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Although the energy situation in Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico is not uniform across all the countries in the region, many of them face some common issues and challenges. With some exceptions, nearly all countries in Central America and the Caribbean are net oil and fossil fuel importers, putting them in an uncertain position …
PUNTA CANA: At an international workshop organised by the Smart Villages Initiative and the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic there was unanimous agreement on the potential of renewable energy in its various forms—solar, wind, biomass and mini-hydro—to play a major role in both rural development and enhancing the climatic resilience of off-grid communities …
At an international workshop organised by the Smart Villages Initiative and the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic delegates will discuss how renewable energy can play a major role in both rural development and enhancing the climatic resilience of off-grid communities in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico. Opened by Vice Minister Ernesto Villa …
The discussions in both state-level workshops in India discussed in this report revealed that the biggest gains from an integrated sustainability solution for the smart city-smart village linkage would be to address the challenge of youth unemployment in both rural and informal urban communities. The introduction of disruptive technologies that generate the opportunity for rural youth to learn new skills—installing and maintaining rural …
WR27: Smart Villages in India – State level insights Read More »
Smart Villages is pleased to announce the launch of the Off-grid Energy Challenge for West Africa. Building on the success of annual East African competitions in collaboration with the Cambridge Development Initiative, this inaugural West African competition challenges entrepreneurs to tell us how they want to grow their existing businesses. Winners will work with consultant …
Smart Villages launches the Off-grid Energy Challenge for West Africa Read More »
This report summarises the presentations and discussion at a workshop held at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Telangana, India from 21 to 23 September 2016. The workshop organised jointly by the Smart Villages Initiative and ICRISAT focused on energy for agriculture in smart villages and its potential to catalyse productive enterprises that add value to agri-business and the …
WR26: Energy and agriculture for smart villages in India Read More »
Agriculture continues to be central to the lives and economies of rural communities in India. Many of those communities have little or no access to modern energy services. These realities motivated the holding of the workshop “Energy and agriculture for smart villages in India” in September 2016 at the International Crops Research Institute for the …
BR20: Findings from the workshop on energy and agriculture for smart villages in India Read More »
Smart Villages is pleased to announce SUJA Eco-Energy Company as the winners of the 2016 Smart Villages Energy Innovation Challenge for East Africa. Building on last year’s success, this year’s competition, in collaboration with the Cambridge Development Initiative, included an even broader range of partners and sponsors. Each of the three off-grid energy teams were …
Smart Villages announces winners in the 2016 Energy Innovation Challenge for East Africa Read More »
Agricultural activities account for 70% of global water usage. Food production and the associated supply chain account for about 30% of total global energy consumed. While there is an awareness of the water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus, there is a lack of effective and integrated initiatives to address it. As described by the United Nations: “The global community is well aware …
WR25: The water, energy, and food nexus: Lessons from West Africa Read More »
Water, energy, and food are the building blocks of life. Access to these resources is necessary for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. There is increasing realisation that these resource systems cannot be looked at in isolation and that they are interrelated. There is an urgent need to look at these systems as part of a …
BR19: The water-energy-food nexus in West Africa Read More »
As an integral part of that activity, the Smart Villages Initiative aims to raise public awareness of rural energy access issues, sustainable energy technologies, and entrepreneurial approaches to energy in the developing world. To help meet this goal, we seek to promote objective, informed, and balanced coverage of the issues, challenges, and opportunities through media dialogue events for both regional and international …
WR24: West Africa Dialogue for Media Professionals Read More »
The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) together with the Smart Villages Initiative held a workshop in July 2016 focused on mini-grid energy generation, storage, and transmission technologies in India and how they will be implemented. The workshop was held at the IISc campus in Bangalore and brought together academics, students, policymakers, business people, and NGO practitioners interested in sustainable energy and rural electrification.
A major objective of the Smart Villages Initiative is to raise public awareness of rural energy access issues, sustainable energy technologies, and entrepreneurial approaches to energy in the developing world. In line with this objective, the Smart Villages Initiative, in partnership with the Green Building Council of Paraguay, held an international media dialogue for media professionals in Asuncion, Paraguay, …
WR23: South America Dialogue for media professionals Read More »
A large portion of India’s population lacks access to reliable energy. For many, the solution to this will involve decentralised energy infrastructure in the form of renewable solar, or hybrid solar, diesel, battery, and biogas mini-grids. The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) together with the Smart Villages Initiative held a workshop focused on mini-grid energy …
Achieving energy access for everyone requires more and better targeted investment, but what role does climate finance play in filling the funding gaps? This paper examines data on the major climate funds to assess what share of international public finance goes toward energy access and compares this to overall finance needs for the sector. It …
Unlocking climate finance for decentralised energy access Read More »
The Smart Villages Initiative has today published a Technical Report analysing baseline data from the remote off-grid Rwandan village of Rubagabaga. The findings comprise the first part of an impact evaluation study exploring the relationship between modern energy access, its productive use, and rural development outcomes. The report furthers efforts to establish and finance development …
Analysis of Rwandan village reveals a uniquely detailed picture of energy poverty Read More »
The Smart Villages Initiative together with the Philippines Center for Water and Sanitation (PCWS) held a workshop in Burgos, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines to discuss issues relating to the nexus of energy, water, and food in rural off-grid communities in Southeast Asia on 1-3 June 2016. Expert participants were brought together from the water, …
The Smart Villages Initiative is undertaking a set of rigorous impact evaluations to understand the relationship between modern energy access, its productive use, and rural development outcomes. Through building an evidence-base, the Smart Villages Initiative will help stimulate the investment of public and private sector resources in off-grid energy and rural development and ensure that …
Smart Villages today announces finalists in the second annual Smart Villages Energy Innovation Challenge. Building on last year’s success, this year’s competition challenged aspiring young East African entrepreneurs to come up with an idea for a social business powered by off-grid energy. Social businesses are financially sustainable and also deliver positive social impacts to the …
Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), energy, and agriculture are topics of great importance to every rural community. In Southeast Asia, these issues overlap in many remote villages where lack of access to energy is often coupled with lack of access to clean drinking water or water for sanitation or agriculture. This report summarises the information …