Smart Villages

TR10: Indigenous communities, ICT and rural development

Technical Reports /

The vast majority of the rural development literature focuses on relatively homogenous ethnolinguistic communities based in periurban and middle-rural areas. This literature has borne much fruit and there is now a general consensus among academics, practitioners and policy makers on the broad parameters of what is required to catalyse rural development in these areas, though …

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A breath of fresh air: How Envirofit is doing social good with a for-profit model

Energy Entrepreneurs /

  Interview with Ron Bills CEO, Envirofit Location: Across the developing world “People want to be treated as customers, with dreams, desires, and aspirations, not as aid recipients” Ron Bills is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for Envirofit, a global social enterprise that has revolutionized the way we think about energy access …

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[:en]February webinar: Healthy villages are smart villages: Health, energy, and development[:]

Webinars /

[:en] Healthy villages are smart villages – places where people can live healthy lives with longer lifespans, fewer childhood illnesses and deaths, and greater well-being. In this webinar, we will think about the intersections of health and energy. Indoor air pollution remains one of the most deadly elements for many people in the developing world. …

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Webinar: Women & energy entrepreneurship: Business models for off-grid energy and social impact

Video /

Women are central to successful business models for off-grid energy in developing countries – whether they are founding micro enterprises, building small, medium, and large businesses, or are the consumers choosing the best energy sources for their household. In this webinar, you’ll hear from women working on the frontlines of energy entrepreneurship. They will reflect …

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Smart Villages presents in European Parliament Development Committee, 10/10/2016

Video /

On 10 October 2016, Smart Villages was invited to speak to the European Parliament’s Development Committee on the topic of energy and development. Chair of the Development Committee, Linda McAvan of the UK, introduced Smart Villages to the Members of the Committee. Molly Hurley-Dépret presented to the DEVE Committee and called for an ambitious approach …

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October 2016 webinar: Scaling up gender Women in off grid energy business models supply chains

Video /

In August, we held a successful webinar focusing on women and entrepreneurship in off-grid communities, with views from Solar Sister, Ajima Farms Ltd, Power4All, and Kopernik. (https://e4sv.org/events/women-energy-e…) In our current webinar, we will hear from off-grid companies, including Frontier Markets, PEG Ghana, among others, on how they have scaled up inclusiveness and integrated gender into …

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November webinar: Going off the grid: Disaster, resilience, and off-grid energy

Video /

When disaster strikes, a community’s ability to respond and recover is tested, whether it is affected by a flood, an earthquake, a drought, a tsunami, or a hurricane, and whether it is located in a rural, urban, or peri-urban area. In this webinar, we’ll bring together experts who have worked in Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, and …

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Rafiki Power: Solar power creates new off-grid business opportunities

Video /

In this video, you’ll learn about the new business opportunities that solar power has created in one off-grid village in northern Tanzania. Rafiki Power’s solar kiosk allows an entrepreneur to build his business while selling mobile money, charging phones, and providing other useful services to the wider community.

December webinar: Growing smart villages: Energy & agriculture for development

Video /

70% of the world’s poor live in rural areas. Many of them rely on agriculture for their incomes. Equally, many of them lack access to energy. But what if they can access energy – and apply it to their livelihood? Within this webinar, we will hear from several speakers who are focusing on exactly this …

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Colombia: Transforming local economies with energy policy and practice

Video /

In this video, you’ll hear from José Eddy Torres, an energy consultant who has worked extensively in rural development in Colombia and beyond. Torres explains the challenges facing rural energy and development – and tells what must be done for rural energy projects to be sustainable in the long-term.

Smart Villages in India

Video /

Brian Heap talks with Ashok Mangotra, former Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). They discuss the Indian government’s aim to electrify all villages by the year 2020. Since 80% of energy in rural areas still comes from biomass – how will the transition to clean …

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Renewable energy in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands

Video /

Dario Rodriguez, an engineer with Ecuador’s National Institute of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, explains some of the unique social and environmental challenges that Ecuador faces in its efforts to promote renewable energy, including the delicate environment of the Galapagos Islands and the remoteness and isolation of the Amazon.

TR9: Business models for mini-grids

Technical Reports /

This report focuses on mini-grids that generate a substantial portion of electricity using renewable energy sources. The IEA (2011) estimates that mini-grids are the best solution for providing electricity to 45% of the rural population without access to electricity. Mini-grids can utilise locally available energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydro. Using locally available renewable energy sources has the advantage of low …

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WR31: Sustainable energy resources for risk management and resilience of communities in Latin America and the Caribbean

Workshop Reports /

Leading experts from across Latin America and the Caribbean were brought together for a work-shop in Quito, Ecuador, on 30 January 2017 to discuss the challenges and opportunities of building resilience to natural disasters of villages in the region, with a particular concern for the contribution of energy services. Key points made in the presentations …

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Energy solutions for the sustainable construction of rural Haiti and the strengthening of resilience

Workshops /

In January 2017, Smart Villages and the Observatoire de l’Energie en Haïti (OBSERVEH) joined together in the context of “Energy Week”, organised by OBSERVEH at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). This collaboration originated from the participation of OBSERVEH in the regional Smart Villages workshop on offgrid energy held in the Dominican Republic in November 2016. …

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