The workshop in Arusha explored the East African/Tanzanian environment for village energy, local case studies, challenges and opportunities, with a view to formulating policy recommendations for policymakers, funders, NGOs and other stakeholders the region. An important part of the workshop, and indeed the whole Smart Villages initiative work programme, was to gather evidence from existing projects that have provided …
Dr Jaideep Prabhu of the University of Cambridge describes ‘jugaad innovation’, “a frugal and flexible approach to innovation for the 21st century.” This type of innovation can provide affordable solutions for low-income communities and is also being adopted in the West. http://jugaadinnovation.com/
Last month, two members of the Smart Villages team, Dr Shailaja Fennell and Dr Terry van Gevelt, travelled to Hyderabad, India. Arriving in the early morning to the intense heat, the team was met by employees of SMAAT – a social enterprise focused on providing clean drinking water to urban slums and rural villages. After …
In this video, Dr Bernie Jones describes the aims of the Smart Villages workshop in Arusha in June 2014. The workshop aims to bring together leaders in the area of off-grid village energy, including poilcymakers, NGOs, entrepreneurs and other experts.
Dr Bernie Jones gives a brief overview of the aims of the Smart Villages initiative, particularly its focus on off-grid village energy in Africa, India, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Dr Ernst van Groningen of the International Science Programme at Uppsala University discusses how several Swedish partners became involved in the Smart Villages initiative.
Dr John Holmes discusses the important role of the European Academies of Science in the Smart Villages initiative.
Dr Shailaja Fennell of the Centre for Development Studies (University of Cambridge) discusses why understanding rural communities needs and aspirations are crucial for improving rural development.
A recent article from Uganda reveals that one of the biggest questions facing rural communities around the world is how to build resilience to the increased uncertainty brought about by climate change. Small-scale agriculture is so often based on an unparalleled understanding of the seasons that has been honed over decades through an intimate relationship …
Prof Sir Colin Humphries, an expert at Cambridge University, discusses the great potential of ‘lifi’ for the developing world. As an alternative to wifi, which requires a lot of energy, lifi could bring internet access at a lower cost and use less energy. Timeline: approximately 5 years.
15 January 2014 The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the Cambridge Smart Villages Initiative (SVI) and bring together leading researchers in the UK to discuss the current landscape of energy production, use and efficiency in rural communities in developing countries, as well as scientific developments and technologies that might be influential over the …
Cambridge workshop report: New technologies for off-grid villages: a look ahead Read More »
The Africa-EU Energy Partnership recently held its Second High Level Meeting and, according to SciDev.net (“Africa awaits an energy revolution”), the discussions in the corridors are focusing on off-grid energy, a welcome development. Coordination and partnerships were chief concerns among industry leaders and policymakers alike. Bringing energy to rural areas of developing can have positive impacts on …
“To give people electricity, to me, is like giving them medicine” Read More »
On the surface, the facts are startling. According to Farming First, a coalition of farmers, engineers, scientists and industry, women[lightbox full=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaiban/6866495548/”][/lightbox] constitute up to 80% of Africa’s smallholder farmers and are produce around 90% of its food. Key issues in the northern Ugandan context, the focus of the article published by Thomson Reuters Foundation, relate to issues of …
Woman farmer: Land ownership in Africa “the preserve of men” Read More »
A recent article in the Guardian (“Bright ideas for the developing world: cheaper, superior lighting design“) has highlighted the emerging realization that technology works best when suited to the local context and more often than not, it is the innovative end- user in developing countries who ingeniously adapts off-the-shelf technology. This understanding has transformed the efforts of simple …
The purpose of the workshop was to bring together leading UK researchers to discuss emerging technologies for the sustainable production and use of energy in rural communities in developing countries, and to take a ‘look ahead’ at scientific developments and technologies that might be influential over the next 10 – 20 years. It was held …
[:en]The purpose of the workshop was to bring together leading UK researchers to discuss emerging technologies for the sustainable production and use of energy in rural communities in developing countries, and to take a ‘look ahead’ at scientific developments and technologies that might be influential over the next 10 – 20 years. It was held …
The Smart Villages project, originally based at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the UK, was established by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), and the Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust (CMEDT). Key partners in the project were the national science academies and their networks, together with Practical Action and The Energy …