Workshop Reports

WR18: Smart Villages and resilience to natural disasters

This report summarises the findings of a workshop on Smart Villages and Resilience to Natural Disasters. Co-hosted by the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, and the Smart Villages Initiative, the workshop brought together two communities of researchers and practitioners focusing on energy access and natural disasters to promote active discussion around key issues …

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WR17: Sustainable energy sources for off-grid rural communities in Bolivia

The Smart Villages Initiative organised a workshop on access to, and use of, renewable energy sources for rural communities in Bolivia on April 28, 2016, in La Paz, Bolivia to facilitate analysis and exchange of experiences of electrification of off-grid rural communities in Bolivia. The workshop brought together representatives of the public sector, international, and regional …

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WR16: Smart Villages in South America

While South American countries have made significant progress in energy access, tens of millions of people (more than 30 million, according to conservative estimates) do not have access, particularly in remote areas. From 24-26 January 2016, experts from across the region gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities for energy access. The forum “Sustainable energy …

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WR15: Business models for off-grid electricity

This report summarises the findings of the Smart Villages Initiative’s workshop on business and financial models held in Cambridge in January 2016. The workshop brought together 36 participants from academia, the private sector, NGOs, and the public sector to share their perspectives and experiences concerning business and financial models for home-based electricity services and decentralised …

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WR14: Potential breakthroughs in productive use of energy in off-grid villages

The ‘forward look’ workshop on potential breakthroughs in the use of energy in off-grid villages” was held in Churchill College, University of Cambridge on 18 December 2015. An introduction to the workshop’s aims and to the Smart Villages Initiative was followed by an introduction to the concept of “distributed manufacturing” for rural villages and accounts …

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WR13: Sustainable dissemination of improved cookstoves – lessons from Southeast Asia

Despite substantial progress on achieving universal electricity access in the region, almost half the population in Southeast Asia continues to rely primarily on biomass to meet their cooking needs. On 2 December 2015, the Smart Villages Initiative together with GERES, Myanmar organised a regional workshop in Yangon, Myanmar to gather lessons about the sustainable dissemination …

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WR12: South Asia Dialogue with Media Professionals

More than one billion people in the world still do not have electricity: over three billion cook on dirty, inefficient and harmful stoves, and four million people die prematurely each year as a result. The UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative aims to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030. Widespread recognition …

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WR11: Energy for Off-grid Island Communities

Electricity is a crucial part of the infrastructure needed to improve the quality of life for island communities in developing nations. This report summarises the information presented at, and conclusions arising from, the workshop on issues related to island electricity access held by the Smart Villages Initiative and Kopernik. The workshop took place on the …

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WR10: Smart Villages in Pakistan

Pakistan has substantial experience of deploying micro-grids based on micro-hydro systems in rural communities. The Smart Villages Initiative, supported by the Rural Support Programmes Network, Pakistan organised a workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan on 6 October 2015 to consider Pakistan’s experience of developing enabling frameworks for the dissemination of micro-grids.  The workshop was an important event …

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WR9: High-level workshop on off-grid village energy in East Africa

This report summarises the findings of the Smart Villages Initiative’s high-level workshop on off-grid village energy in East Africa. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Rwanda, the workshop brought together 47 key stakeholders from East Africa and the United Kingdom to share the findings of the Smart Villages Initiative’s East Africa engagement, to review the …

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WR8: Smart Villages in Bangladesh: Dhaka Workshop Report

The Smart Villages Initiative continued its engagement in South Asia with a workshop held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 26 August 2015. The aim of the workshop was to learn from Bangladesh’s experience in providing energy to off-grid rural communities through home-based electricity systems, in particular solar home systems (SHS), and solar/solar-hybrid mini-grids. The workshop also …

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WR7: East African Community Leaders’ Dialogue Workshop Report

Amidst the stunning background of Terrat, a Masaai village in remote Northern Tanzania, members of the Smart Villages team spent the weekend of 22-23 August, 2015 engaged in an extremely productive dialogue event with representatives of village level energy initiatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda. The event was organised at a time when …

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WR6: Southeast Asia Media Dialogue: Seoul Workshop Report

More than one billion people in the world still do not have electricity. Over three billion cook on dirty, inefficient and harmful stoves and four million people die prematurely each year as a result. The UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative aims to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030. The Smart …

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WR5: Smart Villages in Nepal: Kathmandu Workshop Report

The Smart Villages Initiative, working with its local partner Practical Action Consulting South Asia, held a workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal on 10th April 2015. The aim of the workshop was to learn lessons from Nepal’s experience of micro/mini-hydroelectric schemes for off-grid rural communities and associated initiatives to stimulate productive enterprises which could be shared with …

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WR4: Kuching Workshop Report on Smart Villages in Southeast Asia

Summary This report summarises the information presented at, and conclusions arising from, the second major international workshop of the Smart Villages Initiative. The workshop took place in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, Malaysia, on the campus of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), and marked the beginning of a 12-month programme of engagement by the Smart …

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WR3: Kigali East Africa Media Workshop Report

This workshop was a two-day residential event featuring a combination of background briefings from local and international experts and entrepreneurs, together with Smart Villages team members on energy markets and provision in general, the off-grid sector in particular, the Smart Villages concept and perceived need, case studies of embryonic Smart Village projects and relevant technologies, …

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WR2: Smart Villages in East Africa – Arusha Workshop Report

The workshop held in Arusha, Tanzania from 2 to 5 June, 2014, was the first in the series of six major international workshops planned to be held in Africa, Asia and Latin America over the period 2014 to 2017 as a core component of the Smart Villages Initiative (www.e4sv.org). The organising partners for the Arusha workshop were the Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust …

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