ENERGIANet No.7 June 2003

The E-Newsletter of ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy

Making the transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3 has kept the ENERGIA Secretariat extremely busy for many months with fund raising taking priority. This meant that several routine activities had to be put on hold, including the e-newsletter. Whilst apologising for the long silence, we welcome you to the seventh issue of ENERGIANet and hope to keep you posted regularly.

Please feel free to forward your gender and energy announcements and/or suggestions to: Chesha Wettasinha

ENERGIANet is archived on ENERGIA's website at: http://www.energia.org/resources/enews.html.

Contents

• News from ENERGIA
• Conference Announcements
• Projects
• Women Networks
• Publications
• Proceedings
• Internet Resources
• News from Donors
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe

News from ENERGIA

ENERGIA Phase 3
Following the Strategic Planning Meeting for ENERGIA Phase 3, held in February 2002 in the Netherlands, the ENERGIA Secretariat developed a proposal for Phase 3. An Advisory Committee consisting of representatives from the regions (selected during the planning meeting) provided comments on, and input to, the draft proposal. The proposal was finalised and submitted to the Netherlands Directorate General of International Cooperation (DGIS), and also to a number of other donors, including the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Having received funding from both DGIS and SIDA to cover 40% of the total budget, ENERGIA is now moving ahead with some of the key activities set out in the Phase 3 proposal, which include:

• expanding the institutional set-up of the network so as to meet the increasing demand for ENERGIA's services
• raising the level of skills, knowledge and concepts of Network members, policy makers and planners at all levels on integrating gender and energy into sustainable development
• providing basic tools and resources to support the above mentioned capability development
• developing the advisory and advocacy capacity of members in the South to ensure that gender is brought into the international, regional and national energy debates.

Meanwhile ENERGIA will actively pursue fundraising to meet its total budget requirement.
More information on Phase 3 can be obtained from the Secretariat at: energia@etcnl.nl

New face at the ENERGIA Secretariat
Chesha Wettasinha has just joined the ENERGIA Secretariat in Leusden as Communications Coordinator. She has taken over some of the resource centre functions from Anja Panjwani, who will continue as web master of ENERGIA based in the US. Chesha has extensive experience in rural/ agricultural development, with particular focus on natural resource management, participatory approaches, local innovation and gender mainstreaming. For the past two years, Chesha was Managing Editor at ILEIA, Information Centre for Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture, responsible for the quarterly magazine, LEISA, and other in-house publications. Before coming to the Netherlands, Chesha worked for seven years in a rural development project in Sri Lanka as Coordinator - planning, monitoring and documentation.

ENERGIA Participation at WSSD
ENERGIA received support from SIDA for participation in the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which was held from 26 August to 4 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. ENERGIA brought together an impressive group of gender and energy experts and advocates, such as the regional and national focal points for the Africa gender and energy network and the ENERGIA partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The primary focus of the ENERGIA group attending the Summit was to achieve a wider recognition of gender and energy linkages in the energy negotiations, and to incorporate a gender perspective into new activities initiated as outcomes of the WSSD. The ENERGIA group was able to make strong representations on the importance of gender sensitivity in energy planning, decision-making and project implementation at a variety of events. Comprehensive coverage on ENERGIA's activities and achievements at the WSSD has been given in ENERGIA News issue 5.4, and can also be read on-line at: http://www.energia.org/resources/newsletter/enarchive.html

Database of Contacts and Experts in Gender and Energy
This database in now available on-line at: http://www.energia.org/procor/contacts_database.html
It contains contact details of individuals and organisations with an affinity for gender and energy; expert profiles are provided where available. The search function has many features such as country, region, area of work and type of organisation. The edit function allows for updating of existing records by using the username and password assigned to the respective individuals or organisations. If you have forgotten your password and username, have not yet received these details, or wish to include your details on the database, please contact the ENERGIA secretariat at: energia@etcnl.nl

Gender in Energy - Training Pack
Another resource recently placed on the ENERGIA website is the Gender in Energy Training Pack. Margaret Skutsch of the Technology and Development Group (TDG), University of Twente in the Neterlands, developed this training guide in 1997. ENERGIA is very grateful to TDG for permission to put this resource on-line at: http://www.energia.org/resources/papers/tdg_g_e_manual.html; The training pack is now being upgraded and a new version is expected in 2004. Please send in your comments and/or suggestions to the ENERGIA Secretariat at: energia@etcnl.nl

