Project Detail

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND SOLAR BIOMASS SYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABLE WOMEN SOCIO- ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

The aim of the project is to increase access to energy, and promote the use of cleaner alternatives that will help sustainable use of natural resources. Through the use of the ACE 1 solar biomass energy system, the project intends to reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases among women and children, as well as create more time for women to engage in income generating activities in 3 villages: Jerekaw, Kerr Sulay and Sukoto Fula in the Upper Badibou District of The North Bank Region. This project will work towards building lasting social and economic empowerment for women in the project intervention communities.

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Gambia Women's Finance Association

Country:

Gambia

Area Of Work:

Community Based Adaptation
Community Based Adaptation

Operational Phase:

OP6 - Y2 (Jul 16-Jun 17)

Grant Amount:

US$ 30,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 25,000.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 10,000.00

Project Number:

GMB/SGP/OP6/Y2/CORE/CC/16/07

Start Date:

9/2016

End Date:

8/2017

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Capacity - Building Component

Capacity needs of the grantee identified, amongst other things, are in the areas of handling, operating and maintaining the ACE 1 Solar Biomass Energy System. In this regard, the project seeks to train the beneficiaries on the handling, operating and maintaining of the ACE 1 Solar Biomass Energy System, on entrepreneurship, product processing, preservation, packaging and marketing and finally to raise awareness on the advantages of renewable energy.

Linkages gef projects

Efforts will be made to establish linkages with large GEF projects which address energy access for rural communities to improve livelihoods and address environmental degradation.

Replication of project activities

It is hoped that the success of project activities will lead to their replication in other parts of the country.

Planning non gef grant

Once completed and judged to be a success, it may be desirable to scale up this project through non -GEF grants.

Planning gef grant

Once successfully completed, there may be opportunities for scaling up this project to a GEF MSP.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Organisation of sensitization workshops on the advantages of renewable energy, issue of progress reports and periodic consultations with project beneficiaries.

Policy Impact

The project aims at complementing Government's efforts in fostering climate change adaptation.

Project sustainability

The project promotes livelihoods among the target communities which will ensure that it becomes sustainable when SGP support ends. The capacity of the beneficiaries were enhance, solar energy provided at a centre run by the community where they will perform their income generation activities using clean energy.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

These activities include the sale of locust beans, access to energy for light and other services such as charging of mobile phones that attract a fee and the reclamation of lost tree for traditional herbal medicine as well as animal species for biodiversity conservation.

Policy Influence

This project hopes to influence policies on renewable energy technologies that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and contribute towards addressing GHG emissions.

Gender Focus

Women in the target community are primarily engaged in the production of locust beans, firewood collection and meal preparation. The project largely targets women in the selected communities. Community influential leaders who are mostly men shall benefit from the capacity building activities of the project.

Notable Community Participation

Women's Youth organisation in the target communities not only form part and parcel of the beneficiaries but shall be trained on the handling, operating and maintaining of the ACE 1 Solar Biomass Energy System for sustainability.

Project Results

? Following the endorsement of the project by the SGP, a sensitization workshop on the benefits of renewable energy and solar biomass energy system for 100 beneficiaries in Jerekaw Wollof, North Bank Region was conducted. The workshop discussed about the modalities of the project, the different stages and components, the expected outputs and outcomes and the role and responsibilities of the communties in project implementation.
- The communities identified and allocated a small plot of land to the project where thetraining and processing centre will be located.
? Hired a building contractor to construct the Locust Beans Processing Centre after providing the specifications for the building.
? Constructed 1 Locust Bean processing centre for Women locust bean producers in Jerekaw Fulla completed on schedule.
? Procured and successfully installed a solar energy facility in Jerekaw Fulla?s Locust Bean Processing Centre with 7 solar panels of 120watts capacity each. One charge controller of 60 Amps, an Inverter of 2, 000 watts and 2 batteries of 620 Amps each were installed. This facility would provide electricity for the processing centre where the women would be engaged in locust bean processing as an economic activity.
? Trained 50 women drawn from the 3 villages (Jerekaw, Kerr Sulay and Sukoto Fulla) who are all locust bean producers on entrepreneurship and packaging including business management principles, record keeping, marketing and loss analysis.
- The project took delivery of 84 Ace 1 biomass stoves purchased from The African Clean Energy Centre in Lesotho in early July 2017.
- The solar stoves were distributed to the community members of the 3 communities on July 22, 2017 in a colorful ceremony attended by local dignitaries.

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Indicators

Biophysical

VRA2: Efficacy of coping mechanisms to current climate risks 10

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