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ENERGIA News Issue 1, December 1996

Letters to ENERGIA - Meet Other Network Members!

Many of you have written to us since the announcement of the establishment of ENERGIA. Not only did we receive the normal “please-send-us a-newsletter” cards; many of you introduced yourselves, your organisations and/or educational and your activities. Others congratulated us on the start of the network in this important field of women and energy, and encouraged the work done so far.

As an initiative to spur fruitful contacts among network members, we would like to introduce a few members. We have taken the liberty to shorten most of the letters, highlighting their special interests and field of work. Keep writing! - and send descriptions and photos of your work!

I am currently a United Nations Volunteer working with the Social Forestry & Extension Section of the Royal Government of Bhutan Forestry Services Division. I am very much interested in biomass energy issues.
Dennis F. Desmond, Forest Extension Specialist, P.O. Box 162, Thimphu, Bhutan, South Asia

...The work at our institute [International Institute of Sustainable Development and Management] is centred around understanding the potentialities of rural industrialisation, development and dissemination of appropriate technology for the rural women, so as to augment their existing level of income...We have also undertaken training programmes for the promotion of biogas plants in the rural areas with women's participation.
D.P. Mathur, Member Secretary Board of Governors, International Institute of Sustainable Development and Management (ISDM), 1982 Subhashnagar, Chandkheda, Ahmedabad 382424,India; Tel. +91.79.7488219

We are happy to introduce our organisation RICE, a registered non-profit voluntary organisation working at the grassroots level in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka... This year we have been implementing the Literacy Project to educate 1500 learners (adult women). As a special effort to save energy we have introduced Solar Photovoltaic Lanterns for teaching at night. We are also planning and training the women to undertake biogas, windmill, smokeless “chulah” for cooking and the like, to reduce the burden of women in collecting firewood and other materials for energy and also to reduce the cost and energy problems of the country.
S.Prabudass, Secretary, Rural Institute for Community Education (RICE), 90 Uthiyur Road, Kundadam 638702, Periyar District, Tamil Nadu, India; Tel. +91.4258.63291

Intermediate Technology Development Group (IT) is an international NGO. IT works in irrigation, food security, agro-processing, transport, livestock, energy, shelter, etc. IT Nepal supports the micro hydro-sector in the country and works to research, develop and transfer appropriate micro-hydro technologies to local manufacturers and implementers. IT Nepal also does policy advocacy and socio-economic research relating to micro-hydro and energy issues in the country. Realising the importance of how women are affected by energy issues and the need for increased gender sensitivity in technology development, energy policy and other aspects of energy development, we here at IT Nepal are interested to learn more about other NGOs and individuals working in this field. Your network sounds like a good place to start.
Bandana Shrestha, Communications Officer, Intermediate Technology Development Group (IT Nepal), P.O. Box 2325, Kamaladi, Kathmandu, Nepal; Tel. +977.1.220572, Fax c/o 977.1.220161

Yayasan Dian Tama is a non-governmental organisation working in the fields of organic farming and agro-forestry, charcoal and charcoal by-product technology and small enterprise development. In addition, we are currently launching an improved cook-stove programme for biomass fuel users in our working region of West-Kalimantan, Indonesia.
H. Ershinta Erni, Yayasan Dian Tama, Jalan Cendrawasih 53B, Pontianak 78111, West Kalimantan, Indonesia; Tel/fax +62.561.32097

We are producing cookers made by women carpenters - and trying to keep them as cost-effective as possible by using local materials as far as possible - but cooking does not interest very many agencies or male visitors. We also do trials with pasteurising drinking water. We developed a devise for heating drinking water above the temperature where germs are killed. This device had to be slightly more complicated than the solar cooker, because we had to be able to guarantee safe drinking water. The device includes valves and a thermostat, but is otherwise constructed to stand dry-running and other extreme conditions. We are now demonstrating the solar cooker and the solar pasteuriser and it never fails to generate an interesting discussion with women about the practical uses of the solar cooker and the pasteuriser. The men are not very interested in the solar cooker, except for its technical function. They do show a lot of interest in the solar pasteuriser with its very technical ingenuity, but do not pay much attention to its practical application. The women on the other hand are much more interested in down-to-earth practical applications, economics and reliability. This really makes you wonder about men’s strange attitude to technology.
Kirsten Nøhr & Ruth Shija, P.O. Box 9171, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

...As a rural community we are much concerned with fuel usage. We have already some experience with solar power, having solar panels to give us light in the school library and we are doing some experimenting with cooking by sunlight.
Norah Court, Lume Benevolent Group, P.O. Box 160 II, Airport, Accra, Ghana

Muti Wedzidzo is like-minded to ENERGIA. We are a new organisation founded in 1993. We are based in the Midlands area of Zimbabwe rural community. We support, facilitate and promote gender and energy activities in rural communities where women are key producers and developers, but their capabilities are not recognised. We enhance this concept and enable men and women to work together in this understanding.
Simba P. Guapedza, Executive Director, Muti Wedzidzo, P.O.Box 147, Mvuma, Zimbabwe