ENERGIA News
Issue 5.3 of ENERGIA News was published in November 2002. It was a special issue on the World Bank/ASTAE Energy Poverty and Gender Project titled “EnPoGen: Operationalising Gender and Poverty in Energy”. This issue is available on-line at: http://www.energia.org/resources/newsletter/en-112002.pdf
A CD-ROM with comprehensive information related to EnPoGen will be sent out to all subscribers with the next issue of the ENERGIA News in September 2003. If you are not a subscriber, but wish to have a copy of the CD-ROM, please contact Enno Heijndermans at: eheijndermans@worldbank.org
ENERGIA News 5.4 came out in December 2002 and was a special issue highlighting the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in regards to gender and energy, “The WSSD and its Results regarding Gender and Energy”. This issue is available on-line at: http://www.energia.org/resources/newsletter/en-122002.pdf
If you have subscribed to ENERGIA News, but have not received a copy, or if you wish to subscribe to ENERGIA News, please contact the ENERGIA Secretariat at: energia@etcnl.nl
For more information, or to submit articles for future issues, please contact Chesha Wettasinha at: c.wettasinha@etcnl.nl

Conference Announcements

India Partners’ Workshop : Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP), 5-6 June 2003, New Delhi
ENERGIA will be represented at this workshop by two focal points, namely the All India Women's Conference (AIWC) in New Delhi and the Environment Protection Training & Research Institute (EPTRI) in Hyderabad, for North and South India respectively. The purpose of the workshop is twofold: to discuss coordination of GVEP activities and the possibility of forming a local GVEP contact group, and finding ways to work with the Government of India's REST Mission. The outcome of the workshop will be posted on GVEP's website: http://www.gvep.org presently under construction.

Women's Wind Power, 8-14 June 2003 at Custer, Wisconsin, USA
Organised by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and Solar Energy International
This workshop is an opportunity for women to get involved in wind power installations and applications. It will cover a range of topics including safety, tower design and economics, hybrid systems, site analysis and energy storage. Participants will install a 126' tilt-up tower and a Proven 2500 wind turbine.
For more information or to register for the workshop, contact MREA at: info@the-mrea.org
or register at the website: http://www.focusonenergy.com/
If you live in the Focus on Energy territory, you are eligible for a US$100 scholarship to the workshop. Find out if you live in this territory by using the eligibility tool at: http://www.focusonenergy.com/

Pacific Gender, Energy and Sustainable Development Workshop, 4-8 August 2003, Fiji Islands
Organised by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC)
The goal of this workshop is to develop regional strategies and national action plans that will assist in developing gender awareness in the energy sector. Towards meeting this goal, the workshop has the following objectives:

• identifying key barriers and issues standing in the way of maximising the potential of women in sustainable energy development
• promoting awareness among women in the Pacific of the importance of energy and how women can assist towards sustainable energy development
• promoting regional cooperation on energy amongst men in the Pacific
• forming a regional network of interested women (men) to act as a pressure group for promoting women's participation in the energy sector development plans of the Pacific Island countries

For more information, please contact Yogita Chandra at: yogita@sopac.org

Projects

Solar Cookers International - worldwide survey on solar cooking and solar pasteurisation
Solar Cookers International's (SCI) staff are preparing a survey to learn more about the quantity and quality of information available within the fields of solar cooking and solar pasteurisation and to determine the gaps, if any, in this information. The survey has several questions that deal with the impacts of solar cooking on women in terms of health, safety, social and economic aspects. Certain questions in the survey allow for detailed responses and are ideal for bringing in gender-related information. You can participate in this survey by filling out the form on the website http://www.solarcooking.org or by contacting Kevin Porter at info@solarcookers.org
SCI has begun a series of interviews with solar cooking activists from around the world in a series, “Calling All Solar Cookers” found at http://solarcooking.org/media/broadcast This a great opportunity to give publicity to exciting work on solar cookers by women. Please get in touch with Tom Sponheim, SCI's webmaster by e-mail on webmaster@solarcooking.org

