gunaratna says he will pumpwater to land that is currently unused andhe plans to grow new crops like beetroot.

He has already bought pipes and is using aSLRs25,000 ($214) loan to buy a pump aswell as a connection.

His wife Podimenike is a communityleader who is encouraging others to followsuit, says SEEDS recovery ofcer Nishant

Bandara. As a result, says Bandara, he hasarranged 3 loans and hopes to sign off onanother 30.

Meanwhile, villages around coastalHambantota are seeing an increase inconstruction activityand demand forpoweras the district continues to recoverfrom the devastating tsunami of December2004.

In the village of Mriggiwila, brick makerKamkanange Chandraratne says business has

Farmers are investing in grid connections

so they can use electric pumps to increase

irrigation water.

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Brick maker KamkanangeChandraratne: Has doubledproduction by hiring laborersat night


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boomed since he electried his workshopwith a loan. By hiring two laborers to workat night, he has doubled production tomeet demands from the steady stream ofsuppliers who come to his door.

In nearby Sisilasagama, carpenter Sugath

Wasantha is fashioning wood with anelectric-powered multipurpose tool inthe workshop at the back of his home.He borrowed SLRs20,000 ($170) for a gridconnection, and grosses about SLRs30,000($250) a month by making furniture andframes for doors and windows. His pregnantwife Nadeeka cools herself with an electricfan and says her next priority is to buy atelevision.

In this bustling district, loan ofcer AnilDammika says repayment rates average 98%.The project has been so successful that hewould like to see loan ceilings raised.

In its expanded micronance program,ADB is incorporating changes as a result of

lessons learned from the pilot project.

One difference is that the state utility willadminister the credit component insteadof the micronance institutions. Thepilot project had a mechanism for loanrepayments but not for paying electricitybills, says CEBs Wickramasuriya, who isinvolved in the latest project. Under thenew arrangement, customers will include

Carpenter Sugath Wasantha:Uses an electric tool to fashionfurniture and frames

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The new program will continue to rely heavily ongrassroots service providers.

Tomoyuki Kimura

ADB Principal Energy Specialist

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loan repayments when they pay theirelectricity bill to CEB.

This will further improve the loan recoveryrate as CEB has a legal mandate to recoverbilled energy charges. In addition, therevised procedure will bring more revenue

to a heavily-indebted CEB, which runs ruralelectrication programs to meet societysneeds, but at a loss.

The new program will continue to relyheavily on grassroots service providers tointeract with the community, sensitizingpotential consumers, evaluating their creditworthiness, and assisting them to pay theinstallments, says Tomoyuki Kimura, whoprocessed the project for ADB as a principalenergy specialist.

Above all, the program will providethousands more families with access to thegridand make their lives safer, easier, andmore protable. n

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Women in Tsunami village,Hambantota: Higher socialstatus and better quality of life

Loan ofcer AnilDammika talks witha client at TsunamiVillage in Hambantotadistrict: He would liketo see loan ceilingsraised


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About the Energy for All Initiative

ADBs Energy for All Initiative was launched in February 2008 withtwo objectives. Within ADB, Energy for All will replicate and scale up accessto energy projects targeting poor and remote communities where energypoverty remains endemic. On the regional level, Energy for All is supporting

a new regional partnershipthe Energy for All Partnership. The partnershipprovides a platform for cooperation, knowledge and technical exchange,innovation, and project development for scaling up access to energy. Throughthe collective effort of partners, the Energy for All Partnership aims to extendaccess to energy to an additional 100 million people in Asia and the Pacific by2015.

The Energy for All Initiative is supported by the Government of theNetherlands.


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Powering the Poor

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to helping achieve access toenergy for all people in the region. The stories in this publicationtold throughvillagers and those helping them on the groundportray resourceful ways ofgiving poor and remote communities access to clean and renewable energy.The case studies look at different types of energy projectssolar, micro hydroand biogasas well as innovative approaches in implementing and financingprojects.

About the Asian Development Bank

ADBs vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to helpits developing member countries substantially reduce poverty and improvethe quality of life of their people. Despite the regions many successes, itremains home to two thirds of the worlds poor: 1.8 billion people who liveon less than $2 a day, with 903 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day.ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth,

environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from theregion. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries arepolicy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technicalassistance.

powering the poor

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