Sparknet
Sparknet is an interdisciplinary interactive knowledge network in Southern and East Africa involved in energy for low-income households in rural areas. Launched in January 2002, the network has twelve member organisations from nine countries, and is the first of its kind in the region. Four of the members are also partners of ENERGIA - Makerere University in Uganda, Technology and Development Group of the University of Twente in the Netherlands, Tanzania Traditional Energy development and environment Organisation (TaTEDO) and Intermediate Technology Group, Kenya. The project is funded by the European Union's Fifth Framework Programme and has three thematic areas of focus: household energy and health, household energy and gender and household energy and forestry. The first phase of the project, which is until December 2004, will compare and contrast the household energy situation in each country so as to highlight policy options and innovation opportunities. The website will be updated regularly as the project develops. Keep up with the latest developments by visiting http://www.sparknet.info

Women Networks

GROOTS - Grassroots Organisations Operating Together in Sisterhood
The vision of GROOTS is to develop a movement giving voice and power to grassroots women's local visions and initiatives, attracting long-term partners, and creating new policies, to expand and strengthen their leadership. Operating as a flexible network, GROOTS links leaders and groups in poor rural and urban areas of the North and South and nurtures relationships of mutual support and solidarity among women engaged in redeveloping their communities. More information on this network and its activities can be found at: http://www.groots.org/

Publications

The Gender-Energy-Poverty Nexus: Finding the energy to address gender concerns in development
J. Clancy and M. Skutsch (Technology and Development Group, University of Twente, the Netherlands), and S.Batchelor (Gamos Ltd, UK)
This paper was commissioned by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) to explore current thinking on the gender-energy-poverty nexus, in particular to review the key issues and highlight areas that need to be addressed, and to suggest actions and further studies that need to be undertaken in order to “find the energy to address gender concerns”. It is hoped that this analysis and the recommendations that are drawn from it will be valuable to professionals working in the fields of gender and social development, not only within DFID and similar donor organisations, but also in other national institutions, NGOs and academic circles.
The paper can be downloaded from the following websites in pdf format:
Sparknet at: http://www.sparknet.info/goto.php/view/21/file.htm
TDG at: http://www.sms.utwente.nl/redir.asp?TargetID=3518&linkID=16257
The authors seek feedback from readers. Please send your responses and reactions to Joy Clancy at: j.s.clancy@tdg.utwente.nl

Household energy, women's hardship, and health impacts in rural Rajasthan, India: need for sustainable energy solutions
V.Laxmi, J.Parikh, S.Karmakar and P.Dabrase, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India
This paper appears in Energy for Sustainable Development, Vol VII No.1, March 2003 and examines the factors interlinked to the use of unprocessed bio-fuels for cooking. Socio-economic conditions, availability of alternative fuels, cooking practices, health impacts, gender equality and housing characteristics are among these factors. The paper also reports on the linkages between these factors, drawing on data collected from 13 villages in rural Rajasthan. The electronic version can be downloaded from: http://www.ieiglobal.org/esdvol7no1/householdenergy.pdf

One man one megawatt, one woman one candle: women, gender and energy in South Africa, with a focus on research
W.J.Annecke, Doctoral thesis (unpublished) March 2003
The thesis sketches the evolution of women/gender and energy as a field of interest through development theory. It proposes that the early international women and energy literature followed the Women in Development (WID) path, whereas later literature explored the differences between men and women's energy needs and use, and called this gender and energy. The thesis argues that due to its isolated position as a pariah state, and the discourse of liberation, the field of gender and energy developed somewhat differently in South Africa. It analyses these differences, which were, however, short-lived. Once South Africa re-joined the international community, the differences in the international and local interpretations became less marked. The history of women in the energy sector is examined, and in particular the types of energy research women have done and the opportunities for using feminist methodologies are analysed. The thesis explores whether women (through WEG) have been able to influence policy making. The final chapter reviews the progress of women in the energy sector of South Africa, and strategies that might enhance this, including the Ministerial Pledge for gender equality, the increase in the number of women in the sector, gender relations of power and social relation such as HIV/Aids which affect women's positions at work and at home.
For more information please contact the author at: glo-worm@iafrica.com

Tiempo - Global warming and the third world, issue 47, March 2003
In this issue of Tiempo are two articles by Fatima Denton and Jyothi Parikh that focus on mainstreaming gender into the climate debate:

1. Gender a forgotten element
2. Gender and climate

These articles are based on “Engendering the climate debate”, an event organised by the authors at the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP8) in New Delhi in October 2002.
Tiempo is distributed free of charge on request. Contact: Mike Kelly, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK. Or visit the Tiempo website: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/tiempo/
A report on the COP8 event was also published in ENERGIA News issue 5.4 and can be found at: http://www.energia.org/resources/newsletter/en-122002.pdf

Proceedings

11th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-11) held in New York from 28 April to 9 May 2003.
CSD-11 was the first global follow-up meeting to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Women's Environment and development Organisation (WEDO) has compiled a report on the proceedings of CSD-11 with special attention to gender as a cross-cutting issue. The report contains the major outcomes and the lessons learned. It has been decided at the sessions that CSD will work in two-year cycles in the future: a review session in one year and a policy session in the next. Each cycle will address several cross cutting issues including gender equality. A regional and gender balance will be ensured in all future CSD sessions. The 2006-2007 cycle will focus on energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change. This report with an attchment of all the women's major group statements can be obtained from Rebecca Pearl, WEDO Sustainable Development Program Coordinator, or Irene Dankelman, WEDO Board Member.
All CSD-11 documents can be viewed at: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd11/

Internet Resources

Siyanda is an on-line database of gender development materials. It is also an interactive space where gender practitioners can share ideas, experiences and resources. The website has been set up with the purpose of helping those working towards gender equality, and is hosted on the BRIDGE website of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. By subscribing to the monthly newsletter, Siyanda Update, you can receive the latest materials added to the website. Genie is another web resource hosted alongside Siyanda on the Bridge website. It provides fast access to gender mainstreaming resources from donor agencies.
Find out more at: http://www.siyanda.org or http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge

INSTRAW is the website of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW) and provides access in three languages: English, French and Spanish. INSTRAW works towards gender equality and the empowerment of women through its Gender Awareness Information and Networking System (GAINS), an internet-based research and training environment driven by a worldwide network. The site hosts a good selection of resources for organisations and individuals engaged in gender-focused research, training, advocacy, policy-making and implementation, which include a selection of special resources and a searchable database of over 2000 titles. Information on the GAINS network and its worldwide membership is available on the website.
Get more details at: http://www.un-instraw.org/

Financing Sustainable Energy Directory is an inventory of lenders and investors who provide finance to the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. It is designed to help project developers and entrepreneurs seeking capital, as well as investors looking for financing vehicles. The directory can be searched y type of finance, technology type and geographic focus. View the directory at: http://www.fse-directory.net/

News from Donors

Shell Foundation's Sustainable Energy Programme
Request for concept proposals on household energy and health in Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana
The goal of the Household Energy and Health Programme is to reduce health risk associated with Indoor Air Pollution for 500,000 women and children in the developing world. With this request for concept proposals, the Shell Foundation hopes to establish financially viable and replicable pilot projects in Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana.
The concept proposal note and application form can be downloaded from the website: http://www.shellfoundation.org/householdenergy/
The closing date for receiving concept proposals is 15 June 2003 and can be submitted to: sep@shell.com.

Trickle up
Trickle Up is an international non-profit organisation based in the US. It helps the world's poorest people take their first step out of poverty by providing conditional seed capital grants and business training essential for setting up a micro-enterprise. Trickle Up works in partnership with approximately 250 community-based development organisations throughout the world. The programme has a strong focus on the empowerment of women. According to the data of 2002, more than half of the women entrepreneurs were women: 49% in Asia, 67% in Africa and 59% in Latin America.
For more information and a list of the partner organisations visit the website at: http://www.trickleup.org

Community fund - International Grant Programme
Community Fund is an UK-based independent organisation that distributes money raised by the British National Lottery to support charities and voluntary and community groups throughout the UK, and to UK-based development organisations running development projects abroad with local partners. The International Grants Programme supports projects working towards long-term change in four priority areas: education, health, natural resources and human rights. All projects are supposed to incorporate cross cutting outcomes, among which is gender and diversity. This means that the projects should focus on reducing inequalities affecting the most disadvantaged women and men, girls and boys in their access to resources, participation in decision-making and exercising civil and political rights. More information on the programme and how to get an application pack can be found on the website: http://www.community-fund.org.uk
Enquiries can be directed to enquiries.international@community-fund.org.uk

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